Betters ways to spend money

From: P. Oldfield, Bexhill Road
Hastings Observer lettersHastings Observer letters
Hastings Observer letters

It appears that East Sussex County Council apparently in their wisdom, have decided to proceed with the construction of the threatened bus lanes on Bexhill Road.

I, as a resident of Bexhill Road, was under the impression that, if the new link road was successful in diverting a good proportion of the original traffic up towards The Ridge, then the bus 
lanes would become a non-starter.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

So hence my puzzlement, as to why ESCC are persisting in this strategy, at a cost of approximately £450,000, when it is blatantly obvious to local people that in fact the traffic has been dramatically reduced for most of the day, with a natural build up at peak periods. But even these peak periods are nowhere near the levels pre-link road days.

On top of the fact that, these bus lanes are not needed, the council would be ignoring the obvious fact that chaos would ensue, with resulting loss of parking spaces for residents of Bexhill Road, which are not in abundance at the best of times. In the latest issue of the ‘Your County Magazine’ issued by ESCC, they published their budget something in the order of £895m, claiming that they needed to cut back as ‘times are hard’, yet they seem insistent on carrying out works that are just not required.

This money could be better spent, repairing the damaged roads of Hastings and St Leonards, which are in serious need of attention.

On this point, I would further suggest that these on-going repairs be carried out by Direct Labour Force, of locally-skilled people, employed directly by ESCC or by HBC, with funding supplied by ESCC and stationed in this locality. Funded adequately and properly managed this local service would be far better value for money than engaging sub-contractors who need to make a profit to survive. So, let us be honest about this, our local roads are in terrible condition, could we really do any worse in looking after our own roads than ESCC are doing at the moment.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.
Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on.
1) Make our website your homepage at www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/ 
2) Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/hastingsobserver
3) Follow us on Twitter @HastingsObs
4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.
And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out!
The Hastings Observer - always the first with your local news.
Be part of it.