For a week or two there have been rumours that Deadmans Lane – the narrow potholed lane that is, nevertheless, one of the main arteries into Rye – was to be closed for a period of, some said two weeks, others just one week.
Rye News has finally discovered, thanks to information provided by Cllr Keith Glazier, Rye's representative on ESCC and current leader of the council, that the culprit is BT which thought it could dig up the road without asking anyone if it was convenient.
Cllr Glazier explains:
"It turns out this closure is down to BT which has attempted to carry out work on its apparatus without applying for the requisite permit. Hence we had no knowledge of these works. BT claims these were emergency works to restore service to a customer, however the customer concerned has never received a service from BT so this is actually a new connection, for which a permit is required. We have stopped the works being undertaken and BT will have to apply for a road closure and permit. It is still saying it needs a two-week closure but we will challenge this as it seems excessive".
So the mystery is solved and an attempt to slow down a key access route to the town in the middle of the tourist season has, for the moment at least, been foiled.
Whilst we are grateful for Cllr Glazier's help in sorting this out, he has been somewhat more reticent on the future of Deadmans Lane. Despite being asked by this writer on more than one occasion for a statement on upgrading the road by widening to provide a pavement for pedestrians as well as resurfacing - improvements asked for by many Rye residents - he has declined to make any comment to date.
