Report to:

Lead Member for Transport & Environment

 

Date of meeting:

 

21 February 2022

By:

Director of Communities, Economy and Transport

 

Title:

Eastbourne Cycle Routes consultation outcomes

 

Purpose:

To consider the results of the stakeholder and public consultation about the five proposed cycle routes in Eastbourne and agree on the approach to how the cycle routes will be taken forward.

RECOMMENDATIONS: The Lead Member is recommended to:

(1)    Note the results of the stakeholder and public consultation on the five proposed cycle routes in Eastbourne;

(2)    Agree that four cycle routes - Horsey Way Phase 1b, Eastbourne Town Centre to seafront, Willingdon Drove and Langney Rise - are taken forward to detailed design and construction as part of the Capital Programme for Local Transport Improvements; and

(3)      Agree that one cycle route - Stone Cross to Royal Parade – will not be progressed to detailed design and construction as part of the 2022/23 Capital Programme for Local Transport Improvements, but the County Council will look to identify future funding opportunities as part of our pipeline of schemes.

 

 

1              Background Information

1.1.        The Eastbourne Cycling Strategy, jointly developed by East Sussex County Council and Eastbourne Borough Council (EBC) in 2012, alongside the more recent County Council’s Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) and its evidence base, identifies a borough-wide network of cycle routes. 

1.2.        A number of these identified routes have been developed and delivered using funding from various sources including Local Growth Fund (LGF) monies secured through the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) as well as the County Council’s capital programme for local transport improvements and development contributions.

1.3.        Preliminary designs have been developed for five further routes, which seek to link up residential areas with existing trip attractors such as employment, schools, community facilities, retail and recreation in the Eastbourne area. These are:

·           Horsey Way Phase 1b – the final phase of the Horsey Cycle Way (Town Centre – Langney Rise roundabout) from Eastbourne Railway Station and Ringwood Road

·           Eastbourne Town Centre to seafront - an on-road route to allow cyclists to travel in either direction from Eastbourne railway station, via the Devonshire Quarter to the seafront

·           Willingdon Drove – a shared footway along Sevenoaks Road between Willingdon Drove and Kingfisher Drive. Once at Kingfisher Drive the proposed route transfers to on-road towards Sandpiper Walk and Langney Shopping Centre

·           Langney Rise – an off-road shared cycle route which runs along the western side of Langney Rise from Langney Shopping Centre to the Langney Roundabout, where it connects with the existing Horsey Way cycle route. An additional short section of route runs along the eastern side of Langney Road from the Langney roundabout up to Priory Road in order to pick up cyclists from Langney Primary School and St Catherine’s College

·           Stone Cross to Royal Parade - a largely off-road shared route for cyclists travelling in either direction from Stone Cross via Shinewater to Langney, linking to the Langney Rise and Willingdon Drove routes, and then south from Langney Rise roundabout via Princes Road to Eastbourne seafront

1.4.        A plan showing the proposed alignments of each of the five routes referred to in paragraph 1.3 alongside a more detailed description is at Appendix 1.

1.5.        The five proposed cycle routes will significantly contribute to supporting the County Council priorities relating to climate change, economic growth and recovery and health and wellbeing.

 

2              Supporting Information

Local Transport Note 1/20

2.1          The Department for Transport (DfT) published its revised guidance on cycle infrastructure design (LTN 1/20) in July 2020, towards the end of the preliminary design process of the five cycle routes. LTN 1/20 proposes a step-change in the approach to the planning and development of cycle infrastructure and this will be a tool that will be used for developing future cycle infrastructure projects.

2.2          Whilst the proposals do not fully achieve all of the core design principles set out in LTN1/20, following publication of the guidance the preliminary designs were reviewed to ensure that cyclists have the highest level of provision possible, whilst also considering other road users.  This has included undertaking a retrospective Cycling Level of Service (CLoS) audit, as advised through the LTN1/20 guidance, to assess the coherence, directness, safety, comfort and attractiveness of the design of each route.

Equalities Impact Assessment

2.3          An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) was undertaken for each route as part of the design process and prior to stakeholder and public consultation. By carrying out the EqIA’s and seeking feedback from stakeholder groups, potential impacts have been identified and all potential actions to advance equality of opportunity, eliminate discrimination and foster good relationships have been documented. These impacts include:

·           that people who are less mobile, have balance problems or have hearing or visual impairments may feel more vulnerable/less safe sharing the footway and pathways with cyclists

·           concerns for the safety of young children who will be less aware of approaching cyclists and may stop visiting the footways/footpaths that the shared facility follows

·           that some older people are potentially more sensitive to the changes proposed as part of these five cycle routes because of the impacts on parking, pedestrian safety and the changes within the footway space

2.4          Addressing and actioning these impacts with the five routes have been considered in the design process. These will remain living documents and will be updated at key stages throughout the life of each of the schemes.

Stakeholder and Public Consultation

2.5          Consultation was undertaken with key stakeholders between 16 June and 6 July 2021 including the emergency services, local cycle groups, disability groups, walking groups, Local Bus Company (Stagecoach), County Councillors, the respective Borough/District Councillors, Westham Parish Council and the local MPs.

