Hastings seafront pavement damaged following downpours of 'nearly 40mm' during night; area closed off

The damage has affected newly-laid paving on the beach side of the A259 opposite Albert Road.

The news comes after Hastings and St Leonards saw nearly 40mm of rainfall on Wednesday night (October 22).

Some roads were heavily flooded, such as Battle Road in St Leonards, as a result of the weather.

John Bownas, manager of Love Hastings Ltd, which represents town centre businesses, said: “Unfortunately the newly laid paving on the beach side of the A259 opposite Albert Road was damaged on Thursday morning (October 23) when heavy rain appears to have carried bits of trees downstream from Alexandra Park and caused a blockage where the culvert pipe discharges onto the beach.

“This blockage subsequently seems to have made the stream back-up into the chamber that houses the tidal non-return valve, and the sheer volume of water has forced up the pavement, leaving many thousands of pounds worth of damage.

“I’ve already spoken to officers from Southern Water, ESCC Highways, and Hastings Borough Council, and we are going to look at how it might be possible to prevent blockages like this in the future.

“What is encouraging however, is the fact that despite the enormous amount of rain last night - nearly 40mm - we didn't see any evidence in the town centre of the devastation caused by the 2023 floods."

A Southern Water spokesperson said: “Our teams have fenced off the area around a damaged manhole on the A259 opposite Albert Road. There is an underground pipe that is blocked. Our engineers will repair the manhole and unblock the pipe once the storms have passed and the tides go down.”