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Old Roar Gill landslip
Published 23/02/2024
Update - Friday 19 April
Representatives from Southern Water and East Sussex County Council Highways recently visited the site and undertook inspection of their assets in relation to the landslip area and the Gill. Their plans had indicated that neither organisation had any pipework running through the site of the landslip. The visit confirmed that none of their assets were involved in discharging water onto land or into the gill at the point of the landslip.
Concerns had been raised by residents in relation to area on the pavement in Penhurst that was often wet after heavy rain. This is confirmed as a BT chamber. Colleagues form Southern Water and Highways were unable to access it on their visit, but assumed that the water on the pavement comes from this chamber. This has been referred to BT to investigate.
East Sussex Highways have confirmed they will not be carrying out any further investigations at this location.
Update - 15 April 2024
The geotechnical engineers appointed by the council's insurers visited week commencing 8 April to collect data, and we are now awaiting their report.
Update - 21 March 2024
Real progress is now being made on trying to understand the cause of the Old Roar Gill landslip in Hastings last month.
Hastings Borough Council's leader Cllr Julia Hilton said: "I know the inactivity on Old Roar Gill has been a real frustration for residents, and I completely understand that.
"I am therefore pleased to confirm that we have now had confirmation that our insurers have agreed to pay for a geotechnical survey of the area affected by the landslip, covering both HBC land in the gill and the private properties directly impacted.
"We are still awaiting details of timescales but we are pushing for this work to be carried out as soon as possible. There is clearly a lot more to be done, but this is a major step in understanding what caused the landslip, and identifying what actions need to be taken moving forward."
Update - 1 March 2024
We have added some questions and answers to our website about this situation. We will be adding to these when we get further questions.
Update - 29 February 2024
Councillors and senior officers met with residents affected by the Old Roar Gill landslip on Wednesday 28 February.
Residents were able to ask questions and talk to officers about the emergency response to the landslip, which started on Thursday 16 February.
Following this meeting, we have been asked to confirm publicly that the cause of the landslip has not yet been determined. This can only be done following specialist geo-technical investigations which are being commissioned on council owned land in the gill and on the residential land at the top.
The council is arranging a further meeting with the directly affected residents to review the situation in terms of the emergency prohibition orders which have been issued to protect the lives of the residents judged to be most at risk from the on-going incident.
The council also committed to sending updates to the wider group of residents when further information is available and next steps are firmed up. There were a number of questions raised and the council is working to answer those that couldn't be answered on the evening.
Cllr Julia Hilton, leader of the council, said: "My takeaway from that meeting was that while officers have worked hard to help residents in this crisis, many residents feel that they have not been properly supported or informed and 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. Following this meeting we have committed to reviewing how we work in emergencies in the future to try to address some of the concerns that were raised by residents affected."
Update - 26 February 2024
Following the landslip at Old Roar Gill on Thursday 15 February, a council emergency response team has been meeting regularly to continue to monitor the incident and provide assistance to the affected residents.
An invite only meeting for affected residents has also been arranged for Wednesday 28 February, to provide an opportunity for them to speak with the Leader, Deputy Leader and ward councillors in person.Cllr Julia Hilton, Leader of Hastings Borough Council, said,
"We understand the landslip that occurred has had a devastating impact on several residents' lives. Due to the considerable damage that was caused they have had to vacate their homes, and we are sorry to see the massive upheaval this has resulted in.
"We are continuing to review this situation and are on hand to answer questions and provide support where we can. We hope those invited to the meeting on Wednesday will all come along, so we can work together to address any concerns they may have."
Update - 23 February 2024
The council responded to this as an emergency situation as soon as we were made aware on Thursday 15 February. This included putting together an emergency response team to deal with the incident.
This involved an immediate site visit where the situation was assessed. Building Control were called and at that time they determined the building structures were safe.
Officers continued to monitor the situation and because of concerns that the landslip was continuing, we called out a surveyor who assessed that there was likely to be further slippage. The residents were told to contact their insurance companies about the situation.
We then asked for a further geotechnical assessment to be carried out. This suggested that the slippage had started on private land and again the residents were reminded to make contact with their insurance companies.
We have continued to monitor the situation and further observation showed further slippage and concerns around the stability of the properties. Our housing team carried out further assessments which resulted in Emergency Prohibition Orders being placed on two properties. This is for the safety of the residents. The Orders will remain in place until the issues are resolved, and the housing team are satisfied that it is safe for residents to return.
If the residents are unable to find their own alternative accommodation, we will provide temporary accommodation.
The situation is on-going which we will continue to monitor.
Published 23/02/2024
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