Appendix 2 – LGF project update
· Hailsham/Polegate/Eastbourne movement and access transport scheme. The sustainable Transport Corridor between Hailsham, Polegate & Eastbourne, is part of the strategic transport improvements identified to support planned housing and employment growth within the current Wealden & Eastbourne Local Plans. The business case was approved at the February 2017 Accountability Board. Consultation on Phase 1 proposals in September 2017 which results were reported to Lead Member for Transport and Environment (LMTE) in June 2018. Construction currently pushed back to late 2023/24 to allow for package review. Project Change Request approved by SELEP in April 2023 to extend project completion timescale through to end of March 2025.
· Eastbourne & South Wealden Walking and Cycling Package. Package of walking & cycling schemes identified in Eastbourne & Wealden Cycle Strategies to support housing & employment growth in these areas. Business case for extension of first tranche of schemes (£2.6m) approved by SELEP Accountability Board in November 2015. Spend in 2018/19 related to design of a number of schemes and the construction of Meads pedestrian improvements. Business case for the remaining £4m approved at the February 2019 Accountability Board. In February 2022, LMTE agreed that four of the 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 whilst the Stone Cross to Royal Parade will not be progressed to detailed design and construction, but the County Council will look to identify future funding opportunities as part of our pipeline of schemes. SELEP has agreed an extension to funding to December 2024 due to the associated complexities in the detailed design of some schemes.
· Queensway Gateway Road. QGR provides a new road between Queensway and A21 in north Hastings. First phase of the road to the mid-roundabout opened December 2018 and Phase 2a (intermediate roundabout to Ramblers Coaches) completed mid-2019. Phase 3a started onsite autumn 2020, completing access to the last of the businesses with a QGR frontage and completing the road to the boundary of the car showroom. A signalised connection to provide a link between the completed road and the A21 received in-principle technical approval of the modelling aspect of the scheme from National Highways. The current focus of both SCS and ESCC is to progress the signalised junction with the A21 in order to fully maximise the scheme's benefits. Regular updates are being provided to the SELEP Accountability Board, with the most recent provided in January 2024.
· Hastings and Bexhill Movement and Access Package. This scheme was awarded £9m LGF funding by the SELEP Accountability Board in February 2018. Varying slippage and delays were experienced across the package as a result of Covid-19, resulting in consultations being delayed which had knock-on impacts on schemes progressing through to construction. In December 2022 HBC voted against the proposal for the cycle route to run through Alexandra Park. As the park is in their ownership, ESCC were unable to progress to implementation. Pedestrian crossings at the Ridge, Sandown Primary School, Battle Road and Collington Avenue have finished construction. Hastings and Bexhill bus stop upgrades including RTPI, Hastings Wayfinding and Cooden Drive packages and the mini roundabouts at Beeching Road and Sackville Road have been completed. An updated business case outlining how ESCC intends to progress the remaining packages and extending the completion date to March 2026 was approved by the SELEP Accountability Board in September 2023.
· Eastbourne Town Centre (ETC). The total £8m LGF funding package was applied in part to Phase 1 scheme which focusses on the section of Terminus Road between Station roundabout and Bankers Corner, Cornfield Road and Gildredge Road was completed in January 2020. Funded in part with £5m of LGF, the scheme has significantly improved the pedestrian environment in this section of ETC as well as supported the wider investment in the extension to The Beacon shopping centre, with construction completed in January 2020 and snagging completed April 2021. A business case for a further £3m investment in Phase 2a of movement and access in Eastbourne town centre was approved by the SELEP’s Accountability Board in February 2019. The programme has progressed through preliminary and final detailed design with approval to proceed to construction provided by the Lead Member for Transport and Environment (LMTE) received in July 2021. The appointment of ESCC’s new highways contractor in May 2023 has led to a design-review period and the handing over of pre-construction works meaning construction is now forecast to start in 2024.
