Out with my camera early last Friday morning, I took a photo of the ankle deep pothole at the bottom of East Street. It had been ringed round with yellow paint, but that had mostly long been scuffed off. Carefully measuring its depth, I recorded a full 11 centimetres at the worst point.
This burst of civic energy followed weeks of seeing vehicles and pedestrians navigate around this worsening safety hazard. Back home, I shot off an email to the Town Clerk and was speedily informed that the matter had been reported to the ESCC Highways Department some time previously by Nicky Ledger, our Town Steward.
Still unconvinced that anything would happen any time soon, I met a friend who recommended the campaign helpline Fix My Street and duly entered the relevant postcode.
Imagine my surprise and delight on the very day following – it was last Saturday morning – when I saw that the pothole had been filled to the brim with black tarmac, no longer a trap for the unwary, no longer an ankle twisting, axle-busting threat. Pure coincidence of course!
Photo: Kenneth Bird
You can report the pothole to ESCC on this link https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/roadsandtransport/roads/maintenance/potholes/
However, despite reporting numerous potholes on the Rye Harbour road, they filled a singular pothole and left the rest and closed the report.
Not a very effective use of a maintenance team.