2.6          Public consultation on the five proposed routes was undertaken between 16 August and 24 September 2021. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the consultation process was undertaken online via the County Council’s consultation hub. The design proposals themselves were accompanied by a questionnaire which included open questions, in order to encourage qualitative feedback. Leaflets about the consultation were distributed to over 4,500 properties in the vicinity of the proposed routes. The consultation was also promoted through the local media, posters, letters/emails to local councillors.

Consultation responses

2.7          A copy of the public consultation summary report is provided in Appendix 2. A total of 188 responses were received equating to a 4% response rate which is low for a public consultation. A breakdown of the number of responses and the level of support to each of the five routes is shown below:

Scheme Name

Responses received

Support

Oppose

Don’t Know

Eastbourne Town Centre

58

62%

31%

7%

Stone Cross to Royal Parade

25

68%

28%

4%

Horsey Way Phase 1b

60

77%

23%

0%

Langney Rise

26

62%

34%

4%

Willingdon Drove

19

69%

26%

5%

2.8          Respondents were generally positive in their feedback on the five schemes, with the majority supporting the proposals. As identified from the survey results above, the proposed Horsey Way Phase 1b cycle route received the highest level of support, with 77% of respondents in favour of the proposed scheme. However, the cycle schemes that received the lowest level of support were the Town Centre and Langney Rise routes, with 62% of respondents in agreement for both of them.

2.9          In the comments provided alongside their consultation responses, some respondents felt that the plans would improve the town for residents, visitors and businesses, and believed that the infrastructure improvements would help the County Council achieve their stated objectives. However, the stakeholder and public consultation also raised a number of issues about some or all of the proposed routes. These include:

·         Concerns about the cycling facilities not being designed in accordance with LTN 1/20

·         The proposals were too small and do not include several major routes proposed in the LCWIP

·         Concerns about pedestrian safety

·         Concerns that the schemes are not warranted because of the lack of cyclists within the area

·         Concerns were also raised about the cost of the scheme and how it could be better spent repairing the existing infrastructure

·         Concern about the road layout and design due to reduced capacity for motorists, which could lead to increased traffic

·         Concerns regarding the removal of a number of parking bays

2.10       A response to each of these key concerns raised by the consultation is at Appendix 3.

2.11       Through the consultation exercise, several alternative route proposals were put forward by respondents for each of the cycle schemes. A detailed review of all the route options had already been undertaken when each scheme was at feasibility design stage. Following assessment of these alternative proposed routes, none of these alternatives would be either viable or preferable given they would also result in the removal of existing parking, provide increasingly indirect routes and insufficient width to accommodate cycle lanes. A copy of the stakeholder and public consultation report is at Appendix 2.

Prioritisation of funding towards schemes

2.12       From the £4.6m LGF secured towards walking and cycling improvements in the Eastbourne and South Wealden area, £2.231m is currently available towards the delivery of these cycle routes. 

2.13       The funding available is not currently sufficient to develop all of the five proposed routes and therefore an initial deliverability and affordability assessment based on the current estimated costs has been undertaken of each scheme. This has identified that four of the routes – Horsey Way Phase 1b, Town Centre, Willingdon Drove and Langney Rise – could be delivered from within the available funding and are recommended to be taken forward to detailed design and construction.  The cost of the Stone Cross to Royal Parade scheme is outside the envelope of available LGF funding, and it is therefore recommended that the County Council will look at alternative funding sources to develop this project further in the future as part of our pipeline of schemes.

2.14       The outcome of the decision by the Lead Member will be reported through a Project Change Request to the SELEP Accountability Board in April 2022 to explain the prioritisation of the schemes taken forward and benefits to be realised with the remaining LGF funding available.

 

3      Conclusion and Reasons for Recommendations

3.1       The results of the public consultation for the five proposed cycle routes in Eastbourne show that there is overall support for the implementation of all of the routes. Whilst there is concern that the proposed schemes submitted may not fully achieve all of the core design principles set out in LTN1/20, the designs have been reviewed through a Cycle Level of Service assessment, and amended accordingly, to ensure that cyclists have the highest level of provision possible, whilst also considering other road users and their safety. The Lead Member is recommended to note the outcomes of the stakeholder and public consultation on the proposed cycle routes in Eastbourne.

3.2          At present there is £2.231m of LGF available to deliver further improvements for walking and cycling in the Eastbourne and South Wealden area which is not sufficient to deliver all five schemes. Therefore, it is recommended that four of the five routes - Horsey Cycle Way Phase 1b, Town Centre to seafront, Willingdon Drove and Langney Rise - are taken forward to detailed design as part of the 2022/23 Capital Programme for Local Transport Improvements for delivery across 2022/23 and 2023/24.  

3.3          In addition, it is recommended that the County Council explores future funding opportunities to progress the detailed design and construction of the Stone Cross to Royal Parade cycle route, in the future as part of our pipeline of schemes.

RUPERT CLUBB

Director of Communities, Economy and Transport

Contact Officer: Andrew Keer

Tel. No. 07876 878370

Email: Andrew.Keer@eastsussex.gov.uk

Project Manager & Report Author: James Glover
Tel. No. 0118 946 7257
Email: James.Glover@jacobs.com

LOCAL MEMBERS

Councillors Di Cara; Holt; Liddiard; Rodohan; Daniel Shing; Shuttleworth; Tutt; Taylor

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS

None