· Bexhill Enterprise Park North. Project completed. The project developed site and servicing infrastructure to provide full access to the individual development plots within the Bexhill Enterprise Park North business park from the North Bexhill Access Road. The £1.94m LGF funding was used to deliver the site and servicing infrastructure required to provide full access to the individual development plots within the Bexhill Enterprise Business Park North off the North Bexhill Access Road. These works enabled the development of the business park and facilitate private sector investment in the site to bring forward 8,000 sqm of light industrial units and up to 8,000 sqm of manufacturing space.
· Skills for Rural Businesses. Project completed. The total £4.41m of LGF funding was used to support the provision of the infrastructure and training required to secure better AgriFood productivity and efficiency post-Brexit. This infrastructure comprises the first phase of an ambitious development on the college site involving the construction of a 2-storey centre of excellence in AgriFood knowledge transfer; improved pedestrian and road user access to the new facilities; redevelopment of the pig production and beef and sheep handling facilities, including automated milking stations; and the development of a village green through landscaping opportunities.
· Churchfields Business Centre (formerly Sidney Little Road Business Incubator Hub). Project completed. The business case to deliver 28 new business incubator units on a redundant industrial site was approved by SELEP Accountability Board June 2019. Construction completed March 2023, and letting of incubator units underway.
· Bexhill Creative Workspace. Project completed. £0.96m of LGF investment was used towards the development of 1,599sqm of B1 light industrial space across six units for the specific use of creative industry businesses to create entry level and starter jobs for young creatives in the area and supporting 36 net additional jobs. The total scheme costs £1.76m with Rother District Council match funding £0.8m for the purchase of the building. Construction was completed in March 2022 and the studios launched in April 2022
· Eastbourne Fisherman’s Quay and Infrastructure Development – Phases 2 and 3. Project completed. The Business Case to deliver Phase 2 and 3 of the Fisherman’s Quay project approved by SELEP Accountability Board July 2020. Following a review of costing in light of the pandemic, the project applied for £0.36m additional SELEP LGF Covid Response funding, approved at the February 2021 SELEP Accountability Board. All LGF spent in 2021/22 and completion of Building 2 was achieved and handed over in March 2022. LGF investment supported the development of the Fisherman’s Quay to maximise the local economic benefits arising from the fishing activity, through transforming an uneven, open yard into a resilient and productive community asset. The LGF funding was awarded to facilitate delivery of Phases 2 and 3, whilst delivery of Phase 1 of the project was supported by a Growing Places Fund loan. Phase 2 delivered two buildings, which are joined on the upper floors, offering 360 sqm of new space. The ground and first floors provide storage space for fishing and landing equipment as well as a repair workshop. Phase 3 provides a 150 sqm building which will be used as a Visitor Centre and as a base for the Eastbourne Fisherman’s under 10m Community Interest Company’s outreach and engagement work. Construction of both Phase 2 and 3 have been completed in 2022.
· Newhaven Port Access Road (funded by C2C LEP). Project completed. It was awarded £10m LGF funding. Construction started January 2019 and was completed in October 2020. Funding from the Ports Infrastructure Fund was secured to enable connections between the end of the Port Access Road and the Port land. PAR and link into the Port fully opened to traffic in February 2022.
· East Sussex Strategic Growth Package (ESSGP). Project completed. Awarded £8.2m in 2017 through the LGF round three. Work on the road extension at Bexhill Enterprise Park was completed in September 2017. The construction of High Weald House (HWH) at the Bexhill Enterprise Park (South) was completed in April 2019. Later stages of the ESSGP are subject to the sale of the HWH building and other land receipts which are expected to enable a recycling of funds that will lead to further developments at Sovereign Harbour, Bexhill, and Hastings Priory Quarter with additional development in South Wealden dependent on the need identified through the respective local plan processes.
· North Bexhill Access Road. Project completed. The £18.6m to develop North Bexhill Access Road (NBAR), which runs between Combe Valley Way and the A269 north of Sidley, was completed and opened to traffic in March 2019. NBAR runs from a roundabout on the BHLR to the A269 north of Sidley. The full length of NBAR was completed and opened to traffic in March 2019. However, there continues to be a delay in Sea Change Sussex (SCS) offering up the road for the formal adoption until after the Stage 3 road safety audit and identified works are completed - SCS are in the process of acquiring a small part of land, which forms part of the road, to enable the Section-38 process to progress.
