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Report to:
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Lead Member for
Transport & Environment
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Date of
meeting:
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21 February
2022
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By:
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Director of
Communities, Economy and Transport
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Title:
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London Road, Bexhill
– Traffic Management Proposals
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Purpose:
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To consider the
results of the stakeholder and public consultations on the London
Road Traffic Management and Public Realm scheme and to seek
approval to take forward elements of the scheme to detailed design
and construction.
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RECOMMENDATIONS: The
Lead Member is recommended to:
(1)
Note the results of
the stakeholder and public consultations on the London Road Traffic
Management and Public Realm scheme;
(2)
Agree that all
elements of the London Road Traffic Management and Public Realm
scheme except the Town Hall Square options are taken forward to
detailed design and construction as part of the Capital Programme
for Local Transport Improvements; and
(3)
Agree that a
recommended way forward on the Town Hall Square options is
presented back to the Lead Member following further discussions
with Rother District Council.
1
Background Information
1.1.
The Hastings and Bexhill Movement and Access Package comprises a
package of pedestrian, cycle and public transport improvement
schemes across Bexhill, Hastings and St Leonards. One of the
identified schemes within the package approved by the South East
Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) is the London Road Traffic
Management and Public Realm scheme in Bexhill with a focus on
improving the pedestrian environment, including the public realm,
and traffic management in the area.
1.2.
The extent of the London Road Traffic Management and Public Realm
scheme is from its junction with the A259 and running south to and
including its junction with Buckhurst Place including the one-way
gyratory outside Bexhill Town Hall. The extent of the scheme also
goes beyond London Road to include Buckhurst Place and part of
Sackville Road to its junction with Western Road. The overall
extent of the study area is illustrated in Appendix 1.
1.3.
Funding for the works identified in the London Road Traffic
Management and Public Realm would be funded by the Local Growth
Fund monies secured from Government through the SELEP as well as
from £300,000 of Community Infrastructure Levy secured from
Rother District Council (RDC).
1.4.
The London Road Traffic Management and Public Realm scheme will
significantly contribute to supporting the County Council
priorities relating to climate change, economic growth and recovery
and health and wellbeing.
2
Additional Information
Scheme
Proposals
2.1
The proposed London Road corridor scheme comprises the following
elements:
·
Beeching Road/London Road junction – introduce a mini
roundabout to improve traffic management and reduce the risk of
queued traffic extending to London Road’s junction with the
A259 (Appendix 2)
·
Buckhurst Place/Sackville Road junction – introduction of a
mini roundabout to improve the existing traffic management
arrangements and permanently widen the footways on both sides of
the road under Sackville Road bridge. (Appendix 3)
·
Terminus Road - new informal pedestrian crossing, rationalisation
of guard railing and cycle parking stands installed. (Appendix
3)
·
Windsor Road junction - introduce kerb build-out on the eastern
side and an informal pedestrian crossing point. (Appendix 3)
·
Town Hall Square – two options with public realm improvements
to improve traffic management:
o
Option A –
Remove gyratory and priority junction between London Road and
Buckhurst Place (Appendix 4)
§
creation
of a larger and enhanced public space outside the Town
Hall
§
relocating
bus stops to London Road and Buckhurst Place, a new zebra crossing
facility on Buckhurst Place and new cycle parking
facilities
§
Provision
of new loading bays on Station Road and London Road; 3 taxi bays (a
reduction of up to 4 spaces) and 17 general parking bays (a loss of
around 17 spaces)
o
Option B - retain
the current gyratory arrangement around Town Hall Square (Appendix
5)
§
upgrade
existing bus stops
§
introduce
a new raised zebra crossing at the southern end of London Road and
new cycle parking facilities
§
Kerb
works around junctions will help to slow down traffic and reduced
crossing distances will allow pedestrians to cross more
safely
§
Provision
for 7
taxi bays and 23 general parking spaces (a loss of 11
spaces)
Equalities Impact
Assessment
2.3
The EqIA also
identified that people who are less mobile, have balance problems,
have hearing or visual impairments will be encouraged and have more
opportunities to walk and feel safer when travelling within Bexhill
town centre due to the proposed public realm improvements, crossing
facilities and widened footways.
2.4
Addressing and
actioning these impacts has been considered in the design process.
A copy of the EqIA is at Appendix 6 and will remain a living
document which will be updated at key stages throughout the life of
the scheme.
Stakeholder Engagement and Public
Consultation
2.5
A stakeholder consultation exercise was undertaken between 28 July
and 27 August 2021 with key stakeholder groups, which comprised of
the emergency services, local cycling, disability, and walking
groups, Stagecoach, and RDC and County Council Members and
officers, seeking their comments on the proposals. In response,
stakeholders were generally supportive of the proposals with no
significant issues raised. In addition, National Highways were
separately consulted on (and support) the Beeching Road/London Road
proposals.
2.6
Public consultation on the proposals were undertaken between 17
November and 10 December 2021. Leaflets were distributed to over
1,500 properties within approximately 400 metres of each of the
individual proposed design options. The consultation was also
promoted through the local press, social media, posters in Bexhill
Library and Town Hall, and letters or emails to ward members.
