These are some of the worst potholes in the Hastings area according to a local action group

The ongoing problem has been highlighted by the Hastings and Rother Potholes group on Facebook, which has the sub-title ‘The Great Zig Zag Drive’ in recognition of the evasive action drivers are forced to take to avoid hitting potholes.

The group, which has over a thousand members, has been actively campaigning for more action to be taken to repair potholes in the area.

The problem is so bad locally that in February Stagecoach stopped running its bus services along Harrow Lane in St Leonards due to the poor state of the road surface. A number of its routes were diverted until resurfacing works were completed.

Jacqueline Patton, who represents the Facebook group, said: “People’s property is being destroyed, people are being injured, impacting on their livelihood and lives. Ambulances are in jeopardy on the way to someone’s loved one on your dangerous, undriveable roads.

“Change is needed, an efficient way to report and a long-term plan of maintenance, proper repairs that last and do not cause a secondary hazard, quick repairs, new criteria and construction sites made to make roads safe as they go along.

“Take ownership and responsibility. No excuses. Resurface, repair and never let our roads get this bad again. We have had enough.”

Local councillor Phil Scott said: “

“For my part as an East Sussex county councillor in Hollington and Wishing Tree and indeed across county I have been a constant in terms of both reporting and raising at East Sussex County Council meetings. I have raised the issue many times of the contract specification and criteria which only sees potholes repaired if they are 40mm or above. It’s ridiculous because if you have, for example, a cluster of potholes and all but one or two meet the criteria then the rest are simply left.”

This was the case in Grange Road, Hastings where a resident said that of the estimated 30 potholes in that road, only two were repaired.

An East Sussex Highways spokesperson said: “Since the start of the new East Sussex Highways contract in May 2023, our teams have repaired 2,488 potholes the Hastings area alone. We prioritise repairs to ensure that the potholes presenting the greatest risk are repaired as quickly as possible.

“To repair every pothole on the network regardless of whether it meets our intervention levels would cost about four times the amount currently spent, and would place an even greater burden on council tax payers.

“The majority of our investment in the county’s road network focusses on preventative maintenance such as patching and resurfacing to stop potholes appearing in the first place and we do this by looking at road condition and priorities against the available budget.

“Our highways stewards carry out regular checks on road across the county, but with more than 2,000 miles of carriageway to monitor, we would urge the public to report any defects directly to us at www.eastsussexhighways.com.”

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