Report and pictures by Paul Gibson
Residents living on Marshfoot Lane in Hailsham have compared the road to the surface of the moon.
Hailsham News asked on social media recently for readers to tell us about the largest potholes in the town, and Marshfoot Lane was the most talked about road – and these shocking images show exactly why!
As winter increases the size of potholes, due to frost and rain, motorists are forced to swerve around our roads to avoid them – some residents say this is putting local school children at risk, especially on Marshfoot Lane.
Other areas of the town highlighted in our request were South Road, Station Road, Old Orchard Way and the bridge, also on South Road.
However, there’s good news ahead as it is expected that East Sussex County Council has approved funds to spend an additional 15% a year on resurfacing each year for the next decade. It includes an extra £5.8m to be spent this year to improve the county’s roads.
East Sussex County Councillor for Hailsham New Town, Gerard Fox told Hailsham News: “In the May 2021 election, I campaigned on a platform of East Sussex County Council delivering more spending on our Highways.”
He added: “I was pleased that we were recently able to allocate an additional £5.8 million of in-year funds on road patching, pavements and safety which will be spent this year. Additionally, I was really happy to see that the Cabinet adopted proposals on Tuesday 25th Jan which will deliver a 15% rise in the Highways Maintenance budget from 2022 onwards for the next decade.”
Some homeowners on Marshfoot Lane raised concerns that Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) money from the developers of Mabel Way, which was built in 2013/14, included a fund to resurface the lane.
However, research showed this was not the case as the development pre-dated the CIL scheme by three years.
An East Sussex Highways spokesperson said: “We have been contacted by a resident concerned with the condition of Marshfoot Lane and our Highways Steward will be carrying out further inspections of the road shortly to identify any immediate safety issues.
“To ensure the best use of our limited re- sources, we prioritise work on those sections of the road most in need of repair according to national guidelines and best practice and county council policies, and regularly monitor those roads that do not meet our intervention levels.”
The number of potholes filled in by councils in England and Wales has increased over the last 12 months, to almost 1.7 million, a survey has suggested.
This figure, up 200,000 from 1.5 million in 2019/20, equated to one being fixed every 19 seconds, according to The Asphalt Industry Alliance.