Information on the proposals was made available online via the
County Council’s Citizen Space webpage with a questionnaire
available which included open questions to encourage qualitative
feedback.
2.7
A copy of the consultation summary report is provided in
Appendix 7. There were a total of 179 direct responses,
which equates to a 12% response rate which is considered average
with regards to return of feedback.
Buckhurst
Place/Sackville Road and Beeching Road/London Road mini
roundabouts
2.8
Respondents were generally positive in their feedback on the two
proposed mini-roundabout design options, with the overall majority
supporting the proposals. A breakdown of responses received for
each of the mini roundabout proposals is shown in the table
below.
|
Scheme
Name
|
Support
|
Issues and
concerns
|
Neutral
/Unknown
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Buckhurst Place
j/w Sackville Road
|
65%
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23%
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12%
|
|
Beeching Road
j/w London Road
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54%
|
31%
|
15%
|
2.9
The proposed footway widening under the rail bridge in Sackville
Road will formalise the Tranche 1 Emergency Active Travel Fund
measures that was introduced in summer 2020 in response to the
lifting of Covid restrictions at the time. Since its installation,
we have received positive feedback on the benefits that the footway
widening has provided for pedestrians and requests for this to be
formalised.
Town
Hall Square
2.10
In relation to the two options presented for the Town Hall Square
element of the scheme, the response was more mixed with no overall
preference amongst respondents between the two.
|
Scheme
Name
|
Support
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Issues and
concerns
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Neutral
/Unknown
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Option A –
remove gyratory and create T-junction at London Rd/Buckhurst
Place
|
40%
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53%
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7%
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Option B –
retain existing gyratory
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41%
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47%
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12%
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2.11
A number of alternative suggestions for each of the two proposed
design options were put forward by respondents, but these were
similar to those explored and discounted as part of the feasibility
stage. In addition, the following comments were also received
regarding the two options:
·
Concerns around the
reduction in parking spaces for both schemes and the potential
impact on the local economy due to lack of parking spaces for
people to use when visiting the town centre.
·
Option A had responses
concerning raised congestion levels and queueing as well as
aesthetic impacts on the local area and impacts on local bus
service stops.
·
Option B had concerned
responses including, road safety issues, a lack of cyclist
consideration and potential traffic queuing into Town Hall square
as a result of the proposed pedestrian crossing.
2.12
As a result of the consultation feedback, it is proposed to
decouple this element of the corridor scheme and review the design
options also taking account of RDC wider aspirations to redevelop
their Town Hall campus. Following this review and further
discussions with RDC, a recommended way forward on the Town Hall
Square element will be presented to a future Lead Member decision
making meeting.
Other elements of London Road Corridor scheme and General
Comments
2.13
For the remaining elements of the scheme – Windsor Road and
Terminus Road – there was also broad support for the
improvements identified.
2.14
In addition, a number of general comments were raised. The most
prominent were:
·
The scheme costs could
be better spent repairing existing infrastructure
·
The scheme will reduce
the capacity for motorists leading to increased queues
·
The scheme will
encourage higher vehicle speeds
·
The scheme will create
traffic impacts elsewhere within Bexhill, especially for emergency
services, and could traffic signals be installed instead of mini
roundabouts.
2.15
A response to each of these key concerns raised by the consultation
is at Appendix 8.
3
Conclusion and Reasons for Recommendations
3.1
The London Road corridor scheme forms part of the wider Hastings
Bexhill Movement and Access Package and seeks to improve the
pedestrian environment, including the public realm, and traffic
management in this part of Bexhill. The scheme would be delivered
using Local Growth Fund monies, as well as £300,000 Community
Infrastructure Levy funding from Rother District Council.
3.2
The results of the public consultation show that there is overall
support for the proposed two mini roundabout schemes at the
junctions of Beeching Road/London Road and Buckhurst Place/
Sackville Road, which also includes localised widening of the
footway under the rail bridge previously introduced as a temporary
measure as part of the Tranche 1 Emergency Active Travel Fund
measures, as well as the proposals in Terminus Road and the Windsor
Road junction. It is recommended that these elements of the London
Road scheme are taken forward to detailed design and construction
through the Capital Programme of Local Transport Improvements.
3.3
In light of the mixed response to the two options put forward at
consultation for the Town Hall Square element of the scheme,
alongside Rother District Council’s wider aspirations for
redeveloping the Town Hall campus in Bexhill, it is recommended
that following further discussions with the District Council on
this element and the concerns raised in the consultation feedback
that a report is presented back to the Lead Member on the preferred
way forward for the Town Hall Square later in the year.
Director of Communities, Economy
and Transport
Contact Officer:
Andrew Keer
Project Manager & Report Author: Andy Mileham
Tel. No.
07876
878370
Tel. No. 0203 980
2558
Email: andrew.keer@eastsussex.gov.uk
Email: andy.mileham@jacobs.com
LOCAL
MEMBERS
Councillors Geary,
Hollidge
BACKGROUND
DOCUMENTS
None