Pilot Field Area Residents' Association - PFARA

29/04/2026

From Cllr Mike Turner re Hoads Wood Road
Please see the email below from ESCC Highways responding to my complaint to them regarding the diversion during the road works in Hoads Wood Road
Traffic will now be diverted along The Ridge to the adopted section of St Helens Down then into Pilot Road.
I have suggested that Ochiltree Road off Elphinstone Road would be a better option but waiting to see if ESCC agree.
The important thing is that I have got ESCC to reverse their decision to divert traffic into the unadopted section of St Helens Down which would have been totally unsuitable.
Cllr Mike Turner
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Message from ESCC Highways, 28 April
Good afternoon,
Thank you for contacting East Sussex Highways.
St Helens Down is an unadopted road. For this reason, it cannot be included on the approved diversion route.
We are only permitted to use highways‑adopted roads for diversion routes, which is why The Ridge to Pilot Road has been selected as the alternative route.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused and hope this explanation helps to clarify the reasons for our approach.
If you have any other concerns, we are here to help. Please contact us by phone at 0345 60 80 193 or via our website at https://live.eastsussexhighways.com/report-problem.

Kind regards,
Leigh

22/04/2026

Hoads Wood Road/ St Helen's Down update re road closure
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From: DET Support
Sent: 22 April 2026 16:37
To: Cllr Mike Turner
Subject: Member Enquiry (ref: 26637061)

Dear Councillor Turner
Our ref: 26637061

I confirm receipt of your recent enquiry to Karl Taylor, Rupert Clubb and Becky Shaw. We are currently looking into the matters raised and hope to be in a position to provide you with a full response within 10 working days.

Yours sincerely
Directors Executive Support Team
Communities, Economy & Transport

17/04/2026

As you probably know the lower part of Hoads Wood Road will be closed during part of May for resurfacing.
However ESCC Highways have indicated that the unadopted lower part of St Helen's Down would be a suitable diversion route during the road closure.
Local residents of that part of St Helen's Down have asked Mike Turner to complain strongly about this on their behalf and accordingly Councillor Mike Turner has written to ESCC Highways. Please see below Mike's email to Highways. He will keep you updated with their response.
===========================
To Karl Taylor, ESCC Highways
Good evening ,Karl .

I was pleased to have received notification that roadworks in Hoads Wood Road will be taking place on 15 May to 05th June .

Whilst this repair work is long overdue and is welcomed by the residents, the proposed diversion using the unadopted section of St Helens Down is extremely inappropriate to the point of being a public safety hazard .

St Helens Down is a narrow road with no pavement; grass verge gully drains and does not have the capacity to cope with the volume of traffic that would be generated into it as a diversion route.

It would be much safer for traffic to be diverted the very short distance down Elphinstone Avenue then into Linley Drive which is adjacent to the lower section of Hoads Wood and be a perfect diversion for all surrounding roads in that location.

Residents that live in the unadopted section of St Helens Down who have to pay for its maintenance themselves are naturally very worried about the potential damage to the road and risk to public safety.

I would appreciate your intervention. Please keep me updated progress on this urgent matter .

Kind regards,

Mike
Councillor Mike Turner
Hastings Borough Council
Mobile 07580 124828
Tel 01424 451066
[email protected]

19/03/2026

26/02/2026

Re Underground cable work in Baird ward
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Dear Councillors,

I hope this email finds you well.

UK Power Networks (UKPN) manage and maintain the electricity network in your area. As part of our ongoing investment in the network, we are planning to undertake a project replacing the current overhead lines linking our substations on The Ridge and Firtree Road in the St Helens area of Hastings with underground cables. As this is likely to affect residents in your ward, I’d like to provide you an overview of the works and how they may impact the area.

Background

The work will take place in two stages: Firstly, the installation of new underground electricity cables along a 1.7km route between the two substations. Secondly, the removal of the existing overhead power lines and seven towers between the two substations.

Underground cable route: Firstly, our team will excavate trenches to lay pipework (ducts) along the 1.7km route between two substations. We will return to open excavations at intervals along the route to pull new cables into position and connect them to our electricity network. Work is due to start in April 2026 and we aim to complete this phase of the project by the end of the year.
Removal of overhead power lines and towers: Once the new underground cables have been energised, our team will remove the overhead power lines and towers. They will lower the power lines between each tower, over approximately two days, then remove each tower and base in turn, which will take about two days per tower. This phase will be completed as soon as is feasible after the energisation of the cable route.
More information on the project, including an overview of the full route and locations of the current towers, can be found at the project website: Hastings.

This project falls within the Baird Ward on Hastings Borough Council and within the Baird and Ore Division on East Sussex County Council. I have sent this email to representatives for those wards as well as councillors from Tressell, Ore, Braybrooke, and Castle wards given the proximity to their wards.

