Welcome to Hastings - home of the pot hole

The sign has appeared on Rye Road, at the Ore entrance to Hastings and people on social media were quick to agree with the statement.

Last December the Observer reported how over 40 cars had suffered damage after hitting a deep crater-like hole, on the Ridge, not far from where the sign has gone up. The hole was flagged up by local woman Claire Ranson, who said: “If a motorbike or cyclist went into it there would have been a very nasty accident.”

in April, the Observer also flagged up the junction of Rock Lane and Winchelsea Road, in Hastings, also very close to the sign, which had a pot-holed road surface that people were comparing to the Moon.

A social media user commented: “It’s like this all over Hastings. The roads need fixing. I feel ashamed to live here. The town is going downhill fast”. Another said: ““St Matthew’s Road, in St Leonards, is just as bad – the whole of Hastings and St Leonards is disgraceful.”

On April 1 the Government launched a new plan to tackle potholes, with regulations coming into force for a performance-based inspection regime to ensure utility companies resurface roads to the best possible standard after street works, potentially preventing thousands of potholes from developing in the future. The Government says it plans to invest over £5.5 billion by 2025 in highways maintenance, which could help motorists save money on expensive repairs by protecting their vehicles from damage to tyres or suspension.

But so far local people have seen little improvement. For the Jack in the Green celebrations in May, organisers has to circle and mark out the many pot-holes on the route through the Old Town, to help prevent people walking in the procession from injuring themselves.

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