Press release: new £15m road in Hastings set to increase traffic congestion

October 22, 2014 by combehavendefenders

Press release
Combe Haven Defenders
Tuesday 21 October 2014

Contact 07565 967 250

NEW £15M ROAD IN HASTINGS SET TO INCREASE TRAFFIC CONGESTION

Sea Change figures show that Queensway Gateway Road will increase delays

A new road which is proposed for Hastings, at a cost of £15m, will increase overall traffic congestion, a report for developer Sea Change Sussex has revealed.

Sea Change has recently made a planning application for the Queensway Gateway Road [1], which would connect Queensway with the A21. The road would be funded with £15m of public money from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP). Hastings and Rye MP Amber Rudd, who has campaigned for the new road, has stated that it is necessary to ‘relieve traffic congestion’.

However, the Transport Assessment of the road, submitted as part of the planning application, shows that far from reducing congestion, building the road would actually increase delays to road users [2]. The report forecasts the expected delays to traffic in 2016 and 2028 at various junctions, both with and without the new road. In six out of eight scenarios the predicted delays are greater – often by a very large margin – with the new road than without.

The document states [3] that, ‘Based on the outputs from the highway model, selected junctions on the local network in 2016 and 2028 have been assessed in detail. This assessment indicates that these junctions are predicted to be at/above operational capacity with or without the proposed QGR in both 2016 and 2028.’

Combe Haven Defenders spokesperson Gabriel Carlyle stated: ‘The Queensway Gateway Road would take £15m of public money and would destroy the Hollington Valley Site of Nature Conservation Importance. Far from achieving its stated aim of relieving congestion, it would in fact increase delays. Hastings Borough Council should refuse this planning application as the road is flawed in every respect.’

The deadline for objections to the planning application is October 28.

Contact 07565 967 250

NOTES

[1] Previously known as the Baldslow Link

[2]  See points 7.3.2, 7.3.3, and 7.4 of Transport Assessment

[3] See point 9, conclusion