Bexhill/Hastings Link Road
Notes of Meeting Held on 16 April 2013 at County Hall, Lewes
Present: Mr R Clubb, Director, East Sussex County Council (ESCC), Economy, Transport & Environment Department (ETE)
Mr K Taylor, Assistant Director, Operations, ESCC, ETE Department
Mrs C. De Renzy-Martin, Stakeholder Manager, ESCC, ETE Department
Councillor C. Pearce, Chairman, Crowhurst Parish Council
Mr E McCall, Crowhurst Society
Mrs P Buckle, Clerk to Crowhurst Parish Council
Questions from Crowhurst Parish Council:
1. Rumour has it that the link road 'flyover' crossing Crowhurst Road (between Queensway and Chapel Field) – has been changed due to complaints by Network Rail. If this is so how will it affect access to Crowhurst?
A. There has been no change to the plans; the route is the same as detailed at the Public Inquiry.
2 Will access to the proposed HBC Gypsy Site be from the Queensway, the Link Road or Crowhurst Road? Access from Crowhurst Road would tend to push caravans though the village instead of via the Queensway.
A It was pointed out that this is a permanent site for 2 occupiers and will not have either
permanent or temporary caravans. Should there be any possibility of enlarging the
site, or making it a transit site, in the future, this would require a further planning
application and any objections should be lodged at that time.
3 Already there has been an increase of very large lorries and transporters travelling through the village. Why cannot all Link Road traffic, regardless
of what it, is be routed via Queensway.
A There is a holding area at Upper Wilting for contractor’s vehicles and none should be going through the village. If any are seen they should be reported to Chloe de Renzy-Martin together with the registration numbers and, if possible photographs, of the vehicles. The registration numbers can be check on a list of contractor’s vehicles kept by Chloe de Renzy-Martin. Two heavy lorries that were seen on the Catsfield Road were reported, checked against the list and found not to be contractors vehicles.
4 The Crowhurst Society has received several letters requesting detailed technical information about the link Road. To whom should requests for technical information be made?
A It was emphasised that all technical and environmental information as presented to the Public Inquiry is on the East Sussex County Council website. Any other queries/questions should be directed to Chloe de Renzy-Martin who will obtain the information and report back.
5 When will plans for traffic dispersal from the Link Road/Queensway junction be made public? Villagers who work in areas requiring travel into Hastings to towards the east via The Ridge have concerns of the effect of the increased traffic on their journey times.
A Traffic modelling has been carried out at several stages through the scheme. The
most recent traffic forecasts formed part of the Best and Final Bid to the Department for Transport in November 2011 which can be found here: http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/580B0969-F214-431F-89A7- E0FC5610A508/0/BHLR_BAFFB_FR_print.pdf
6 When the Recreation Ground car park was filled with Police and security mini-buses and what seemed like hundreds of large yellow clad men marched up the road towards Upper Wilting, no one in the village had any idea whatsoever what was going on. At the outset it was assumed that all of the men were police.
A Eddie McCall stated that this incident caused alarm initially among some residents and animosity towards security personnel and Police; the attitude of some members of the security team was very rude and intimidating. Rupert Clubb apologised for this and would take advice from the Police regarding the best way to avoid such incidents in the future.
7. The initial road closure signs led to a few days of chaos when the signs in Catsfield remained whilst those in Crowhurst were taken away. No one had any idea whether the road was open or not.
A Chloe de Renzy-Martin agreed to highlight this to Highways and contractors and ensure the signs are removed as soon as road is opened.
8. What arrangements are being made for day-to-day liaison with the village?
A It was agreed that day-to-day liaison is vital and the possibility of holding a weekly ‘surgery’ would be examined by ESCC. Karl Taylor agreed to let the Clerk have contact details for contractor liaison and Chloe de Renzy-Martin is available. Danny Russell was the Police liaison officer, based at Bexhill.
9. Parish Council Access to Section 106/Community Infrastructure Levy Funding.
A At previous meetings Chas Pearce had raised the possibility of funding towards a new village hall in recompense for disruption to the village. Rupert Clubb stated it was not required of the contractor on this project because developments were not taking place within the village but he agreed to raise with the contractors the possibility of some goodwill funding.
10. Village Exhibition - to agree date and time and assurance only village residents will attend and not protestors.
A It was agreed that this would be a drop-in style exhibition where plans and a model of the Link Road would be available for inspection and staff would be on hand throughout to answer questions. In order to give all residents the opportunity to attend the exhibition would run from 3.30pm until 8.00pm. Chloe de Renzy-Martin will liaise with Nicola Stell and arrange a suitable date in early May for use of the village hall. It was stressed that this exhibition would be for village residents only by invitation through a leaflet drop to give them the opportunity to obtain factual information. The exhibition would not be open to the general public or protestors. No announcement will made in the local press, only in the Crowhurst News.
11. What is the current position on the Baldslow Link to A21?
A Rupert Clubb stated that the County Council was pushing for funding for this project. ESCC is keen to work with the Highways Agency to bring forward the construction of this junction as soon as possible.
12. Ecology
A It was confirmed that Natural England monitor the sites where green fences have been erected. Great Crested Newts are coming out of hibernation as the weather gets warmer and they, and any other protected species, will be collected and moved to suitable local habitats. It was also confirmed that it is the contractor’s responsibility to obtain a licence for animal movement from Natural England. All environmental information concerning the Link Road can be found on the East Sussex County Council website.
Pat Buckle
Clerk to Crowhurst Parish Council
24 April 2013
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