Bexhill councillor blasts repair works as ‘pavement vandalism’

A Bexhill councillor has accused East Sussex County Council of ‘pavements vandalism’ following repair works in the town centre.
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Cllr Christine Bayliss, who represents Bexhill Central ward on Rother District Council, took to Twitter on Saturday (January 22) to make her feelings known.

She tweeted: “Couldn’t believe my eyes and in a conservation area too! While rules are strictly applied to businesses and flat owners - @EastSussexCC thinks it can get away with this pavement vandalism.”

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Cllr Bayliss added later: “I had such high hopes for the upgrade to the junction but putting down black tarmac is just so inappropriate, especially given that this is a conservation area. It just looks like an ugly patchwork repair and I’ve had a number of complaints which I’ve passed onto the conservation officer at Rother.

“The tarmac they should be using in Sackville Road is red hot rolled tarmac with red chips.

“Rother officers have written to the contract manager at East Sussex County Council (ESCC) to ask that Highways rectify this and replace with appropriate topping. We are waiting for ESCC to respond.”

Cllr Christine Bayliss SUS-220126-150612001Cllr Christine Bayliss SUS-220126-150612001
Cllr Christine Bayliss SUS-220126-150612001
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An East Sussex County Council spokesperson said: “We would like to reassure residents that the new surface is temporary and our plan is to replace this with a similar red flecked asphalt that was in place before the improvement work started.

“It is more efficient to purchase and install larger quantities of the red asphalt across the whole site in one go, but we wanted to ensure the site had a safe walking surface while we complete the rest of the signal and footway works.

“We are sorry that this information was not clearly communicated to residents and businesses in this instance. We hope to complete the works as soon as possible.”