Scaffolding that has towered over a high street for a decade is being taken down after a High Court order.
All of the scaffolding in Talland Parade, Seaford, has to be completely removed by 5pm today.
Lewes District Council made a legal claim against London-based company Vision Properties at the beginning of February this year.
It follows an extensive campaign by The Argus to highlight the “eyesore” scaffolding which has blighted the lives of business owners and residents.
High Court judge master Mark Gidden ordered that the scaffolding be taken down and a protective coating works be put on the roof to stop it from leaking.
Councillor Laurence O’Connor, cabinet member for planning at Lewes District Council, said: “While I am pleased to see progress being made, our Court Order is very clear that all the scaffolding must be taken down and removed entirely from the site by July 25.
“We are only at this point after the council’s painstaking legal efforts to resolve what had become an intractable problem, most notably for long-suffering residents and business owners in Seaford.
“I am pleased that the end of this saga appears to be in sight, but I will reserve full judgement until we know that the court order has been fully complied with.”
Jill Wilson lived beneath the scaffolding for a decade and said it has made the area feel “derelict” since she first moved in 20 years ago.
The 82-year-old told The Argus: “I am delighted it’s going. I went out yesterday morning and came back and saw them taking it down. I thought ‘what is happening here?’ they worked really early in the morning.
“I am delighted it’s gone, I am dazed because it’s been there so long, it’s part of me now. It’s dug into the ribs.
“The chaps who have taken it down have been really sweet. They always waved and said hello.”
The Argus first reported on the scaffolding back in November 2021.
Residents were frustrated that scaffolding had towered over Broad Street for almost a decade.
Seaford resident Neil Smith told The Argus at the time the scaffolding was harmful for the town’s tourism and it is a "lesson learnt" to try and "prevent it happening in other places" as well as Seaford again.
Back in January 2012, planning permission to build ten self-contained flats on the site was granted by the council.
But the site remained largely untouched and the scaffolding continued to dominate the high street.
Seaford Residents’ Voice, a group that researched the “blight” scaffolding for more than two years, said they are happy to see it come down but questioned what will happen next to the derelict site.
Bob Downing, representative of the group, told The Argus: “We have put a lot of time into it and we are a lot happier to see it come down.
“But the question next is what happens to the derelict site? We hope that the powers that be can do something.”
On December 5 last year, the council made a claim of public nuisance to the High Court against the owner of Talland Parade seeking an injunction for the removal of the scaffolding.
On May 26 this year, the High Court made a court order for various steps to be taken by the owner, including that by 5pm today the scaffolding be dismantled and removed from the land.
The court order also stated that there must be protective works to make sure the roof was water proof by 5pm on July 4.
The court order also means that no further scaffolding can be erected at Talland Parade without the owner having first, obtained any requisite licence, and further obtained the consent of the council.
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