Hastings councillors have deferred a decision on whether to fund further investigations into a catastrophic landslide in the town.
On Wednesday (September 25), Hastings Borough Council held an ‘extraordinary meeting’ where councillors had been set to decide the authority’s next steps in its response to February’s landslide at the Old Roar Gill nature reserve.
Councillors had been presented with three options for the council’s next steps: to fund investigation works itself; to seek to jointly fund the works with the affected residents; or not to fund the works at all.
As the meeting began, however, Hastings Independent councillor Paul Barnett called for an adjournment in light of what he described as an “incomplete report”.
Cllr Barnett said: “Officers have confirmed only yesterday that we have an incomplete report on the item before us. A key report is being written on Alexandra Park and the Old Roar Gill that hasn’t been ready or available to any of us in advance of this meeting.
“I feel we cannot make a safe decision without this and I ask you to adjourn until we’ve all seen the report.”
After a short discussion Cllr Barnett’s proposal was put to the vote, with the majority of councillors agreeing to adjourn the meeting.
With the adjournment agreed, town mayor Judy Rogers set out the next steps for the council.
Cllr Rogers said: “The motion is carried so that means this meeting will be adjourned tonight. Now what I propose is that we get the remaining report and that the report that is before us today is updated in full and circulated to all councillors.
“I also propose that we go for a further extraordinary meeting where this is the sole item on the agenda. I think this is a vitally important item that doesn’t want to get lost in any full council agenda; we need to give it our full attention.
“So I would propose that as soon as the report can be circulated and updated to all councillors and into the public domain, we get the new date for an extraordinary meeting.”
Cllr Rogers went on to apologise to the affected residents — many of whom were in the public gallery — for the delay in the council’s decision.
The investigation works come from recommendations set out in a report from specialist consultants Diales — a firm appointed by the council’s insurers following the landslide. The report, published last month, said further investigation works would be needed before any remedial stabilisation works could take place.
These further investigation works are understood to be both costly and time-intensive. Just one element of these works, a groundwater monitoring regime, would take at least six months to complete, the report said.
At this stage, the specific costs for the investigation works have not been made public, due to reasons of commercial confidentiality. However, the public section of the report describes these costs as “high”.
The report also notes how the council’s insurer has indicated it will not accept further responsibility for the landslide unless legal liability is established.
