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Observer Column 1 March 2024
This has been a devastating week for some Hastings residents, who have had to leave their homes due to landslides in both Old Roar Gill and Caves Road.
On Wednesday evening Deputy Leader Glenn Haffenden and I, along with other councillors and senior officers, met with residents who have been affected by the landslip at Old Roar Gill.
First I'd like to thank Local Ward Councillor Paul Foster for working tirelessly to contact residents last weekend both to offer help and to inform them of the meeting.
From that meeting it is clear that while officers have worked hard to help residents in this crisis, many residents feel that they have not been properly supported or informed; further, that communications from the council have lacked empathy. I want to apologise to all those residents and promise that we will do better in the future. Further meetings are already planned with the people whose lives have been most directly affected by the landslips.
Geotechnical surveys have been commissioned through both the council and residents' insurers to discover the reasons for both of them and to determine what can be done to stabilize the areas where they occurred. Earlier this week council officers attended the site with structural engineers and the emergency services to assess the situation. The area has been secured and all residents are safe.
I will ensure that as soon as there are any conclusions as to causes and potential remedial action these will be shared as soon as possible. Another meeting will be held for the residents displaced by the Caves Road landslip.
The council's responsibility in these matters is to protect the safety of residents. Because the council does not own the cliff area at Caves Road and is therefore not responsible for its condition, we have been liaising with the property owner affected, who in turn is in contact with their insurance company.
Everyone affected by the latest landslides has been offered temporary accommodation, and our council emergency response team is continuing to meet regularly to monitor these incidents.
These devastating incidents happened after the heaviest rainfall in February since records began, and it's clear that increasing bad weather events due to climate change mean there are likely to be more landslips and flooding events in the future. We are urgently investigating the creation of a dedicated team within the council to work on climate adaptation measures. This will mean that we are better able to respond in future and ensure that residents are clear about what support and advice is available.
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Council Leader's column
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