Agenda and draft minutes

9.1       The Committee agreed the minutes of the non-statutory meeting held on 22 July 2025 and RESOLVED the actions within them.

10.1     There were no apologies for absence. Cllr Kirby-Green attended via Teams.

Disclosures by all members present of personal interests in matters on the agenda, the nature of any interest and whether the member regards the interest as prejudicial under the terms of the Code of Conduct.

11.1     Cllr Hollidge declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest for items 14 and 15, as he wrote a regular article in a local paper that related to cycling.

Notification of items which the Chair considers to be urgent and proposes to take at the appropriate part of the agenda. Any members who wish to raise urgent items are asked, wherever possible, to notify the Chair before the start of the meeting. In so doing, they must state the special circumstances which they consider justify the matter being considered urgent.

12.1     There were no urgent items.

13.1     The Chair introduced the report which outlines future items for the Place Scrutiny Committee. The Committee discussed potential areas of interest for addition to the work programme.

13.2     The Committee discussed an approach to the scrutiny of the Queensway Gateway Road project, noting the challenges and delays to construction, and the need to learn lessons from the project to inform future major projects, including the planned construction of the new Exceat Bridge. The Committee noted the considerable public interest in the issue, but that the road had not yet opened and that scrutiny could not begin until after it had. The Committee agreed to discuss an approach to scrutinising the issue at its awayday in the afternoon.

13.3     The Committee discussed its approach to scrutinising major projects and commented that it should be able to have a role in scrutinising ongoing projects for assurance that they are progressing as planned and to understand challenges that emerge during them. The Committee agreed that scrutiny should not add unnecessary delay to what can be complex schemes and should therefore be considerate and proportionate in its approach to scrutinising major projects, and would not be able to make decisions regarding the project.

13.4     The Committee noted the upcoming contract award for the on-street electric vehicle (EV) charge point contract and requested a report to the next meeting on the approach to the rollout of on-street EV charging.

13.5     The Committee requested a briefing to be added to the work programme on the work undertaken by the trading standards team to combat illicit trading of cigarettes and vapes, including through the use of recently acquired powers.

13.6     The Committee discussed the inclusion of verge cutting policy in the future scoping of a footway maintenance review, noting concerns about the impact of grass cutting on pavements. It was noted that town and parish councils may have the option to fund additional cuts, although this is not possible in all areas such as Eastbourne and Hastings.

13.7     The Committee requested a progress report on the updated strategic highways policies and asset management plans adopted following the Lead Member for Transport and Environment meeting on 8 September 2025.

13.8     The Committee RESOLVED to:

1)         amend the work programme in line with paragraphs 13.2, 13.4, 13.5 and 13.7.

2)         confirm the membership of the street works scoping board.

14.1     The Infrastructure Planning & Policy Manager introduced the report and gave a presentation. The Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) is a five-year strategic plan aimed at improving walking, wheeling, and cycling infrastructure across East Sussex, with the overarching goal of embedding active travel into everyday life through accessible, high-quality infrastructure. Active Travel England (ATE) is responsible with setting standards, allocating funding, and monitoring local authority performance in the development and delivery of active travel infrastructure.

14.2     The LCWIP was originally approved in September 2021 and prioritised areas with the greatest potential for active travel improvements, particularly the coastal strip and larger market towns. Of the 20 priority schemes in the original LCWIP, 15 are either in development or have been delivered. Since it was first approved, walking levels in East Sussex have increased, but cycling levels have declined, both in line with national trends. The Council is undertaking a review of the LCWIP and these trends highlight the need for balanced investment across all active travel modes.

14.3     Funding for active travel comes from a wide range of sources with capital and revenue funding having been secured from ATE annually, alongside other sources including the Local Growth Fund, Town Deal funding, Levelling Up Fund, and developer contributions (through s106 and CIL). Approximately £20m had been secured for capital schemes over the last five years. Examples of schemes in development or being delivered included:

• School Streets: 3 permanent schemes had been introduced following trials using experimental Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO), resulting in a 10% increase in children using active travel modes to travel to school.
• Eastbourne Liveable Town Centre: Multi-phase improvements to pedestrian access between the railway station and seafront, with further funding being sought for enhancements to Memorial Roundabout.
• A22 Corridor Junction Improvements: Active travel integrated into major infrastructure upgrades, including light-controlled crossings.
• Uckfield Transport Hub: A multi-modal transport hub that would support people to use active travel to get to and from the new bus station funded through developer contributions.

14.4     ATE assess local authorities on an annual basis on their ability to design and deliver active travel initiatives, based on a local authority submitted self-assessment, and are rated at a level from 0 to 4. The assessment considers budget, leadership and organisational capability, network planning, and scheme delivery. ESCC is currently rated at level 1 overall, with level 2 scores in leadership and network planning. ESCC has undertaken extensive officer training and is working to improve scheme delivery outcomes.

14.5     A review of the LCWIP is underway to align it with LTP4 and develop a new pipeline of schemes in response to evolving national policy and active travel trends. Concept design and appraisal work will be undertaken, with public consultation currently planned for January 2026. Officers will also undertake site visits to Cambridge and Camden to explore best practice. The revised LCWIP will be presented to the Lead Member for Transport and Environment in June 2026.

Maintenance and accessibility

14.6     The committee raised concerns regarding vegetation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

Note: The Committee’s report attached as Appendix 2 is a previous version of the report. The final agreed version of the report was included with the agenda of the Full Council meeting on 11 February 2025 and can be found at this link.

15.1     The committee received a six-month update report on the implementation of the recommendations from the scrutiny review of the Council’s speed limit policy. The action plan arising from the review was agreed by Full Council in February, and the update outlined progress against each recommendation.

15.2     The Head of Communities confirmed that all elements of the action plan were either completed or in progress. She confirmed that updates to the website were being finalised and would be published online in early October. A revised Councillor Toolkit had been finalised and will be shared shortly. A Parish Council Toolkit, based on the Councillor version, would also be distributed in October.

15.3     Cllr Hollidge, who had been Chair of the Review Board, commented that progress had been positive and welcomed the update. He reiterated that speeding remains a concern and suggested that reducing the speed of vehicles could encourage greater uptake of cycling. He welcomed and supported further collaboration between the road safety and active travel teams.

15.4     The committee RESOLVED to note the updates to the recommendations and action plan set out in Appendix 1.

16.1 There were none.</AI7>

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