Bexhill: Work starts to repair 2 large sinkholes in road

The two holes, in Bolebrooke Road, are believed to have been there for a few months.

Safety barriers have been erected around them since their discovery.

East Sussex Highways also confirmed that another sinkhole in Cooden Drive, near the junction with South Cliff Avenue, has now been repaired.

Last month, residents called for the sinkholes in Bolebrooke to be repaired.

The first one appeared several months ago and the second one was discovered on the opposite side of the road.

Cllr Hazel Timpe, Rother district councillor for Sackville Ward, who covers Bolebrooke Road, said she had been contacted on a ‘regular basis’ about the issue by residents and added that the state of Bexhill’s roads was ‘becoming increasingly intolerable’.

An East Sussex Highways spokesperson said: “The Cooden Drive sinkhole has been repaired.

“The Bolebrooke Road sinkholes have been investigated, which has shown the voids are connected under the road surface. Repair work is under way but this is a complex repair to resolve. We are working to ensure the necessary repairs are completed as quickly as possible.”

Bexhill has seen a number of sinkholes or ‘voids’ appearing in its roads over the last two years.

The latest one was a ‘void’ that was discovered in the carriageway in February in Upper Sea Road in the Old Town.

Stagecoach said it had to divert its bus routes to avoid the hole, which East Sussex Highways confirmed has since been repaired.

Last November, residents in Cantelupe Road demanded a sinkhole in their road be repaired months after it was first discovered.

It was spotted in the summer, which led to part of the road being closed off to traffic.

But months later, the restrictions were still in place and the hole remained unrepaired.

And in June 2022, a large sinkhole also appeared elsewhere in Bexhill in Colebrooke Road.

The hole was believed to be up to four metres deep and a water pipe was reportedly leaking due to the collapse of the road.

The road was closed to traffic and cordoned off, with East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service attending the scene.

South East Water then started urgent repairs to the road in Collington.

Three months later, the road was still closed to traffic, with East Sussex Highways apologising for the continued closure, saying the repair process was ‘extremely complex’.