From Hastings Car Free Day in 2023.

Hastings Car Free Day this Saturday

This coming Saturday, 20 September, sees National Car Free Day, which will be marked by an event in Hastings town centre from 11am to 3pm. There will be plenty of opportunities to find out more and get involved, as Ian Sier of Hastings Sustainable Transport Forum explains.

World Car Free Day is a celebration of public transport, cycling, walking and other forms of sustainable mobility. By reducing reliance on cars, this day aims to lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduce air pollution and foster a sense of community as people engage more closely with their surroundings.

Hastings Car Free Day is being organised by Hastings Sustainable Transport Forum, which was set up to provide a voice for voluntary and community organisations to discuss and campaign for sustainable transport and active travel to reduce car use, tackle climate change and improve health and wellbeing for all ages.

• There’ll be a Stagecoach bus parked up with local bus staff to answer your bus service questions.
• There will be tables with information where campaigners from Hastings Urban Bikes (HUB), Hastings Area Bus Users Group (HABUG) and Hastings Greenway Group will explain their work, plans and campaigns.
• You will be able to find out what action is needed to progress the long-awaited Hastings Greenway network of walking, cycling and wheeling routes.

You’ll be able to sign up for invites to Hastings Urban Bikes bike rides and how to get involved with the groups and organisations that are pressing the Transport Authority for Borough-wide safe walking, cycling and bus-priority measures.

There will also be a petition to ESCC to sign to prioritise the repair of Hastings roads and potholes.

Roads in Hastings are in far worse condition than any other area in East Sussex, due to years of under-investment by East Sussex County Council. Potholes cause considerable damage to buses and other vehicles and are a serious accident risk for cyclists.

Hastings Sustainable Transport Forum, with support from other concerned local organisations, demands that ESCC take urgent action to carry out a proper repair programme for Hastings roads.

The government has given local authorities additional funding for highway maintenance in 2025-26, so ESCC will receive an extra £5.57m to fill potholes and repair roads.

We are calling on East Sussex County Council to prioritise road repair work in Hastings, using the Government’s extra funding allocation, and put right the effects of years of inadequate road maintenance in our town.

Also in: Campaigns