As many readers of Bexhill News will know, the Post Office has recently announced that it will close all of its directly-managed Post Offices, and this includes the well-loved and much used Post Office at Devonshire Square in Bexhill.
This is deeply disappointing news for Post Office customers and, I’m sure, for the staff who have worked at the branch for so many years. It comes in the face of fierce opposition from the local community – over 4,190 residents signed my petition to ‘Save Bexhill Post Office’. Whilst the Post Office has pledged to set up a franchise branch, we have absolutely no news on when this will happen, where it will be and what services it will provide. I have told them, and the Government Minister, that it is vital that we have clear, formal guarantees on location, services, and operational continuity before the branch is shut down.
Other recent disappointing news for the town came from Santander bank which announced it would be closing its branch on Devonshire Road in Bexhill. This is the last of the major high street banks in the town, and will therefore be a major blow to customers. However, more positive news quickly followed the announcement of Santander’s closure – I was advised that the cashpoint provider, LINK, assessed Bexhill community’s cash access needs and has recommended a Banking Hub for the town. This will be provided by Cash Access UK which is a not-for-profit company owned by the biggest high street banking providers in the UK.
I recently held a meeting with the Area Manager for Cash Access UK about locating a Banking Hub in the town. The Hub will provide a counter service for everyday cash transactions, together with a community banker service where customers will be able to speak face-to-face with their own bank or building society about more complicated banking matters. Cash Access UK will be looking at suitable properties on the high streets of central Bexhill to locate the banking hub and talking to local groups and organisations as part of the process. I am looking forward to working with the Banking Hub team to help deliver the hub for the town.
In other news, the Bexhill Town Board, has recently been re-named the ‘Bexhill Neighbourhood Board’. This follows new guidance and re-branding by the Labour government of the former Longer-Term Plan for Towns under which the Bexhill Town Board was set up. It has been tasked to deliver a Regeneration Plan for the town, including a 10-year vision and 4-year investment plan to improve the physical and social infrastructure of the community. This initiative comes with £20m of capital and revenue investment over those 10 years. The Bexhill Neighbourhood Board, which I am a member of, is now working on its vision for the town.
Many residents will be familiar with road safety matters relating to the A259 between Little Common and Bexhill. I regularly receive correspondence from residents who are concerned by the increasing congestion on the road. Last year, there were a spate of serious accidents, including a tragic fatality, which resulted in the road being closed on many occasions. I asked National Highways, East Sussex County Council and Sussex Police to join the meeting with local councillors to establish if more could be done to improve the safety record of the road. I was pleased to learn that National Highways are due to begin a whole route study of the A259 in East Sussex (including parts of the A27) to look at what causes accidents and near misses by studying driver behaviour. Rather than only looking at data from serious injury or fatal accidents, the study watches actual driver behaviour and analyses causes of near misses alongside more serious incidents to get a fuller picture of road safety issues. Depending on the outcome of this study, a bid will be put to government for road safety funding and improvements which I will fully support. It was sadly ironic that the day after our meeting, the A259 was closed once again due to an accident.
Given the pressure from government on local authorities to deliver more housing, it is inevitable that towns like Bexhill will continue to expand and grow. It’s therefore so important that I, as local MP, alongside your local councillors put pressure on the government to ensure that housing growth also delivers the infrastructure to support it. This infrastructure includes efficient, resilient and safer roads, reliable public transport services as well as increasing the capacity of local NHS services and schools.
