Digital switchover comes to East Sussex

In the first phase of the switchover process, TV viewers in the Eastbourne, Lewes, Haywards Heath and Hastings areas had their BBC2 analogue reception switched off permanently yesterday (May 30).

The changes have affected about 234,000 residents served by the Heathfield or Hastings transmitters.

The second phase will begin in the early hours of Wednesday, June 13 when the remaining analogue channels – BBC1, ITV1, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – will be permanently switched off.

Switchover teams worked from the early morning yesterday to implement the changes at the Heathfield transmitter and its 14 relay transmitters and the Hastings transmitter and its single relay.

By mid-afternoon, work on all transmitters had been completed.

Additional support and advice was also made available at two roadshows in Eastbourne and Hastings.

They will continue today (May 31) outside Debenhams in Robertson Street, Hastings, and Debenhams in Terminus Road, Eastbourne, between 9am and 5pm and will return again in time for the second phase of the switchover on June 13 and 14.

Residents who receive their digital TV through Freeview, BT Vision or Top Up TV will need to retune if they haven’t already and again in a fortnight’s time.

However, residents with Sky TV, Freesat from Sky or Freesat on all their television sets are not affected by the switchover.

Some residents in Bexhill contacted The Argus saying they had difficulties accessing digital BBC channels yesterday morning while the retune was still under way.

A spokeswoman said: “The relay transmitter for Bexhill is new and if people are finding they are having problems they can align their dish towards the Bexhill relay after the second phase.”

However Digital UK advisers said those problems should have been ironed out by the middle of the morning and if residents retuned their box they shouldn’t experience any difficulties.