The meeting with East Sussex Highways (ESCC) that the Parish Council sought following the Feasibility Study Report into road safety improvements on the C7 at Piddinghoe finally took place on 26 June 2023.
It was a little dispiriting in that, although as many as six officers from various sections of the Highways department attended, the overriding message was that ’we have no resources for this’. Not really that surprising given the financial context.
However:
- there was goodwill right around the table;
- it was recognised that Piddinghoe’s road safety concerns could be best addressed as part of Phase 7 of the Egrets Way between Piddinghoe and Deans Farm;
- there is support in the key policy documents of both ESCC and the National Park (SDNPA) for completing the Egrets Way;
- and we are fortunate that the SDNPA is committed to progressing the project despite ESCC’s difficulties.
As a result of the meeting, the SDNPA will be working with the Egrets Way project and SUSTRANS to commission fresh designs for Phase 7 section of the Egrets Way. We expect that design work to be set in train in consultation with the riparian owners between now and the year’s end. However it is unlikely that any construction would take place before the financial year 2025-26. In the meantime the Parish Council confirmed at its meeting yesterday to commit financial support towards the Safer C7 Project, which will reinforce our concerns within the context of the whole C7 improvement campaign.
A note from the 26 June meeting with ESCC Highways can be found here.
Paul Bevan, Chair of the Parish Council
