For the last 4 years County Councillor Bob Bowdler & I have campaigned at County Hall for much needed road junction in improvements on the A22 around Hailsham and on South Rd. at the junctions with Ersham Road & Diplocks Way. Officers have been working on plans & designs for both over the last 6 months. I am pleased to report that two sets of proposals for consultation are being taken forward into year end.
Consultation
The first, the A22 & A2290 consultation, is live as of today July 12th. I would urge everyone to take a look at the proposals and feed back into the local consultation (link attached): https://consultation.eastsussex.gov.uk/economy-transport-environment/a22-a2290-improvements/?utm_source=shorturl-A22-A2290-Improvements&utm_medium=web&utm_content=TrackingReview2021&utm_campaign=RedirectTracking
The second public consultation around junction improvements on South Road with Ersham Road & Diplocks Way will likely commence in the Autumn. It will be funded by £1.5 million of CIL money held by Wealden District Council. County Hall are discussing a number of potential designs with Wealden District & Hailsham Town Councils.
The A22 Proposals:
The three A22 junctions on the Hailsham bypass (Boship, Hempstead Lane and Eagles roundabout), alongside two A22 junctions near Stone Cross, form part of a Major Road Network (MRN) package of junction improvements. The MRN are the most economically important local authority managed A class roads and were defined by Government. These particular proposed works were ranked among the top 10 priorities for the South East in 2019.
The cost of delivery of this particular package of local development improvements is currently estimated to be up to £35m; £5m of which will come from local development contributions obtained by Wealden. The A22 Consultation takes place with a view to submission of a formal proposal to the DfT in the Autumn.
Local junction Improvements & traffic calming:
I’ve raised a number of questions with officers around the impact that the new Hempstead Lane roundabout will have on traffic inbound from the A22 exiting onto the Hempstead Lane junction with London road. I’ve asked them to consider what necessary improvements will need to be made to that junction and if there is any need for local traffic calming in other adjacent roads like Anglesey Avenue.
With respect to the Boship roundabout, I’ve asked them to consider leaving open the option in the engineering design, if traffic volumes require it at a later date, for a jet-lane northbound filtering traffic along the A22 towards Lower Dicker. I’ve also asked them to consider the wider implications for these junctions from any housing development(s) on the western side of the A22 that might fall between the Boship & Hempstead Lane roundabouts.
Enhanced Cycling & Walking Infrastructure:
As these improvements dovetail with other Highways proposals to the south, I have also asked officers to give particular consideration as to how as a set of measures these improvements in the round can be made to enhance and support local cycling & walking infrastructure connectivity.
