Appendix 3 - Active Travel initiatives, activities and scheme project development and delivery

Active Travel initiatives, activities and scheme project development and delivery

The following active travel schemes, initiatives and activities have as examples been developed and delivered over the last four years funded in part or full by capital and/or revenue funding secured and received by the County Council:

School Streets

· Introduction of School streets sign only schemes at Southover CE Primary in Lewes; Langney Primary in Eastbourne and All Saints CE Primary in Sidley, Bexhill.

· Development of school street wider measures at above three primary schools.

· Commissioned and commenced the development of a policy/approach to enable the assessment and prioritisation of future school street schemes in the county.

Active Travel Training Programme

· Run throughout 2024 and 2025, a comprehensive programme of active travel design, equalities and healthy streets training, in partnership with consultants WSP and Healthy Streets Ltd, for County Council officers in CET teams and Public Health to drive a step change in active travel scheme design quality within the county by ensuring the effective use of national active travel guidance and tools.

· The development of an accessible dashboard to clearly outline the active travel guidance and tools that County Council officers/consultants or developers will be required to use at the different stages of active travel scheme design. This will be launched in autumn 2025.

· The final series of active travel training sessions in November 2025 include a comprehensive session for members of the East Sussex Local Transport Plan 4 Scrutiny Panel and the Lead Member for Transportand Environment. This will provide an overview of active travel policy, guidance and tools, healthy streets and the application of this to the review of the East Sussex Local Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plan, which will result in a robust pipeline of active travel schemes being prioritised for design and delivery.

Partnership work other local authorities

· To enhance County Council Officer active travel training, regular engagement with other local authorities who have a higher active travel rating to share learning which can be applied to active travel scheme design and delivery in East Sussex. This includes with Brighton & Hove and West Sussex, in recognition of the forthcoming establishment of the Sussex MCCA and the opportunities that this will provide for strategic active travel and consistency in approaches and design of active travel schemes, initiatives and training.

· Have also continued engagement with Hampshire and Surrey County Councils as well as Buckinghamshire and Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole unitary authorities.

Local Transport schemes and Major Projects

There are numerous projects or business cases that are supporting the development and delivery of more schemes which support active travel and placemaking across the county. These include: -

· Eastbourne Town Centre improvements - an ongoing multi-phased project which aims to improve Eastbourne Town Centre by re-allocating the amount of through-traffic, providing more space for people through the completion of a pedestrian spinal route through the town centre on Terminus Road from the rail station to the seafront, creating new public spaces and enhancing the existing pedestrian environment at key locations. Phase 1 has been completed with two phases – 2a and 2b – currently under construction. A further phase, focussed on introducing formal crossings on all arms of Memorial roundabout, is completed its detailed design and delivery subject to securing funding.

· Hastings Green Connections - sets out to improve public spaces in Hastings town and make the area more green, attractive, healthy and fun. The proposal includes integrated infrastructure for improved walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure centre focused on the Havelock Road/Harold Place route from the station and seafront as well as the Robertson Street/Wellington Place axis - alongside employing nature-based solutions to contribute to the town’s resilience to current and future environmental challenges by cooling, draining, cleaning and greening the town. Construction due to commence in Spring 2026.

· A22 Major Road Network Corridor scheme - a comprehensive active travel package of measures in the Hailsham, Polegate, Stone Cross and Hampden Park part of Eastbourne that supports the A22 Major Road Network package of junction improvements. These include improvements to existing walking, wheeling and cycling links and new facilities to encourage and promote active travel junctions; one of the junction improvements at the A22/Dittons Road junction will remove the existing roundabout to create a signalised crossroads to improve active connectivity between Stone Cross and Polegate. Subject to full business case approval, construction programmed to start autumn 2026.

· A259 Major Road Network South Coast Corridor Package - a multi-modal package of active travel, traffic management/road safety and local junction improvements on the A259 MRN corridor from the eastern edge of Brighton to the eastern edge of Eastbourne, mainly focussed on measures in Peacehaven, Newhaven, Seaford and Eastbourne. The progression of the package is pending the outcome of the DfT review of MRN pre-programme entry schemes following the Government’s spending review in June 2025

· Local transport schemes - The development and delivery of various active travel related local transport schemes including:

o A259/Albert Road pedestrian and junction improvement, Hastings (Local Growth Fund (LGF), completed May 2025)

o Station Approach/Devonshire Road/Cornwallis Road pedestrian crossing improvement (LGF, due for construction Q4 2025/26)

o Bexhill Cycle route (LGF, due for construction Q4 2025/26)

o Eastbourne Horsey cycle route Phase 1b and Town Centre to Seafront cycle routes (LGF, at detailed design & due for construction 2026)

o Cycle parking in Eastbourne (LGF, completed 2025)

· Peacehaven and Telscombe Active Travel Feasibility Study – co-designed feasibility study involving stakeholders identified a package of low complexity inclusive active travel measures (including wayfinding, improvements to pedestrian crossings, school streets schemes) for the Peacehaven and Telscombe area. Feedback received from ATE during a recent design review of the project was positive and preliminary design commenced in September 2025.

· Travel behaviour change programmes – County Council currently procures Sustrans to deliver walking and cycling initiatives that support the development and delivery of active travel infrastructure projects, specifically the school streets schemes and the Peacehaven & Telscombe Active Travel project.