Mellor 3 Ward 4
Well-known member
What about the Shoreham to Guildford line via Horsham?
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The Wealden Line.
- Thread starter Leekbrookgull
- Start date
Lord Bracknell
On fire
The rumour about the £75 million earmarked by the government for the A27 between Lewes and Polegate being dependent on the decision of the Airports Commission about the future of Gatwick Airport is apparently NOT TRUE.
At least that's what Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, told a delegation of parish council representatives who went to see him on 16 March with Norman Baker MP.
According to Norman Baker, all of the Parish Councils between Lewes and Polegate are happy with what the Secretary of State and the Highways Agency are offering - a series of local improvements along the line of the route, with a particular focus on Wilmington crossroads, Selmeston and Firle. Norman Baker is supporting this solution as well.
happypig
Staring at the rude boys
Hopefully (although unlikely), the odious little twerp Baker will be out of a job on the 8th May and the new MP will be as supportive of his car-driving constituents in the East as he is of the train users in Lewes.
Lankyseagull
One Step Beyond
The 'improvements' currently centre on the High Street between the Framfield Road and Church Street junctions. The first Phase from Framfield Road to Bell Lane was completed in the Late Autumn of last year. The scheme centres around widening pavements and introducing trees & street furniture at the expense of the majority of the (free) on street parking. The second phase of work (Bell Lane to Church Street) was due to commence in March for 30 weeks, but due to overwhelming objections to the removal of the on street parking from traders, the Chamber of Commerce and public in general (resulting in a local referendum with 85% of voters against) the scheme is under review, with revised proposals due to be tabled by the Town Centre Regeneration Committe and ESCC in June.
Once this part of the work has been undertaken, I understand that the regeneration of the rest of the town centre will be open for proposals to be tabled by 'partner' developers, which it would seem, will include revising of the road system in the town, paid for by developers Section 106 contributions.
Lord Bracknell
On fire
"His"? Are you expecting a Labour win?
Perhaps (s)he thinks UKIP will shock everyone
I drove along the A27 from Lewes to Alfriston a couple of Saturdays back. First time for a while and I was amazed at the volume of traffic even on a March Saturday morning.
I seem to recall that there was talk of a completely new road between Lewes and Polegate aligned north of the present road and south of the railway. It looks to me as though there's ample space to widen the existing road to four lanes without building a new road. It may require the demolition of a couple of properties along the way, but surely the better and cheaper alternative.
surrey jim
Not in Surrey
I am no expert on these things but as much of the line has been built on (in Henfield there is a housing estate, the Steynning bypass is on the old trackbed) I would think the cost of reinstatement far outweighs the benifits. Compared to Lewes-Uckfield line where much of the trackbed is in situ from when the line was closed, and very little has been developed.
Not Andy Naylor
Well-known member
Of course not. Most government ministers are not interested in public transport, and the Transport brief is seen as one to be promoted out of - whereas in fact it should be regarded as one of the most important. Without proper transport, the economy doesn't work. I've got to go to Bournemouth on Monday and my choices are a slow rail line or one of the worst roads in Britain. At least there are no replacement buses.
By the way, last time I was on a replacement bus, it caught fire, so I ended up on a replacement replacement bus....
West Hoathly Seagull
Honorary Ruffian
Lord B, I got this from a Highways Agency study, not from the media. It discussed a number of options, from full dual carriageway, which they decided did not represent value for money, to various local improvements, such as bypasses for Selmeston and Wilmington, which they decided did not meet the intended objectives. They went on to say that they might review the decision if a second runway at Gatwick was given the go-ahead. I don't have the link to hand, but I got it from the SABRE roads forum, www.sabre-roads.org.uk. I think a decision has to be taken: is this a local road for commuting, or is it part of the long-distance network? If the former, local improvements might be sufficient, if not it either needs a large-scale improvement, or a new East-West link, perhaps further north, needs to be considered.
Lord Bracknell
On fire
It is, of course, possible that the Secretary of State has "over-ruled" the Highways Agency (or at least that is the impression that he has given to Norman Baker and the local parish councils). I'll investigate further, with the contacts that I have.
Oh don't get me started on the A27 (Lord B and I will fall out badly!). It's the main reason why the Tour de France is unlikely to come back to Sussex. When it was here in the 1990s the organisers moaned about the 'primitive' road infrastructure, especially when they were all trying to move west for the next stage. Still, Arundel might be getting a by-pass! Whoopi-do!
Blue Valkyrie
Not seen such Bravery!
A rail link between Brighton and Tunbridge Wells, and then up to London would be fantastic.
Lord Bracknell
On fire
No. It would be the railway line between Tunbridge Wells and London.
It's quicker to travel from Brighton to London than from Tunbridge Wells to London. Adding in the journey time between Brighton and Tunbridge Wells would make the overall journey really unattractive.
Cosmic Joker
The Motorik
This is what the DfT Roads Investment Strategy has to say on A27 East of Lewes:
It is not listed in the "schemes committed" section, although Chichester, Arundel and Worthing-Lancing all are. Chichester is a previous commitment dependent on other - developer - contributions, Arundel is a dual carriageway bypass, Worthing is an online improvement including junction improvements.
East of Lewes features in the Feasibility Studies section, stating
"A27 East of Lewes – funding set aside pending further work on capacity increases following review of long term growth plans in light of any recommendation made by the Airports Commission."
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-investment-strategy-for-the-2015-to-2020-road-period
Whilst all that really says is that any decision will be taken after the Airport Commission recommendations for Gatwick and Heathrow, its easy to imagine that if the outcome of that decision is in favour of Gatwick expansion it would enhance the case for A27 investment, whether or not it actually makes much difference to the economic analysis and cost/benefit outcome.
Yesterday I tried to get from Tunbridge Wells to Lewes (for Seaford) at around 5 p.m., not the first time I have endeavoured this at around that time. The half-hourly 29 buses seem to vanish into a black hole, I waited until nearly 6 then got the bus to Lewes and (having to buy a ticket on an automatic machine to access the platform) then saw the 6.54 sail out of platform 3.
I this had to wait until 7.31 and got back into Seaford nearly THREE HOURS after I set out. Pathetic.
Osbourne stirred it up as Lord B said, reported in the "Argus" yesterday. Baker supported the study costing £100k announced in the Budget, but Brian Hart of BML2 poured scorn on it.
Strangely a prominent sign where Uckfield High Steet crosses the old trackbed, which supported BML2 has now been taken down..
Strangely a prominent sign where Uckfield High Steet crosses the old trackbed, which supported BML2 has now been taken down..
Lloyd Russel-Moyle is according to his election leaflet! What odds on that? The last I heard UKIP were 25-1.
Norman Potting
Well-known member
Feasibility study I believe. Remind me how many have been done regarding reinstating Lewes - Uckfield?