An elected MP has condemned a local council for failing to invest sufficiently in fixing road damage, asserting the deficit reaches £3 million.
Helena Dollimore, who serves as the parliamentary representative for Hastings, accuses East Sussex County Council of failing to utilise the full central government grant designated for addressing road deterioration.
In her speech to the House of Commons on April 18, Ms Dollimore remarked that Hastings, Rye and nearby settlements are enduring a pothole epidemic, which prompted this administration to award East Sussex council £21 million to tackle the problem—the largest sum ever provided.
She went on to say she was furious to learn that figures revealed the authority planned to spend merely £18 million on pothole repairs over the equivalent timeframe.
She described the situation as deeply concerning.
The motorists and local people she represents have had enough of this Conservative-led council neglecting its responsibilities and misusing public money, including the £5 million additional expenditure on the troubled Queensway Gateway scheme.
Details surfaced in March via a council monitoring report covering the third quarter of 2025-26, indicating East Sussex County Council exceeded its budget on the long-delayed Queensway Gateway road initiative in Hastings.
The council attributed the £5.18 million overspend to design alterations, a decade of construction price escalation, and unexpected issues with utility diversions and poor ground conditions.
Ms Dollimore added that there can be no further excuses—East Sussex council must begin fixing the potholes.
An East Sussex County Council representative responded that central government grants fund a broader programme of planned highway maintenance work.
The council explained that the funding encompasses resurfacing schemes, bridge and structure preservation, and streetlight upgrades—not just pothole remediation.
The council representative said that over the five-year period ending 2024/25, East Sussex County Council allocated an additional £56.9 million for road maintenance alongside £77.1 million in government grants during the same span.
The severe financial constraints the authority faces mean this level of spending cannot continue, so the council welcomes the enhanced government allocation of £106 million spread across four years from 2026/27 to 2029/30.
It should be noted that government funding is allocated for planned highways maintenance encompassing resurfacing, patching and surface treatments, bridge and structure upkeep, and streetlight replacement.
The government recognises the importance of planned maintenance and reflects this in how it distributes funds.
Pothole remediation and other responsive maintenance, winter gritting, weed management, and comparable activities are financed through roughly £13 million from the council’s annual revenue budget funded by Council Tax.
The council estimates that bringing every road in the county up to satisfactory condition would demand approximately £350 million.
The council calculates that addressing every pothole, irrespective of priority, would cost between £10 million and £15 million—about four times what is currently spent.
Local inhabitants have voiced frustration about the state of the roads.
Lisa Stocker posted on Facebook that she was contemplating holding a second birthday celebration for the sizeable pothole outside her residence.
Ian Jopson stated that Sussex roads are in a poor state, with hazardous potholes appearing everywhere.