The summer holidays are finally upon us, and we look forward to welcoming the annual influx of visitors attracted to the district by our wonderful beaches and green spaces.
Anyone living in the district is well aware of the beauty Rother boasts, but it was great to get national recognition for one of wonderful parks for the 14th year in a row!
Egerton Park in Bexhill can proudly fly the Green Flag having been awarded the accolade for achieving the highest possible environmental standards and doing such an amazing job of maintaining the space.
It really is a team effort at Egerton Park with our officers, contractor idverde and Bexhill in Bloom volunteers working tirelessly to make sure the park is in peak condition. I look forward to seeing visitors enjoying of the jewels in the district’s crown this summer.
Maintaining and improving facilities can be a difficult task with increasingly tight budgets and rising costs.
But I was delighted that we were able to confirm BMR Construction for refurbishment work at Bexhill Leisure Centre and the town’s Ravenside Leisure Pool.
Upgrades at the centre include refurbishment to key areas, a replacement roof at Bexhill Leisure Centre, replacement of the lining at Ravenside Leisure Pool and extensive mechanical and electrical work.
As well as improving the centres, this work will benefit the facilities and their users for years to come and It’s great to see the project moving forward.
Construction on both facilities is expected to start at the end of summer and I can’t wait to see the transformation begin.
Although temperatures have dropped a little compared to the early part of the month, I expect many will be taking advantage of the sunshine we do have to enjoy a barbecue.
Rother District Council is supporting the Food Standards Agency campaign to cut the number of incidents of food poisoning.
I was amazed to hear that there are more than two million cases of food poisoning in the UK each year with more than 16,000 people ending up in hospital, and 180 people sadly losing their lives.
I would urge anyone considering some al fresco dining over the next few weeks to take extra care when barbecuing and avoid becoming one of these frightening statistics.
And finally, many of you will have seen, the Government has finally announced how it wants to see a new authority for East Sussex set up.
Rother District Council worked with county and other district and boroughs to come up with a proposal that we all felt would benefit our residents the most.
Disappointingly, whilst recognising the strength of the One East Sussex proposal, the Government decided to amend the plan and give part of Lewes district to Brighton & Hove’s new authority.
This is the biggest shake up of local Government in recent times and whilst it isn’t quite the outcome we were all hoping for, I want to reassure residents that we will continue to work with fellow councils to ensure that we get the best deal for the people of Rother.
Ends.
Published: 24th July 2026
