'˜Do you think Hastings' footways are paved with gold?'

Godfrey Daniel, Labour county councillor for Braybrooke and Castle, asked why in a list of 45 pavement improvement schemes planned for 2017/18, none were due to take place in the town.

Speaking at last Tuesday’s council meeting he said: “Something is very very wrong that in a town the size of Hastings to imagine that there are no footway improvements.

“Or does the ruling administration think the pavements in Hastings are paved with gold?”

Nick Bennett, lead member for transport and environment, replied: “I’m aware that the footways have been, well, we’ve put more money into maintaining and repairing footways.

“I was not particularly aware of where those allocations are, but of course they are all done according to priority.

“If there is a particular issue in a particular area I would suggest you do what we all do and contact the highway steward and let them know.”

Cllr Daniel responded: “Is the lead member saying that Hastings is not a priority for the footways?”

He added: “Can I ask him to look again at the footways programme to make sure Hastings is not neglected for the sake of the rest of the county and we get a fair share of footway improvements in Hastings.”

Cllr Bennett replied: “The answer is we will prioritise across the whole of the county depending on the greatest need. We’ve got 1,500 miles of pavements and we will maintain and repair them according to the priorities in each area.

“If there is a particular issue in a particular place then please by all means let us know but it may well be that the standard of pavements in Hastings os better than anywhere else already.”