Cyclists in East Sussex invited to submit ideas for local transport plan

Cyclists in East Sussex have been invited to submit ideas to improve facilities as part of the county’s transport plan. And members of Cycle Seahaven, which covers the area around the towns of Seaford, Peacehaven and Newhaven will be debating the subject later this month before providing the council with their ‘wish-list’.

Cycle Seahaven’s chairman, Andy Lock, told Eastbourne Today: “"We were fortunate enough to have a meeting with Seaford Town Council (STC) and East Sussex transport director Rupert Clubb to discuss these issues and it was Mr Clubb's suggestion that we present to STC the club's vision for going forward for cycling in Seaford.

"We hope we get people that are also against cycling - we don't want to be blinkered by it - and we want to work with people,” he added, saying, “there is a desperate need for cycling provision and we need to ensure that our kids can cycle to school safely."

Areas of concern include the A259 road between Exceat and Seaford, which has been cited by Councillor Eddie Collict, himself a cyclist, as being dangerous for riders, with one fatality already on the road and the councilor himself suffering a bad fall there. One solution proposed is to allow cyclists to take a detour from the road by using a trail running from Chyngton Lane to the Golden Galleon car park.

Another suggestion is to introduce cycle lanes in roads with 20mph speed limits in conjunction with cycle routes to local schools, as well as developing bike lanes in other parts of Seaford including Edinburgh Road, Beacon Road and Cradle Hill Road.

The proposals will be debated at an EGM of Cycle Seahaven at the Wellington Hotel on 25 November on November 25 at 8pm, and members of the public are welcome to come along. Suggestions will then be presented to the council for consideration under its Local Transport Plan.

A spokesperson for East Sussex County Council told Eastboune Today: "One of our officers will be attending the meeting between Seaford Town Council and Cycle Seahaven to hear their proposed vision for cycling in and around Seaford,” adding “we have already met with Cycle Seahaven and will be meeting them again in the near future to talk about their views on cycling, which will help inform the development of our third Local Transport Plan."