The Hailsham & Hellingly Masterplan, [29] submitted to Wealden District Council as supplementary planning guidance in 2009, planned a holistic approach to the town's infrastructure: roads; sewerage and drainage; transport; retail; employment land; housing; healthcare; education and training; leisure, recreation and the arts. Among the Masterplan's proposals were long-term visualisations for the town's roads, including two major (new) relief roads which would make the High Street and town centre more pedestrian-friendly, a community-based diagnostic and treatment centre with GP surgeries, and a community park/complex. War memorial – The High Street war memorial was unveiled on 28 November 1920 by Lord Leconfield, the then Lord Lieutenant of the county. It records the loss to the community of the 86 men killed in World War I and a further 35 lost during the Second World War. The memorial comprises a wheel cross with Celtic lettering under which the names of the dead are listed on two tablets. During the trip, Kathy and Tommy separate from the others and look for a copy of a music cassette tape that Kathy had lost when at Hailsham. Tommy's recollection of the tape and desire to find it for her make clear the depth of his feelings for Kathy. They find the tape of Songs After Dark by Judy Bridgewater, and Tommy shares with Kathy a theory that the reason Madame collected their art was to determine which couples were truly in love and cites a teacher who had said that their art revealed their souls. After the trip, Kathy and Tommy do not tell Ruth of the found tape or of Tommy's theory about the deferral.

Hailsham is near the junction of two major roads, the A22 road to Eastbourne and the A27 South Coast Trunk Road. East Sussex in Figures". East Sussex County Council. Archived from the original on 28 December 2012 . Retrieved 26 April 2008. As we come to learn, life after Hailsham is bleak for its students, and this certainly emphasises the nostalgic radiance that coats memories of their time at school. Kathy refers to her early school years as a “kind of golden time” and mentions that even when she thinks of the bad times, she “can’t help feeling a kind of glow”. That night, Kathy is caught by Madame while Kathy dances slowly and holds an imaginary baby in her arms to the song titled “Never Let Me Go”. Madame starts to cry at this scene. Kathy later understands that, as a donor, she cannot have children. Following a government-commissioned report compiled by television's ‘Queen of Shops’ Mary Portas, Hailsham Town Council and the local Chamber of Commerce took the decision in September 2012 to form a Town Team (Hailsham Forward), which was set up to take a closer look at ways to revitalise the town's High Street and surrounding urban environment, increase footfall and spend within the town. [30]

Hailsham on a map

The novel ends with Kathy’s visit to Norfolk. She looks into a field and imagines that ‘this was the spot where everything I’d ever lost since my childhood had washed up, and I was now standing there in front of it, and if I waited long enough, a tiny figure would appear on the horizon across the field, and gradually get larger until I’d see it was Tommy, and he’d wave and maybe even call’. Key Characters in Never Let Me Go Kathy H A Brief History of the Hailsham Pavilion: Hailsham Pavilion Ltd". Archived from the original on 4 May 2011 . Retrieved 8 April 2011. Kathy becomes Tommy's carer, and they form a relationship. Encouraged by Ruth's last wishes, they go to Madame's house to see if they can defer Tommy's fourth donation, taking Tommy's artwork with them to support their claim that they are truly in love. They find Madame at her house, and also meet Miss Emily, their former headmistress, who lives with her. The two women reveal that guardians tried to give the clones a humane education, unlike other institutions. The gallery was a place meant to convey to the outside world that the clones are in fact normal human beings with a soul and deserve better treatment. It is revealed that the experiment failed, which is why Hailsham was closed. When Kathy and Tommy ask about the deferral they find out that such deferrals never existed. The town is home to some genuinely fantastic restaurants and cafes, with a culinary scene to rival any other town in the county.

As a result of an Enclosure Award on Hailsham Common, the Recreation Ground in Western Road was created. It could be interpreted that Tommy represents all victims of bullying, as there are no other references to bullying in the novel, whereas bullying is much more common in the non-fictional world. This inaccuracy would support the statement that Hailsham is a metaphor for childhood, while it is not completely accurate.

Where is Hailsham in East Sussex?

Rodney – Chrissie's boyfriend, the one who originally saw Ruth's possible. He and Chrissie are mentioned to have broken up before she completed. Hailsham falls below the national average for reported robbery, burglaries and other criminal offences.