Demands to repair potholed roads in Hastings neighbourhood

St Helens ward councillor Andy Batsford said people have been calling for Park Crescent and Tenterden Rise to be resurfaced for more than four years, as the roads are in such a poor condition.

Cllr Batsford said: “I have meet with highways officers many times who have agreed the road is beyond just basic pothole repairs and needs a total resurface.

“But the road has been left to deteriorate further, damaging cars and leaving residents wondering why they pay their council and road tax.

“Ever since the responsibility for roads returned to East Sussex County Council there has been a slow and steady disconnect between the department and the needs of the residents of Hastings.”

Antonia Berelson, St Helens’ Labour candidate for this May’s elections, said: “The current way the potholes are poorly repaired is a complete waste of taxpayers’ money.

“The contractors just return to the same holes over and over again.

“We have decided that a petition signed by all residents who live in the road and affected by it will hurry up the resurfacing that is desperately needed.”

An East Sussex County Council spokesman said: “All East Sussex roads are regularly inspected by highways stewards as part of their routine duties and in response to reports from the public.

“With only limited resources and more than 2,000 miles of roads to maintain across the county, we have to prioritise work in the areas where it is most needed.

“In deciding which roads are put forward for resurfacing, we look at a wealth of information including data from annual surveys, inspections from highways stewards and members of the public.

“This data, along with information about the nature or importance of the road is used to determine which roads get priority for resurfacing.

“In addition to this planned maintenance work, we have fixed around 30,000 potholes in the past year but again, the fact we only have limited resources means we have to prioritise those potholes most in need of repair, according to national guidance. We don’t currently have any resurfacing work scheduled for these specific roads, however the best way for people to let us know about problems is to contact our highways teams directly via the East Sussex Highways website at www.eastsussexhighways.com or by calling the contact centre on 0345 6080193.”

Meet campaigner ‘Mr Pothole’.