Many local residents are furious over the dumping of sewage into our coastal waters. Many more are rightly concerned about the spraying of their streets with a dangerous herbicide. The feeling that we are powerless against the systems that perpetuate this unnecessary pollution and threat to our health leaves many of us feeling angry and frustrated. But is there something we can do?

The annual spraying of our streets with glyphosate will take place again this year in May. The responsibility for keeping streets and pavements clear of weeds in the county lies with East Sussex County Council. Their preferred method is to spray with glyphosate (also known as Roundup). In 2015, the World Health Organization’s International Agency on Research into Carcinogens identified glyphosate as ‘probably carcinogenic [cancer-causing] to humans’.

In a landmark case in 2019, DeWayne Johnson, a former grounds keeper from California who had sprayed glyphosate extensively in his work and later developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma, was awarded $298m (later reduced to $20m) in damages against Monsanto after a jury decided that the company had failed to warn him of the cancer risks. Johnson was on one occasion accidentally drenched in the chemical. His doctor confirmed that he had developed lesions over 80% of his body. Since that time billions of dollars have been paid out settling lawsuits. 

MASS EXTINCTION EVENT

The impact upon biodiversity is only just beginning to be calculated. Studies have found that glyphosate harms the gut bacteria in insects including honeybees. This has multiple impacts including reproductive failure and vulnerability to infection. In 2021 the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science published 12 studies on what was described by scientists as a “mass extinction event” “tearing apart the tapestry of life”.

However on a local level there is now something we can do about it. Thanks to pressure from Green Party Councillors, Hastings residents can choose not to have their streets sprayed with a potentially carcinogenic herbicide. The Green Party told HIP “Last year, Hastings and Lewes residents took part in a successful pilot scheme to reduce the amount of glyphosate used by the county council to kill pavement weeds. There were two parts to the scheme: a ‘DIY’ resident-organised weeding programme, and a ‘reactive’ programme where weeds were pulled by hand by Highways contractors, but only where complaints were registered.”

SOCIAL BENEFITS

In Hastings, the wards involved were Old Hastings, Tressell, Central St Leonards and Gensing. Julia Hilton, Green County Councillor for Old Hastings and Tressell, said, “Residents in Hastings are very keen on this scheme. I ended up with a waiting list last year so I’m pleased the pilot will continue. We’ve also pressed for better coordination between different operations. For instance, gulleys being swept stops weeds from taking hold and also helps to keep our drains clear.”

Lewes Green County Councillor, Wendy Maples, pointed out that in reducing harmful chemicals there were benefits to biodiversity, waterways and human health. “But there are social benefits as well, with some residents scheduling a community weeding day as a chance not only to clear weeds, but also to get to know their neighbours.”

DON THE WELLIES

The scheme is now open again. Residents can ask for their street not to be sprayed, in return committing to regularly removing weeds by hand. Locations will be assessed for suitability, and 60% of the residents will need to support the idea for the street to be opted out. So if you dread the unnatural patch of dried out plant life around the trees and garden walls, if you’re concerned about biodiversity and potential health risks it may be time to don the wellies and meet the neighbours. The sign up deadline is 3^rd March 2023.

Hastings residents can email contracts.managementgroup@eastsussex.gov.uk, or contact Cllr Julia Hilton at cllr.julia.hilton@eastsussex.gov.uk if they want their street to take part.

Public areas of Hastings are being ‘tagged’ – graffitied illegally with spray paint or permanent marker with stylised initials and other markings. Bottle Alley was a recent target as are other areas such as bus shelters, walls, even trees and rocks on woodland walks.

Some people don’t mind it while others cannot stand tagging. Should we learn to live with it? Should we press charges against those who tag? Should we set areas where tagging is allowed?

Hastings Borough Council addresses the issue on its Street Cleaning web page: “’Graffiti’ refers to any drawings, scribbles, messages or ‘tags’ that are painted, written or carved on walls and other surfaces. Graffiti is an illegal, anti-social activity that creates a negative impression of an area and contributes to people’s fear of crime.”

In times past, John Bownas fronted a 20-strong team dedicated to the rapid removal of graffiti from London’s largest borough. Now manager of Love Hastings and the local Business Crime Reduction Partnership, as well as being chair of Hastings Neighbourhood Watch and Vice-Chair of Sussex Crimestoppers, he recently started a Facebook thread on St Leonards on Sea is THE Place to be which has gathered nearly 200 comments. 

Tagging at Bottle Alley
CREDIT: John Bownas

“Illegal and unwanted”

Mr Bownas says: “Graffiti tagging is not art. It’s the territorial act of a dog cocking its leg against a tree. A tiny minority of taggers do evolve into ‘proper’ street artists – indeed I’ve given some of them their earliest commissions. But the majority never progress from scrawled letters that they use to deface public and private property whilst hiding their identity because they know what they are doing is illegal and unwanted. We have some spectacular murals in Hastings, but these are a million miles from the current proliferation of tags that deface public and private property and that have no place in a seaside town. 

“If you are a victim, report it to the council via My Hastings and to the police on their 101 website. This is the only way the problem can be properly dealt with and the culprits dealt with appropriately – either through community resolution or, if necessary, the courts.”

The cost of cleaning graffiti can be a drain on council resources. But there are solutions which will allow artists to express themselves and to make a positive impact on our shared spaces. One such option might be a shared tagging space.

Practice wall

Sam Kinch, who lives in St Leonards and describes himself as a ‘local agitator’, says: “It strikes me that it would be worthwhile for someone (perhaps the town centre management team) to find a big blank canvas somewhere and designate it as a public graffiti practice wall. It could be re-coated once a month with cheap white emulsion so each month there is a fresh blank page for these youngsters (assuming that they are youngsters but, honestly, who knows?) to practise their art legally and without the risk of turning young creatives into young criminals.”

There are other expressions of public art which can encourage artists new and established, and enhance the urban environment. Areas in St Leonards and Hastings where such public artwork takes place include the mural project at St Leonards promenade, and Wavelength, formerly at Bottle Alley. The artists ‘zeroh’ (Daniel Hardiker and Neil Hetherington) behind Wavelength said: “We have been in conversation with Hastings Council, and we are pleased to say that we have been given permission to re-instate the design as it was originally painted in 2017. The plan is for the refurb to happen next spring, and this will be marked with an event/ happening in the space.”