Southern Water St Leonards burst update: our repairs are complete and we’re preparing to leave

Repairs are now complete on the burst wastewater rising main in Cinque Ports Way, St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings, which occurred on 28 July and 30 July 2021.

We thank everyone for their continued patience while we carry out our final activities to restore the area before we go, so people can enjoy the space as they did before.

Supporting beach hut owners

Firstly, we’re really sorry for the stress and disruption this incident has caused many beach hut owners. We’ve prioritised working with the owners of those huts directly affected by the burst to help them with cleaning and address the damage caused.

Although the burst is fixed, we’re aware our ongoing works to restore the area have also caused owners of the huts to the west of the original burst site some difficulty, particularly when trying to access the area by car. Our team on site has been trying to let cars pass through the compound when they can, but we know this hasn’t always been possible. We’re sorry for this inconvenience.

Our final activities

On Tuesday 10 August, we re-turfed areas damaged by tankers and reopened the cycle path/shingle access road. The turfed area will be fenced-off and watered over the coming weeks while it takes, and we’ll return for a day in late August to re-lay screens under the shingle on the cycle path/access road.

Work with ecologists, the Local Authority and Natural England to do with plant-life in the shingle will continue, so we can mitigate any impact on the environment. However, this will not affect access.

Thanks and further information

We recognise the disruption this incident has caused beach hut owners, along with others who use the beach recreationally. Again, we’re sorry and thank everyone for their continued patience while we carry out our final activities to restore the area before we go, so people can enjoy the space as they did before.

If you have any further questions, please contact our Customer Services Team on 0330 303 0368.