County council leaders have agreed to commit extra funds to plans to replace Exceat Bridge with a crossing fit for the 21st century.
Yesterday (Tuesday 22 April), East Sussex County Council’s cabinet agreed to “redirect” more than £11 million towards plans to replace the busy single-lane bridge.
In its place, the council aims to build a new two-lane two-way bridge on one of the main bottlenecks on the A259 between Seaford and Eastbourne.
Some councillors objected to plan, saying that the project was proving to be too expensive and should be dropped.
This had been an option that was due to be considered at a cabinet meeting last month. It would have meant the council pursuing an alternative plan to construct a cheaper like-for-like replacement of the existing structure.
In face of criticism, Councillor Nick Bennett, the Conservative cabinet member for resources and climate change, defended the project to opt for a two-lane bridge.
He said: “If we build a single-lane bridge now, in 20 years’ time people will think that we’ve missed a great opportunity to build something far more substantial that supports the infrastructure for a long time.
”The additional funding for the project is to be drawn from money tied to the council’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP).
Before making their decision, cabinet members heard how the reallocation would result in some disruption to other projects within the bus plan.
These include bus priority schemes, which involve the creation of new bus lanes among other measures, in Newhaven and Peacehaven.
The council said that it still hoped to go ahead with these schemes should further funding be made available in the future.
It specifically intends to use 2025-26 BSIP funding to continue with the Newhaven scheme but officials have said that the scheme “may need to be descoped to ensure it can be delivered within the available funding”.
The future is more uncertain for the Telscombe Cliffs scheme because no extra funding has currently been identified.
The council said that this scheme, as well as plans to improve bus stop infrastructure and provide real-time information, would be prioritised for delivery using future BSIP funding, if and when it was announced by the government.
Some councillors raised concerns about the future of these schemes. Green Party councillor Johnny Denis said: “(Traffic in Newhaven) is the biggest pinch point of all.
“For everybody, for the maximum number of users, that ought to be the priority – not this white elephant or should we call it a red herring in terms of traffic solutions on the A259.”
He added: “This is a nonsense. We are basically saying one community isn’t going to get it. Another community isn’t going to get it. We are going to keep pouring money down a terrible deep hole on a failed project.”
Liberal Democrat James MacCleary, who is both county councillor for Newhaven and Bishopstone and the MP for Lewes, took a different view.
He said that the Newhaven bus priority scheme, which would take place around The Drove and Denton Roundabout, would be “disruptive”. He added that the council should focus on addressing traffic congestion problems instead.
But Councillor MacCleary also shared concerns about the potential for the two-lane bridge project to further increase in cost.
In a statement published before the meeting, Councillor MacCleary said: “I know that many local residents are very concerned that the council is now in the position of having to find so much additional funding for the replacement of the Exceat Bridge.
“With nearly £5 million already spent, the cost of the project is beginning to escalate significantly.
“Indeed, if cabinet agrees to proceed with (a two-lane bridge) … then the cost will be a minimum of £21.8 million presuming no further cost over-runs – more than double the initial estimate.
“I would like to know how the previous cost estimate of £10.6 million proved to be so far off the mark, what lessons have been learned from this and how the council leadership will be ensuring that taxpayers are not on the hook for more millions in the highly possible event that new estimates prove inaccurate?”
At their previous meeting in March, cabinet members were due to consider whether to move ahead with alternative plans to construct a cheaper like-for-like replacement of the existing structure because of the costs associated with the two-lane project.
These plans, unlike the initial proposals, would have required the road to be closed for around 22 weeks. These closures could result in delays of up to an hour for some rush-hour drivers, council officials said.
The change of course was prompted by a letter from Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company.
According to officials, the bus company said that it would have promoted the Exceat Bridge project as a higher priority than other schemes in the bus plan, had it not already been a project on the council’s books.
Since then, the Department for Transport (DfT) has given the council permission to reallocate £11.128 million of BSIP grant funding towards the Exceat Bridge project.
While the reallocation of BSIP money is expected to close the funding gap, the Exceat Bridge project still faces some further hurdles.
As part of the project, the council is in the process of securing land through a compulsory purchase order (CPO) and similar statutory powers.
In light of objections, the DfT has arranged a public inquiry. This inquiry is due to start on Tuesday 13 May and is expected to run for several days, following which a decision on the orders will be reached.
The council said that it would continue to negotiate with the statutory objectors in hopes of removing the need for a CPO.
Conservative councillor Claire Dowling, the cabinet member for transport and the environment, said: “The Exceat Bridge is a pinch-point which we are all well aware of.
“This (project) is extremely important to the county … especially to the buses (and) we are looking to encourage bus users.”
She added that “21 per cent of bus passengers already use this route”.
