Flood Control Work to be Carried Out at Common Pond

As part of its obligation to ensure that the historic Hailsham Common Pond in Bellbanks Road is well maintained and accessible to the public, Town Council staff will be working in the coming weeks to set about tackling future flooding on the site.

At the Common Pond, a 20-metre section of footpath adjacent to the south west end of the site is prone to flooding and sometimes impassable during the winter months, restricting access to some parts of the open space.

Town Council works staff will work with external contractors to counter the problem by raising the ground level and extending the area of tarmac footpath. Furthermore, the installation of additional drainage into the pond will be carried out.

“Hailsham Town Council is responsible for a number of areas of public open space within the town,” said Councillor Paul Soane, chairman of the Strategic Projects Committee. “Most of these have designated footpaths to provide access to and around the area and a number of them, particularly on the Common Pond site, have experienced flooding over the past three winters.”

“As it appears that the large amount of rainfall has become the norm for the local weather during the autumn and winter months, the Town Council will be taking the necessary steps to ensure that future flooding of footpaths is prevented.”

Hailsham Common Pond has been a focal point for centuries and is considered to be the town’s “Jewel in the Crown”.

Major improvements to the 1.86 acre site have been carried out by the Town Council since 1996, including the removal of approximately 2,500 cubic metres of silt, the construction of a second island and sloping marginal wetland area, and the installation of a hard surface path, benches and additional shrubs along the pond edge.

Since 1996, the Town Council has undertaken surveys of the site and, on the advice from the Environment Agency, additional work to improve and consolidate the island banks to prevent further erosion has been achieved by planting additional aquatic plants around the banks of the islands.

The Town Council is always happy to receive any donations to maintain this beautiful location. Additional information about the Common Pond is available to the public via the Town Council Offices, Inglenook, Market Street.