Lewes to Uckfield

On Tuesday (March 7), East Sussex County Council’s cabinet agreed to give their support to Transport for the South East’s (TfSE) final draft Strategic Investment Plan, ahead of its planned submission to the government in the coming weeks.

The plan is intended to set out where members of TfSE — which also include Brighton and Hove City Council, Kent County Council and West Sussex County Council — believe the government should focus its future transport investments.

Council leader Keith Glazier (Con), who is also chairman of the TfSE Partnership Board, said: “This is not the business cases for all the interventions, this is an outline guide for the secretary of state to say, ‘if you want to get traffic moving in the South East, this is the minimum that you will need to be looking at over the next 30 odd years and, by the way, we would hope you would use this piece of work in your funding allocation as you go forward’.”

The plan, which is due for final sign off by the TfSE Partnership Board on Monday (March 13), sets out a wide range of potential schemes for government investment.

These include calls to reinstate a rail link between Lewes and Uckfield, upgrading to a high-speed rail link between Hastings and Ashford International and making improvements to the Brighton Mainline, among other things.

The plan also makes a case for improved bus links along the A26 Corridor between Lewes and Tunbridge Wells and for the creation of a number of local cycleways, including one between Eastbourne and Hailsham.

Other potential projects endorsed in the plan include the removal of the Star Crossing level crossing on the A259 east of Rye and investment in a rail freight interchange at Newhaven Port.

If given the sign off by the TfSE partnership board the plan is expected to be submitted to the government this Spring.