· Devonshire Park Quarter Redevelopment. Project completed. Scheme approved by SELEP Accountability Board in March 2017. Part of a wider £50m investment to deliver a series of major investments to transform Devonshire Park, the £16m welcome centre opened in June 2019 with the £5m LGF investment fully spent in 2017/18.
· Newhaven Eastside South Business Park (funded by C2C LEP). Project completed and fully let. The £1.6m funding provided was used to establish new commercial units.
· Newhaven Flood Alleviation Scheme (funded by both SELEP and C2C LEP). Project completed. This is an Environment Agency (EA) led scheme to reduce flood risk in Newhaven and recognise the wider benefits this will bring in encouraging regeneration in the town. £10m from EA and £1.5m from C2C LEP as well as SELEP funding of £1.5m; The EA appointed a main contractor (Jackson Hyder) to produce detailed designs and construct the flood defences with construction having started in November 2016. The rail works are now fully completed - the temporary flood defence barrier was deployed during a trial in early November 2021 which coincided with planned rail engineering works. The formal completion date for the scheme was 31 March 2022 for the Principal Contractor related works achieved following rectification of minor outstanding elements.
· Coastal Communities Housing Project Hastings. Project completed. The £0.67m of LGF investment was used alongside Hastings Borough Council and Optivo investment of over £2m in the purchase and refurbishment of a former care home in St Leonards for the creation of 16 social rent units.
· Swallow Business Park. Project completed. It is currently in post project evaluation stage. The project provided enabling infrastructure to unlock the development of Swallow Business Park in the A22/A27 Eastbourne/South Wealden Growth Corridor.
· Strategic Site Investment Package (formerly Sovereign Harbour Innovation Park). Project completed. Project developed the site infrastructure on three sites at Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne; North East Bexhill; and North Queensway St Leonards.
· Specialist Equipment for STEM Centre. Project completed. The project provided specialist industry-relevant equipment to support a new STEM Centre enabling delivery of 35 new apprentices per annum in Laboratory Technician, Science Manufacturing Technician, Laboratory Scientist and Science Industry Maintenance Technician qualifications from 2017/18. East Sussex College has made the final claims for this scheme.
· Refurbished Science Facilities. Project completed. East Sussex College was awarded £159,400 towards total project costs of £478,320 (33%) in Round 1 for refurbishing the reception/hub of the new STEM Centre and an alteration to the existing Science Laboratory at their Lewes campus. Due to negotiations with builders/subcontractors, overall costs reduced leading to SELEP’s 33% contribution also being reduced to £80k which created a surplus of £79,440. SELEP Accountability Board agreed in January 2017 that the college could utilise the £79k underspend for their broader project to enhance the first-floor laboratory, subject to full application and approval by the Board. Application for £39,515 approved by Accountability Board May 2017, with remaining unused funds returned to LGF programme for later allocation.
· Science & Engineering for Tree Management. Project completed.
· Growing Apprenticeship & Skills Training in Engineering. Project completed.
· Railway Quay (funded by C2C LEP). Project completed. Purchase of Railway Quay was completed by Lewes DC in April 2017. LDC has developed ‘The Sidings’, a meanwhile-use scheme to reanimate the site - the facility has now opened with a café and a clubhouse for the Newhaven Gig Rowing Club and has leased out a space for an Activity Hub to be launched. .
· Springman House (funded by C2C LEP). Springman is an enabling site for the North Street Quarter (NSQ) and is inseparably linked to the delivery of the wider scheme. Lewes DC purchased the Springman site in March 2017 The current NSQ majority landowner/developer is currently proposing affordable housing on the site.
· Charleston Centenary (funded by C2C LEP). The grant supported the various parts of the Centenary project including facilities for the barn renovation, specialist catering and exhibition equipment as well as the landscaping of the grounds to help attract over 50,000 visitors per year and introduce them to Charleston's cultural offer.