Potholes in Hailsham Identified as Meeting Safety Intervention Criteria

Following a motion passed recently by the Town Council calling on East Sussex Highways to address problems associated with potholes on many of the town’s roads, over 50 pot holes have been identified as meeting the safety intervention criteria for repairs to be carried out.

The motion, which was passed unanimously by town councillors in July, expressed concerns about the number of potholes on Hailsham’s roads and requested that the Chair and the Town Clerk write to East Sussex County Council to express the Town Council’s “dissatisfaction with the level of management exercised by their Highways Department regarding road maintenance in and around Hailsham.”

The motion also expressed “too many roads can only be navigated by traffic weaving around potholes and this is becoming dangerous for motorists and other road users and……. Far too frequently repairs have only been performed on partial areas of damage requiring repeat future visits to finish the job.”

Since contacting East Sussex Council Council to request assurances that repairs will be carried out before the winter season and following a survey submitted to the county council by individual ward councillors highlighting the condition of road surfaces, the Town Council’s efforts have resulted in 55 potholes being earmarked for potential repair, with some repair work having been carried out already.

Town Councillor Stephen Potts, one of the members who proposed the motion said: “With the assistance and intervention of county councillor Gerard Fox, who represents Hailsham New Town Ward, the motion has resulted in the highways team sending a local community steward to survey all the roads that the Town Council reported last summer. This in turn has resulted in several potholes meeting safety intervention criteria.”

“While this could potentially be good news, there is a concern however that, because ‘Safety Intervention’ is the only criteria that East Sussex Highways has applied, this leaves many roads – including Diplocks Way – without an agreed programme to restore surfaces to an acceptable level.”

“Taking this into account, the Town Council, supported by the county councillors representing Hailsham, will continue to make a case for the town’s roads to be drastically improved as soon as possible.”