The Queemsway Gateway Road where it links into Whitworth Road. A barrier currently prevents the passage of traffic.
Sea Change sidelined as ESCC plans completion of Queensway Gateway Road
The completion of the much delayed Queensway Gateway Road may now be in sight, though East Sussex County Council has decided to exclude Sea Change Sussex from the final works. Nick Terdre reports.
“We are committed to the completion of the Queensway Gateway road and the county council will be working with its highways contractor Balfour Beatty Living Places to deliver the final phase of the project,”an East Sussex County Council spokesperson said.
They also confirmed that Sea Change Sussex, the county council’s delivery partner for the project from its inception, would not be involved in this final stage.
Sea Change’s exclusion was originally revealed on the company’s website, where it states that “ESCC has now informed us that it will complete the scheme using its own highways contractor.”
The company says that in December 2023 it provided the county council with an updated proposal intended as the basis for a final phase contract to cover the remaining works. One undecided question at the time was how this phase was to be financed. Sea Change had argued that it had completed its contract, spending the £10m grant from government’s Local Growth Fund, and therefore was not responsible for coming up with further financing.
ESCC did not argue the point, apparently accepting the company’s case. Instead, when the opportunity arose to apply for levelling up funding it put in a request to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and in April was allocated a grant of £2.5m for the project. At the time Sea Change claimed that £3m might be needed.
However, according to ESCC, “The scheme completion costs are anticipated to come within the DLUHC funding allocation. Any costs over and above this would be funded by the county council as set out in the funding agreement with Government.
“Further details will be confirmed when the programme of work is agreed.”
ESCC declined to give HOT any time-frame for completing the road, for which a number of traffic regulation orders are required from National Highways Agency.
At present the road runs from a new roundabout on Queensway linking into Whitworth Road where a barrier is currently installed. Instead of connecting with the A21 in Sedlescombe Road North over the site of the Seat showroom, as originally planned, it is now intended to take traffic along Whitworth Road into Junction Road and thus onto the A21. Traffic lights will be installed at this junction to control the traffic flow.
The planned connection of Queensway Gateway Road to the A21 via Whitworth Road and the bottom of Junction Road (image: Sea Change Sussex).
According to Sea Change, the remaining works should take about 10 weeks, suggesting that the road could open as early as the autumn, about eight years after its original start-up date of November 2016. The company says it has offered to licence to the council its designs for these modifications to save it the expense and time of developing new ones.
The road is intended to provide direct access from Queensway to the A21 and vice versa for traffic which currently has to travel via The Ridge and Junction Road, as well as opening up industrial sites along its length.
Where Junction Road meets the A21 at Sedlescombe Road North. Queensway Gateway Road will provide a direct link from Queensway to the A21, as but as the top section of Junction Road will be closed off, traffic on The Ridge will have to travel down Queensway to access the new link.
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why is A21restricted & Junction Road closed .as this dose not affect the completion of the long awaited by pass until later stages . At present could not Junction Road be left to function as before until work is nearer completion. This would ease traffic mayhem that is affecting our town .
Comment by d clout — Monday, Sep 9, 2024 @ 16:25
The usual cock up. Sea Change is totally useless, but Council is very little better
Comment by Anthony Wison. — Saturday, Sep 7, 2024 @ 16:04
Well we have just driven along the A28 from Northiam and had to use Ledsham Road to get back on to the Ridge.So many drivers will be doing the same making Ledsham a rat run. Who ever thought of closing both link roads at the same time . What happened to forthought. There is none. Drivers will start using Stonestile Lane to avoid the chaos which is a totally unsuitable road. I feel sorry for people that have hospital appointments and have no idea of the problems ahead .Why would Junction Road need to be pedestrianised are there that many walkers on a main road.? We have waited so long to get improvement to this junction and it’s not happening
Comment by Barbara Clout — Saturday, Sep 7, 2024 @ 11:38
Although I have been aware of this project for years, I have only recently taken an interest in it. It seems to me that the new road will solve some problems but, in most cases will make no difference or, indeed, make traffic flow more complicated.
East Sussex County Council say that there will be “better connectivity between Bexhill and Hastings.” It would be more accurate to say better connectivity between Bexhill and the A21 to the north of Hastings.
Apart from that, the route between The Ridge and the A21 (both directions) will be more complicated. Instead of at present, traffic must negotiate two junctions there will be The Ridge / Queensway mini roundabout, the Queensway / Queensway Gateway roundabout, the Queensway Gateway / Whitworth Road roundabout and a new roundabout at the junction of Whitworth Road and the A21. Four roundabouts within about ½ a mile does not seem wise. I am thinking southbound drivers from The Ridge (hospital direction) will use Harrow Lane instead.
Why close Junction Road completely to traffic? Closing one road at the same time as opening one new road just means the traffic is moved from one place to another. Already The Ridge / Queensway junction gets congested. Leaving Junction Road open to left-turning traffic only would spread the load.
Comment by David Alan Stevenson — Saturday, Aug 31, 2024 @ 13:59
So vehicles will end up going down Sedlescombe Rd and turning up Ledsham Ave as a bypass to get to the ridge to travel East along the ridge. This rd is not suitable for the traffic that this will cause. What a joke, good one Hastings planning.
Comment by Mark — Sunday, Aug 25, 2024 @ 09:52
So, any traffic coming from the north and wanting to go east on the Ridge towards conquest hospital will have to make a right turn off the A21 and go west to the Queensway through 3 more roundabouts? nice improvement after 10 years?!
Comment by Al — Monday, Jul 29, 2024 @ 09:52
You could not make this road fiasco up could you !
This ridiculous situation is actually TEN years old from when it when in 2014 it was in the planning application stages.
A fine example of dysfunctional mismanagement by a quango and a county council where neither should have got into this in the first place.
Over the years where I have made attempts to find out what was going on nobody within ESCC, Sea Change or HBC would ever reply. The usual level “transparency.” Just ignore the public if they want to know what is going on.
Could this qualify as Britain’s longest road project ?
Comment by Richard Heritage — Saturday, Jul 20, 2024 @ 16:23
Kendal – you’ve not looked at the plan, have you? Junction road is closed off , removing (some) delays on The Ridge. Also less traffic on the Ridge as vehicles from A21 to Queensway wont be on it.
Comment by Nigel330 — Thursday, Jul 18, 2024 @ 09:16
More unnecessary delays and tailbacks along the A21, Junction Rd and The Ridge, waiting for non-existent traffic to go green – ESCC usual genius in operation again. resurface the existing roads instead.
Comment by Kendal — Thursday, Jul 18, 2024 @ 07:52