The new footbridge between Cooper Road and the Valley Park housing development looks harmless in the daylight. But at night the pedestrian route through the Old Brickyard from Mason Road to the bottom of Valley Park is not well lit, and the final section past the footbridge to Cooper Road is the least well lit part of the route.
Some light comes through the trees alongside the drainage ditch from lamp-posts in Cooper Road, but it does not reach the pillared gateway at the bottom of the valley – which stops motorcycles getting into the estate. And the rest of the pathway uphill is in pitch darkness (from around 4:30pm at this time of year) until a pedestrian reaches either Vidler Square or Benson Way, where there are lamp-posts along the roads.
So a torch or cycle lamp carried by a walker may suddenly illuminate dark, hooded (apparently young) figures by the gateway into the valley, or by the footbridge, who may be there for a secret cigarette – or something worse. Local concern led to a movement-sensitive light being fixed, unofficially, to a tree halfway alongside the bridge.
However, it vanished very quickly, was presumed stolen and consideration (unofficially, of course) is being given to fixing another light much higher up the tree. The light’s rapid disappearance may confirm local concern about what was or was not happening in this dark and fairly secluded spot, but there is clearly a need for lighting for the steadily increasing pedestrian traffic from Valley Park – particularly as the Old Brickyard is not drained and heavy rain can create very large puddles nearly the full width of the road.
Another concern as well is that motorists speeding down the Udimore Road hill and turning left into Mason Road cannot see the Brickyard entrance, and the pedestrians cannot see the cars, so there may eventually (sooner rather than later) be an accident there.
In the meantime, the grassy areas in the valley, and the footpaths used by dog walkers (many of whom do not live on the estate) have their upkeep paid for by the estate residents who own the land communally – and the issue of pathway lighting may need to be taken up with the developer (who installed the bridge) and/or Rother District Council who gave the planning permission.
Photo: Rye News library
i live on the valley park estate and must admit i find it very scary walking home from work in the winter, especially in the darker months and have to resort to taking my car when i would much rather walk. i didn’t even notice any movement sensor light so it wasn’t there very long. sometimes i take the longer route round coopers rd rather than the brickyard, but theres still the pitch black area by the footbridge and up the hill to contend with. i agree there is definitely a need for some form of light.