Uckfield high street now fully open, official says.
According to a local official, an East Sussex high street that was temporarily closed after scaffolding was erected in front of an unsafe historic building is now “fully open”.
Wealden District Council (WDC) announced that the scaffolding on the former Maidens Head Hotel on Uckfield High Street has been rebuilt so that it no longer encroaches on the road.
The temporary traffic lights have also been removed, according to the local authority. Uckfield High Street was partially closed after vertical cracks appeared on the Grade II listed building, which WDC said posed a “serious danger” of falling debris.
Businesses had previously complained to the BBC that they were being hit hard as people avoided the high street due to the four-way traffic lights.
Residents, meanwhile, reported delays getting around.
Holly Goring, clerk at Uckfield Town Council, said she was “incredibly grateful” to the contractors who worked hard to find an alternative scaffolding design to “ultimately get it off the highway”. “We’re really pleased,” she told BBC Radio Sussex. “The high street is now fully open.”
Ms Goring added that the local authority changed the scaffolding to help local businesses after concerns were raised about falling footfall.
She stated that additional investigations were required to determine the cost and scope of remedial work to the Maidens Head Hotel building, which dates back to the 18th century.
It follows the disruption of train services between Crowborough and Uckfield on Thursday due to a signalling system fault.
Network Rail warned that the disruption could last until Monday as repair teams worked to identify the problem with the signalling, which is powered by a 19-mile cable.
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