FESTIVE FIASCO

Thousands of people still joined in the fun with Devonshire Road the focal point.

But behind the scenes tempers were at boiling point when it was learned that a breakdown in communication meant Rother council was not told until a week before the switch-on that new wall plates would need to be fixed to all light fittings before a county safety certificate could be issued.

The result was that lights went up only at the 11th hour and Sea Road, Sackville Road and Wickham Avenue missed out altogether.

Intended improvements to Devonshire Road lights missed Friday's switch-on deadline and should go up this weekend.

Brian Storkey of Bexhill Promotions Group said this week: "I sincerely hope that questions will be asked and lessons will be learned this year so such a fiasco does not ever happen again."

Sackville Road Traders' Association chairman Tony Bird, of Bird's Music, is demanding an inquiry and says heads should roll.

He said: "As an association we are disgusted that we were the major road left without lights on switch-on night last Friday. It is now Tuesday and no further work has been done on putting up our lights.

"I have had many traders in the road complaining to me bitterly about this. We agreed to pay 100 each and they (Rother council) would be responsible for the erection and maintenance of the lights for, I think, three years.

"While it is not their fault necessarily it is their problem and they should sort it out."

Chris Jackson of Bexhill Photographic was one of the few traders in the road to have made the effort to stay open for late-night shopping.

He said: "The ones who did make an effort to stay open were really disappointed. You almost felt you were not part of Bexhill."

Stephanie Thompson, of Lomax Jewellers rang the Observer after phoning the Town Hall last Friday and being told that the contractors were having difficulty in Western Road and were having to replace fixings.

"They said they were having problems because of the heavy traffic in Sackville Road. I pointed out that there is always heavy traffic in Sackville Road and they should have expected that.

"Sackville Road has lost out. To put the lights up after the switch-on is not much good."

Phil Morris, who headed last year's successful lights fund-raising campaign on behalf of the Town Centre and Tourism Action Group, was white with fury as darkness gathered last Friday afternoon.

He called personally at the Observer office to explain why that evening's crowds would be partially disappointed.

"On Monday, at about 11.30, I had a phone call to say that the highways department in Lewes would not give us permission to put up the lights unless EVERY fixing in Bexhill was renewed.

"And what's more the bolts would need to be changed for plates - so every wall had to be re-drilled.

"We have had immense difficulty trying to find the right plates and bolts so the contractor could fit them.

"Then they have to be left to set for six hours before the lights can be strung up."

He said the Action Group was bitterly disappointed that the whole lighting system was not in place in time. Devonshire Road, St Leonards Road and Western Road had been done together with Wickham Avenue.

"But Sea Road and Sackville Road have hardly been touched.