Here’s a roundup of some of the other stories making the news in Rye this week.
More landslips
As the cause of last week’s landslide on Military Road was revealed, more slips have happened around Rye including at least one near to the incident on February 20. The latest landslip occurred behind 14 Military Road as debris including trees and rocks came down the hillside into the garden, before stopping behind the thatched house. Muddy water was seen cascading down the steps to the street during the day.
A spokesperson for East Sussex Highways told Rye News: “An inspection by our engineers has concluded that the likely cause of the landslip was softer material, which sits on top of the solid cliff face, becoming saturated in the recent rains causing it to become unstable and slump away from the cliff. We are liaising with the landowner to ensure the land is surveyed and ultimately stabilised, and that the landslip will be completely cleared. In the meantime we will be installing two-way traffic lights to enable the road to be reopened and to ensure the safety of road users. We would like to thank residents for their patience during the road closure.”
Whilst Military Road was closed a number of cars and vans ignored the closure notice, moving barriers and using the pavement to drive through.
A further landslip was reported in Winchelsea on Monday February 26, when a fallen tree closed the main road through the village. The A259 was shut on Tanyard Lane near to the junction with Station Road, the same location as another fallen tree which led to long delays in November last year.
The heavy rain also led to a number of flood alerts around Rye. Southern Water told Winchelsea Beach residents they were sending tankers to the village to help prevent flooding and backed up sewers. In Camber there was flooding on Old Lydd Road, and Surfers Against Sewage reported a sewage outfall on the Sands. Further afield, the A28 through Brede was closed because of flooding.
Rare visitor to Rye Harbour
This picture of an incredibly rare bird at the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve was taken by Darin Smith last week. It’s a white-tailed eagle, the largest bird of prey in the UK. It was once thought extinct in the UK, and in 2020 there will still only 150 pairs.
Parking in Rye
Several parking meters have been boarded up on Cinque Ports Street, forcing motorists to use an app to pay for parking. East Sussex County Council, who look after on street parking in Rye, explained: “Due to a decline in the use of on-street pay and display machines in recent years, we are removing some of our payment machines in our civil parking enforcement areas, including in Rye. We appreciate that removing machines will have an impact on some motorists, but we need to balance this against the cost of maintaining the current number of machines. The option to pay using cash at a machine is still available and where we are planning on removing a machine, there will be another a short distance away that can be used. Notices on the machines also have information about how to pay by phone, app or online, and a smart phone is not required to make payment.”
It’s the latest change to how parking is paid for in Rye as the car parks run by Rother District Council go cashless from next month. A vote last October approved the removal of meters in Gibbet Marsh, Lucknow Place, Bedford Place, Rye Sports Centre, the Strand and Cinque Ports Street. The council made the decision to save money on coin collection, as well as cutting the carbon footprint.
Winchelsea Beach parking
Online consultation into parking at Winchelsea Beach has just finished. East Sussex County Council (ESCC) wants to restrict most on street parking along Dog Kennel Road next to the Harbour Field Recreation Ground. ESCC say if any objections are received a full report will be made to the council’s planning committee, if not a formal 21 day consultation will begin.
Third time lucky
The road through Udimore will be closed for up to three days next week for repairs which have already been postponed twice. The road will be shut each day from 8.30am until 4pm from Monday, March 4 between the Kings Head and the junction with Hundred House Lane.
You can check the latest on the roadworks by visiting the One Network website.
Your thoughts on taxis
There’s just a week left to have your say on taxis in Rye. Rother District Council has opened an online consultation about both private hire taxis, and cabs that wait at taxi ranks like the one at Rye Station. Rules for driver training on customer care, disability awareness and children’s safeguarding are changing from April this year, and the council is also seeking views on how taxis should be identified. Another part of the consultation looks at extending the age limit for electric and hybrid taxis to fifteen years, currently all types of hire vehicles must have a maximum age of ten years.
Click here for more details.
Town meeting
Don’t forget the annual town meeting in Rye takes place next week. It’s at the community centre on Conduit Hill on Wednesday, March 6 with registration from 6:30pm. As well as hearing from Rye Town Council, there will also be updates on Rye Leisure Centre, the neighbourhood plan, and Rye Heritage Centre. This will be followed by an open session and a chance to ask questions.
More information here.
Get in touch
If you see anything happening in and around Rye our email is info@ryenews.org.uk.
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Image Credits: Kt bruce , KT Bruce , Darin Smith , James Stewartr , ESCC , James Stewart , Natasha Robinson .
Just a word of warning , re. parking in Cinque Port street . I was unfortunately issued with a parking fine for mistaking the parking meter for the Cinque port street car park, for the meter in Cinque port street.
On the Ringo app it happened to be closer than the one I should have used.
It turn out that Rother own the car park and East Sussex council own the street.
Check the numbers.
Did exactly the same last year. Glad I’m not the only one! I appealed and they let me off bcs I had actually paid – just at the wrong machine…
Cashless Parking:
When the off-street car parks (Rother) go cashless it will still be possible to pay with cash at either of the PayPoint shops in Rye. Look out for the distinctive sign.
Paypoints at Costcutter (Fish Market Road), Jempsons and the Tilling Green shop.
Re: parking on Dogs Hill Road at Winchelsea Beach. The proposed restrictions are not going to solve the problem of free movement of traffic on busy days, as no one ever parks on the west side. The proposed restriction of parking on a short stretch of the east side along the Harbour Field will not be enough to enable free movement.
A flawed policy. Pay with cash at Paypoint and find no space at the car park you want to use. Park first and then face a walk to a Paypoint. How does that assist those with mobility issues? Wheel chairs, push chairs or young children in tow. In Rye there are few drop down kerbs to help. What about those who do not use mobile phones or know how to use a Ringo App ?
In Camber the walk from Western Car Park to a Paypoint is probably 6/700 yds.
As I say a flawed change away from.cash machines and not thought through.
Councillor Andrew Mier, I assume you and your colleagues who have decided on forcing people to use the App or walk further to pay by cash or card, are fully fit and able to walk the extra distances involved just to pay for parking. Given that many people in these areas are older, use their cars because of rubbish public transport links, and may even find it more comfortable with physical disabilities to be able to park relatively close to where they need to go, these changes are in fact quite a torture. Not everyone will be familiar with the locations of the pay by cash machines either. Sometimes using the pay by phone takes 20 to 25 minutes. The volume of the messages is difficult to hear alongside of a busy road, the user may also have a hearing impairment or in my case the company doesn’t want to let me pay, because it still has recorded the details of my old car! Well done for alienating a large proportion of your residents and visitors. Why don’t you just put up signs saying “Welcome….but only if you are young, fit and have a fancy phone etc.” That’s fine, I shall take my custom elsewhere, where I am not required to submit to a form of surveillance just to park my car for a few hours.