Sunday servicehas been saved

A £29,500 surplus from on-street parking charges at Hastings will be used to keep the service running after Hastings councillor Peter Pragnell made a successful proposal to the Hastings Parking Board last week.

Rye MP Amber Rudd said: “I have been urging East Sussex County Council to reinstate these services. Stagecoach have picked up the Monday to Saturday services commercially but it is important that the Sunday service continues. Naturally, I am delighted by the splendid news. It is a good result for the travelling public.”

Cllr Pragnell said: “These services are vital for residents.

“The 344 runs from Hastings via Ore, the Hastings Country Park, Fairlight, Pett Level, Winchelsea Beach and Rye to Peasmarsh. It is a vital for families to visit and for people going to the Country Park and beyond.

But Rye Labour candidate Sarah Owen said: “Astonishingly, Tory Councillor Peter Pragnell, has been calling this his ‘success’ yet he is one of the councillors who voted to cut the route in the first place!

“Let us be clear, this achievement is a victory for the 7,000 or so people who signed my petition.”