Around lunchtime on Tuesday, February 20 residents of Military Road reported hearing a strange noise, like trees cracking and a rumbling sound getting louder and louder as they listened. When they went outside their homes, they were faced with a road blocked by debris. A large section of the cliff behind the road had been dislodged, presumably by the sheer volume of rainwater over the last few months.
East Sussex Highways sent a steward to assess and set in place what was needed to remedy the situation. The police were present and had blocked off the road at the entrance to Military Road. They were on hand to inform people why they could not pass down the road. The Highways Agency was not in a position to make a comment at the time.
A resident of Military Road commented: “Soil had been removed from the site of the collapse over the past two years. The property owner cut into the hillside to create a sharp right angle (leaving a vertical face rather than keeping a gentle slope). In my opinion, this weakened support of the hillside above, thus contributing to the land slip. In 2014 a more substantial slip occurred immediately to the left of the current site (behind the block of flats in the two-storey white building). Trees of substance were also removed from the bottom of the slope.”
Another local resident said: “My mum is a bit worried as she’s elderly but I think she will be okay. I am not aware of any concerns from her side of the road but I’m sure those in the flats and maybe the thatched property will be anxious. It’s something we’ve waited to happen at that point for the last forty years. There have been several falls behind the flats opposite over the years.”
