There's nothing interesting here

Millions have been spent on road improvements in the High Street and other major roads into the town, all with the idea of encouraging visitors.

When I came to Hailsham in 2004 it was a common sight to see coaches turning up in the High Street bringing visitors who were staying in Eastbourne for an afternoon in Hailsham.

This has long ceased owing to the fact the town has nothing to offer. What is there?

Coffee shops, charity shops (six), hairdressers, estate agents, and three supermarkets but very little else to shop. Many people in Hailsham have to go to Eastbourne, Bexhill or Tunbridge Wells.

On top of this we now learn that the NatWest bank is closing in May 2018, Piper’s a very popular newsagent and ‘nick-nack’ shop is closing in January 2018 and the Post Office (the only one) situated within Piper’s is to close in July.

This means that many people who do not have a bank in Hailsham will have to go outside the town to draw out money, and all the other things one can at the moment trade in a Post Office, car tax, passports, family and OAP allowances, plus of course all the normal functions of a Post Office, mail and parcels.

My question is, why spend so much on these road improvements – which already are showing signs of damage owing to the lack of police supervision with illegal parking on the pavements – on a market town that is dying owing to a lack of facilities for the people who live there or in the area?

In 2004 we had a wonderful menswear shop, (now a hairdressers) but they pulled out owing to high cost rates, yet they went to Seaford and are still going strong.

The justification we are told by the council for the road works was to encourage people to come back to Hailsham to shop.

Where is this encouragement with so much closing down and replaced by replication and nothing of interest?

I ask how many cups of coffee, how many times can you have your hair done, and so on, which is all there is in Hailsham – a town to avoid if possible.