BUNDING UPDATE FROM EAST SUSSEX COUNTY COUNCIL - OCTOBER 2008
Anyone who has been on Telscombe Tye recently will have noticed that the bunding constructed alongside the Right of Way in 2004 is still in place.
ESCC took over management of the contract for the removal of the bunding and went out to tender for these works in May this year. The tenders received were higher than expected and the County Council was obliged under EU procurement rules to re-tender under a much more rigorous process. One of the consequences of this was that it was not possible to carry out the work during the summer months as originally intended. When ESCC went back out to tender, they therefore specified a 15th September start date.
However, as readers will be only too aware, there were long spells of wet weather in August and September. This, allied to the time needed to consider the tenders received, left ESCC with increasing concerns about the feasibility of carrying out the work without causing damage on site. They have therefore concluded that the work should be delayed until next summer when drier weather and better ground conditions are more likely, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the Tye. The bunding has to be removed as it did not receive planning permission, one of the reasons being the detrimental effect on the landscape. However, in rectifying this by removing the bunding, the County Council is determined not to cause other damage.
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