Hailsham

[petalbud]

Greetings all,
Saw a property near the big duck pond in Hailsham today and am
interested. Could anyone tell me what that area is like? We would be relocating from Brighton. Do you enjoy living in Hailsham? Excited but nervous about a possible move.

Thanks Petal

It's cheaper than Brighton, but that's about all it has going for it. No train line, no big supermarket, recently graded secondary school as inadequate. Essentially it is just a place where loads of houses were built with not much in the way of anything else. I can't comment on the specific place you are looking.

It used to be a nice little market town, now its not as nice tbh.

It has long had a bit of a reputation for antisocial behaviour, but I believe that has improved recently, but the secondary school is not performing well, and I have heard that discipline is a problem.

Like the rest of Wealden District Its growing far too fast, loads of new estates that the town just doesn't have the infrastructure to support.

There is not a lot going on, but there is an independent cinema.

Commuting to Brighton will be a pain. Nearest station to London is Polegate, and you won't get a seat, and there is limited parking.

But I would still live there rather than Brighton.

Not where I would choose to live tbh, you would both need cars, there’s not an awful lot in Hailsham, very small town centre, ok leisure centre, no railway station.

If you want to move out of Brighton, have you considered Seaford or Eastbourne?

A friend has lived there for over 30 years and always seems to be super busy with different clubs....dramatics..yoga..tai chi etc....there have been some big drug busts recently in a warehouse, weed farms and other raids. i think the co-op is still there and quite big....no station is a negative but easy to get to eastbourne or brighton to visit....i visit in summer for a week and find it pleasant...we did have eggs chucked at the car once and a lot of abuse from bored teens one visit.

It has very nice countryside around which is easily accessible and it's not far to the coast.

Agree with others that Hailsham itself does not have much to recommend it, although it is nice in parts. The best thing about it is it's proximity to other lovely places like the South Downs.

Great little cinema and a Waitrose (how very MN!).
There are some lovely houses in Hailsham, but... no train station. That's the reason houses are cheaper then other nearby areas, as its so restrictive, particularly if you have teenagers. Locally, they tend to go to Lewes or Bexhill for 6th form but they'd need a train for that. Why not look at Polegate?

Thanks, that’s very helpful and food for thought. I don’t suppose you know which areas in Hailsham are rougher so we could avoid them.

From what friend says, posh part is where the bungalows are....and rougher bits around the industrial estate, friend lives about 5 mins from high st, on a road which goes to horsebridge.

Sorry to say, but avoid the Town Farm estate.

I’m local and I wouldn’t want to live there. Could you look at somewhere on the train lines out from Brighton like Polegate, Eastbourne, Seaford

You have to get things in perspective. I've seen drug dealing and anti-social behaviour in most places I've lived in the SE, including many of the alternative places recommended above, and they have not been council estates. Now I live in the closest thing to a council estate in SW and have seen drugs but less anti-social behaviour.

You probably get relatively fewer stabbings and beatings in Hailsham than Brighton.

I visited Hailsham once and it had plenty of supermarkets and little shops - more than Seaford and loads more than Polegate.

The lack of a station is the issue for me.

You make complete sense. Thank you x

I agree with XVGN above. Hailsham is nice enough. Easy to get to countryside, on the Cuckoo Trail, couple of supermarkets and reasonable shops. There's a community feel with various events throughout the year.
Every town has its dodgy bits, but also its nice bits!
If you can live without a train nearby, then why not? The lack of a station would put some off - hence the lower house prices- but doesn't have to be a deal breaker for you if you like the house.

Thanks. Great to hear some positivity. I’m going to have a good look at Hailsham tomorrow.

Hi @petalbud did you move to Hailsham in the end?

Personally I’d avoid Hailsham. We moved here from Surrey four years ago and wish we hadn’t. A poor selection of shops, a lot of the nice rural country pubs are very expensive and anre hardly ever open, and there is a real lack of decent chain pubs offering food at reasonable prices. Although the countryside is lovely, we miss having a good network of roads And we often have to drive back up to Surrey to see family which takes forever. All in all I’d go back to Surrey tomorrow if I could. The only really good thing is the house prices are very reasonable and you have to ask yourself why.