Councillor briefing

Myself, the Project Manager, and the Site Manager would be very pleased to meet with you provide an overview of the project and answer any questions. If this would be of interest, please do let me know and I will find a convenient time to meet. If you have any Resident or Business Associations within your ward that you feel would also benefit from a briefing, please do let me know and I will invite them.

Notifying residents
In the next few weeks, we will begin the process of informing residents of this project. This will include:
· An initial letter delivered to properties along the full underground cable route and overhead line route informing them of the project (content similar to this email).

· An invitation to a number of drop in sessions for residents to attend, speak to the project team and ask any questions they may have.

· Advanced warning boards along the underground cable route.
· Adverts on social media informing users of the project and directing them to the webpage.

Keeping you updated
In advance of underground cable work starting in each area, we write to all affected residents and businesses to inform them and work to minimise any disruption. We will hold some drop in sessions for residents to answer any questions they have on the cable route phase of the work. I will ensure I continue to share all letters with you for awareness.

Later in the programme, once the cables have been energised and we move towards the removal of the towers and overhead lines, we will once again run drop in sessions and inform residents of where we will be working and the traffic restrictions in place.

Please do let me know if an in-person or Teams briefing would be helpful, and if you have any questions about these works or wish for further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

With best wishes

Emily
Emily Fisher
Stakeholder Engagement Lead SPN
UK Power Networks

23/02/2026

23 Feb 2026 response from ESCC to follow up from Cllr Mike Turner
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Good morning Councillor Turner,
I refer to your email below to the Chief Executive about Pilot Road and Hoads Wood Road, and your follow-up email this morning with photographs. Becky has asked me to reply on her behalf.

We are aware of the condition of both roads in your Ward and the local Highway Steward is keeping an eye on them and has arranged for any potholes that meet our intervention criteria to be repaired. I can see there is a repair gang working in the area today.

You are of course correct, the County Council does have a legal obligation to maintain public safety, and those obligations so far as maintaining the highway are set out in the Highways Act. In discharging those obligations we are not required to maintain roads in perfect condition or to repair every pothole or defect. Instead, the Highways Act requires us, and all Highway Authorities, to set out prescribed intervention criteria and repair timescales. These are published on our website and our Highway Stewards use these criteria to determine when a pothole or defect on our roads should be repaired.

In the example you have shown in the photographs the Steward has judged that the “holes” do not meet our intervention criteria for repair within 28 days. Where they do, the Steward will instruct their repair. However, I can see that the area you have photographed has been marked up for a sizeable patch – denoted by the white spray markings on the road. I can see that both Pilot Road and Hoads Wood Road have been included in our patching programme for the coming financial year, and I can see that our contractor is scheduling this work for May. As soon as a date has been confirmed it will be advertised locally. In the meantime the Steward is keeping an eye of these roads.

If you have concerns about particular potholes in your Ward please report these to us so the Steward can take a look. You can do this easily online via the East Sussex Highways website: Report a Problem – live.eastsussexhighways.com or via our contact centre on 0345 60 80 193

Kind regards,
Karl Taylor
Assistant Director Operations
Communities, Economy & Transport
East Sussex County Council

23/02/2026

Baird ward councillor Mike Turner has been in contact with ESCC many times about the atrocious state of the roads in Baird ward. However the roads have deteriorated even further (Pilot Road and Hoads Wood Road in particular) since the ESCC response.
The reply he received from ESCC last month was:
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19 January 2026
Good morning Councillor Turner,
You will be pleased to hear the section of Hoads Wood Road you refer to is included in our provisional 2026/27 maintenance programme for repairs.
With regard to Pilot Road, our records show that several defects on Pilot Road have been repaired over the past month as Category 2 and Category 3 defects, including the area near the Spar referenced in the email below. These works were completed on 12 January (see image). It is not yet clear whether the issue described as “being washed away” in the email dated 13 January relates to these recent repairs. I have asked one of our supervisors to check the location and, if necessary, arrange for any failed repairs to be reinstated.
Karl Taylor
Assistant Director Operations
Communities, Economy & Transport
East Sussex County Council
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See also re Thanet Way https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/people/hastings-bus-service-diverted-due-to-poor-state-of-road-says-councillor-5602717

13/10/2025

Pet owners and neighbours, please note the timings of the fireworks display at HUFC for this year: 14th November at 8pm. Estimated duration is 10 mins. New pyrotecnics display with reduced noise fireworks to accompany the music.

21/09/2025

If you are experiencing any safety issues in your neighbourhood, please remember to always report it. Here are some useful contact details.

20/09/2025

Thanks to everyone who joined us for today's AGM. Here is a photo of the handout about upcoming events at St Barnabas church.