Latest News

For info on Site 1 plans click here.. 

For info on Site 7a plans click here.. 

For info on Martello Tower plans click here.. 

18 April - Pacific Drive Traffic Lights - An Informative Update from Ward Councillor Kshama Shore - After many frantic phone calls in the last couple of days and emails I am providing an update on the 4-meter-deep hole on Pacific Drive requiring traffic management.

I have been informed that the proposal for Castle View Park to construct a rising main from their site to the public foul water manhole by the Harbour Medical Centre was approved in June 2023.

The majority of the work to lay the rising main is complete, however, problems have arisen during the excavation which has meant that the work has stopped and the approved method of connection is now not a viable option. The site of the connection has other services too close to the connection point and they have come across previously unknown levels of ground water located around the manhole (that must have been a surprise!!!).

All alternative solutions explored last week could not be implemented before Easter. Southern Water and Hutchinson are hopeful of progressing the matter from Tuesday (22/4) onwards.  There are too many unknowns to ascertain if the work will be completed by the time the license expires. 

17 April - Site 7 - McCarthy Stone dates and community engagement - Update from Tom Lewis, the Development Manager.

Key dates:
1. Preliminary foundation work commences Thursday 17th April.

2. The piling rig is booked to commence next Tuesday (22 April) and last approximately five weeks. As they are using different kinds of piles (SFA), they expect the noise levels to be noticeably less than those for the piling work for the adjacent sites.

3. The drainage connections and associated two-way temporary traffic lights are scheduled to start on 6th May for 10 days near the existing site entrance. They say that they have amended their drainage connection works, taking LNT’s experience into consideration.

4. The crane erection is pencilled in for w/c 23rd of June.

5. A community engagement meeting with local residents, SHRA, and Councillors is likely towards the end of April. The venue, time, and date are to be confirmed soon.

14 April - The 2025 SHRA Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held at the Sovereign Harbour Community Centre, Easter Island Place, BN23 6JH on Wednesday 21 May 2025, commencing at 6pm for tea/coffee followed at 7pm by the meeting.  The AGM is for SHRA members only.

As well as finding out about the Committee’s activities since the last AGM, adopting the Financial Accounts and minutes from 2024 and electing SHRA Committee members, there will also be an opportunity to put questions to Josh Babarinde OBE, our MP (subject to parliamentary duties allowing him to attend).

The AGM Agenda and SHRA's Annual Report and Accounts for 2025 will be circulated nearer the time.  If you have questions for the Committee and/or Josh Babarinde OBE please e-mail them in advance to info@shra.co.uk

If you would like to become a Committee member please make your nomination by e mail to info@shra.co.uk. Nominations will be accepted up to one week prior to the date of the AGM.

03 April - New Edition Waterlines - The April edition of SHRA's newsletter, Waterlines, has been published . Find it on our "Waterlines" page...

29 March - MP's update on the Pacific Drive Traffic Problems -  On Friday, our MP, Josh Babarinde OBE, added the following update about the disruptions caused by the temporary traffic lights to his Facebook page...

"𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲. Since yesterday [Thursday 27 March], I’ve been in comms with East Sussex County Council and Hutchinson Environmental Solutions to get to the bottom of the dreadful disruption caused by the roadworks at Pacific Drive - and to push for action on it.  I’ve been liaising with Karl Taylor (Assistant Director Operations at ESCC) and Peter Stedman (Operations Director with Hutchinson). Here’s what I’ve got from them:

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝘆? I’m told that the works are to connect the Castle View Court park homes site on Eastbourne Road to the main sewer. I’m also told that, currently, effluent from the park homes is collected in a big tank and then emptied because it’s not fully connected up sewage-wise.  This requires some drilling to be done but there’s a high-pressure gas main involved that needs to be protected, so this makes the process more invasive.  As a result, temporary lights were set up as part of a ‘traffic management plan’ agreed between ESCC, Hutchinson and their traffic management sub-contractor. As far as I’m concerned, this traffic management plan has failed - the traffic tailbacks and the impact they’re having on people are unacceptable.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲? The Operations Director at Hutchinson has confirmed to me that the temporary lights will be removed tonight [Friday] and removed for this weekend.  I’m also told that the roadworks are set to continue next week as early as Monday - and they expect them to go on until 14th April (although ESCC has granted them a permit until 27th April).

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁? These delays cannot continue. Yesterday, I pushed East Sussex Highways to intervene as the Highways Authority covering our town. They said they’d send over a Network Inspector to monitor the works but I’m not satisfied with this - they need to properly put their foot down to solve this issue.  I’ve therefore written to ESCC’s CEO today to urge them to review the ’traffic management plan’ without delay because it is not working and it’s letting our community down. ESCC and Hutchinson must urgently implement mitigations to reduce the disruption taking place while their works are underway.  I’ll keep you updated on the response." 
Josh Babarinde 
www.josh.org.uk

26 March - The Harbour WI - The Harbour WI has published its latest newsletter, which contains a report of its March meeting. Find it on The Harbour WI webpages here... www.shra.co.uk/wi/newsletter

23 March - Site 7a Power Connection - We have been informed that the Aldi supermarket will require an increased power supply. UK Power Networks have confirmed that this need will be met by running an underground cable from the Harbour View substation on Barrier Reef Way. The installation is scheduled for May or June, pending approval by EBC. Click here for a map of the cable route...

11 March - New Bus Times and Routes  - Stagecoach has announced a new timetable for the buses serving Sovereign Harbour from 30 March. There will also be new route arrangements for the services:
Route 5 will run between North Harbour and the town centre Monday to Saturday.
Route 5A will run between South Harbour and the town centre Monday to Saturday but will no longer serve Beatty Road. Instead, buses will run via Prince William Parade (serving new bus stops near Blakes Way) and Lottbridge Drove between the South Harbour and Seaside Tesco.
A new route 5B will serve both North and South Harbour stops in the early mornings and the evenings on Monday to Saturday. On Sundays, the 5B will run hourly calling at North and South Harbour stops, offering improved service for the harbours.
Click here for the new timetable... 

25 February - Future Updates on Beach Management - As you probably know, PCDL's contract ends on 31 May this year, with beach management returning to the Environment Agency (EA). The EA are keen that experience gained over the last 25 years is carried forward into the next project, the Short-term (Interim) Project starting in June 2025.

The new Beach Manager will be Paul Levitt, who will continue to provide regular updates to residents in the same way PCDL has done. However, due to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) we are unable to transfer your contact details to the EA. So, if you wish to continue receiving updates, you must advise the Agency yourself.

To understand how the communications from Paul could work best, the EA have created a short survey where you can submit your communication preferences and register your contact details to receive future updates about Pevensey Beach Management activities. The survey is available on their website www.pevenseyandeastbournecoast.co.uk (scroll down) or click here to access the survey directly.
Amber Carr
Project Manager
Pevensey Coastal Defence Ltd

Over time, some news items may migrate to the News Archive page or another relevant page of the SHRA website.