East Sussex ~ Hailsham, Newhaven

[Katebromley]

I've been offered a job in Hailsham and am looking for a 2 or 3 bedroom house in the area. Can anyone tell me what Hailsham and Newhaven are like? Any areas to avoid? Or other 'nicer' towns to live in. I have a budget of around £300,000 which sadly is going to exclude more expensive places (fell in love with Haywards Heath but don't think I can afford there). Any advice please? I also need to think about good nursery/primary schools.

Newhaven, has quite a bad rep, not somewhere I would chose to live, the pluses are two railway stations, close to Brighton, etc. Hailsham, is getting quite built up, rough in places, closer to Eastbourne than Brighton. Have you considered Eastbourne? Some areas are rough, but more going on, Seaford would be out of your price range. Good luck with your search.

Have friends in Hailsham...Hawkes lane area....quite nice....I visit often...its a quiet little place as no train...thats in polegate...my friends are very happy there and always seem to be very busy doing arts, drama, clubs etc..shopping is limited to the small precinct...i think it has a large co-op.....the area with the bungalows is a bit more posh....dont really know where the rough parts are....eastbourne is close by....thats worth a look...Seaford is small and dull....i had a look now at prices and was surprised how dear it is for such a small place with not much going on really....

Heathfield is pretty affordable, is much nicer & has better schools than Hailsham.

I would probably avoid Newhaven and Hailsham in all honesty. Look to either Seaford/Peacehaven/Saltdean as a nicer alternative to Newhaven and Eastbourne/Willingdon as an alternative to Hailsham. Nicer towns and better schools.

I'd avoid Newhaven, mostly because it's awful to drive round! If you get caught by the bridge opening you can be stuck for ages.

If you're not dependent on public transport then I'd look Heathfield and Hailsham, Uckfield might also be work a look which would also put you nearer train links to London and buses to Brighton and Hailsham. Head towards Lewes/Brighton and prices quickly jump, from what friends have said similar is happening towards Eastbourne and Seaford.

Hailsham - has a mix of shops, I know people very happy there. Seems to be a lot of efforts to get clubs/artsy stuff going. Transport links to Eastbourne but trickier to get to Brighton. Obviously if you're in Hailsham for work it cuts your travel time.

Heathfield - nicer than Hailsham but I don't know much about it.

Uckfield - good mix of shops and services, good train and bus links. I've not heard horror stories about the schools and there seems to be a good mix for faith schools (if that's your thing/larger primaries/village schools. I quite like Uckfield, though the high street can have a lot of traffic at rush hour.

Hi did you ever move to Hailsham? We've just bought a house there and like the look of it but haven't heard great things?
We currently live in a rough part of South East london so can't imagine it's worse than here!

Thank you all so much for your helpful messages. Decided to rent for 6 months to a year first (in Pevensey Bay) so based on your advice am now beginning househunting xx

Which part of Hailsham did you move to? Have heard the North end is nicer...Still wherever you live (and I've lived in both 'posh' and 'rough' places) a lot depends on your immediate neighbours and they are not necessarily nicer in the more expensive areas

I’d avoid Hailsham schools if you can. Cohorts/catchments can be challenging.

Heathfield and Uckfield would both be within your budget and are much nicer, with good schools in both.

North Hailsham is the better area, but not the new Hellingly estates on the old hospital site. Someone else mentioned Hawks Lane but I think they mean hawks road. The gleneagles estate is nice and anything in the triangle between Anglesey Avenue to Battle Road and up to Hawkewood Road is fine. South Hailsham the only area I'd consider is Ersham Road and the roads that come off it.

If you can afford anything in Eastbourne I would live there over Hailsham.

@Katebromley It's quite central, just off Garfield Road, not sure if that counts as north or south? We haven't exchanged contracts yet so still in process of buying.

What in particular is bad about schools/cohorts @Timeturnerplease ?
Any advice on schools would be greatly appreciated!

echo Fleurty above, used to live on the anglesey avenue estate (wimpy) as a teenager, schools were ok back then, Hailsham comp/Battle Road school. The new builds have very small plots in Hellingly. Ersham Road end is nice, as is Hawks Road and Hawthylands/Lansdown areas