November 2nd, 2021.

Lewes Lib Dems release:



Local Liberal Democrats have once again called for action over vaccination availability in Seaford and Newhaven. Local councillors, James MacCleary and Carolyn Lambert, have repeatedly demanded that a proper vaccination centre be identified so that residents no longer have to travel to Eastbourne or Brighton for a jab.

With the government telling people to get their booster jabs now there has been no progress despite promises from local Conservatives.

Cllr James MacCleary, who represents Newhaven and Bishopstone on the County Council, says: “We are told by this Conservative government that we all have to get booster jabs as soon as we can and yet they cannot even provide a local vaccination centre for us. It’s sheer hypocrisy to keep blaming people for not getting jabbed when they are failing to provide proper facilities that are easy to get to. The local Conservative MP, Maria Caulfield, recently got herself a job as a government health minister and yet we still see no improvement locally.

“The District Council has repeatedly offered the Downs Leisure Centre in Seaford and it was suggested to use the empty former UTC building in Newhaven as local vaccination centres so that people would not be forced to travel miles at a time when Covid infections were high. Yet those options were not followed up.

“Now we are seeing the same situation again at a time of rising infections. Residents are being forced to undertake what can be expensive and difficult journeys. We need action, not more empty promises.”

Cllr Carolyn Lambert, who represents Seaford South, adds: “I am once again hearing from residents, some of whom are clinically vulnerable, who have waited outside in the cold. If one of these local sites had been followed through, people would not have had to travel and could have waited in the warm. Conservative hypocrisy over this issue is astonishing. They spend their time pointing fingers at hardworking NHS staff rather than using their influence to support our local communities in Newhaven and Seaford.

"Pop up sites and use of chemists is better than nothing, but in no way a substitute for a proper vaccination centre operating every day.

“Sadly, our MP seems to be more interested in spending time in her new job in Whitehall than fighting for her residents.”


Haven News Note:
Haven News updates information on the weekly 'Pop-up' Walk-In vaccination session held in Newhaven in the What's On page and in the Email News Service. For further information CLICK HERE.