Highways Agency

A21 South Pembury to Hastings Route Improvements

DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT

A21 TRUNK ROAD FLIMWELL TO ROBERTSBRIDGE IMPROVEMENT

STATEMENT OF THE MINISTER’S DECISION
FOLLOWING PUBLIC CONSULTATION

1. The Minister for Transport has announced the Preferred Route for the A21 trunk road to bypass the villages of Flimwell, Hurst Green and Silver Hill in East Sussex.  The 8.9km improvement starts at the B2079 junction (Lady Oak Lane) on the short section of dual carriageway north of Flimwell and terminates at the roundabout at the start of Robertbridge Bypass, at the bottom of Silver Hill.

2. This announcement follows full consideration of all the factors involved including the views expressed by the public, local authorities and other interested organisations when a newsletter showing the proposals was published for comment between November 2002 and March 2003.

THE PREFERRED ROUTE

3. The Flimwell to Robertsbridge Improvement will extend the existing dual carriageway north of Flimwell to a point south of Flimwell where the improvement will continue as a wide single carriageway.  At Silver Hill a northbound climbing lane will be provided.  The route generally follows the corridor of the existing road but moves away to avoid property at Flimwell, Hurst Green and Silver Hill.  The existing road remains open to provide access to the villages, and the properties and farms beyond the village centres.

THE PRESENT SITUATION

4. This section of the A21 forms part of the trunk road linking the Hastings/Bexhill and Tunbridge Wells/Tonbridge conurbations to the M25 and the national trunk road network.  It also carries traffic between the various towns, villages and scattered communities along and near the route.

5. This section of the A21 is mainly unimproved single carriageway with a poor alignment and narrow verges that severely restricts safe overtaking opportunities.  There are numerous frontages with direct access to the trunk road, not only within the village centres but also between the communities.  Within the villages of Flimwell, Hurst Green and Silver Hill and the scattered settlements between, there is concern over increasing trunk road traffic which generates noise and air pollution, and causes severance within the communities.  There is limited provision along the road for non-vehicular travellers and the road impacts on the safety of these vulnerable road users.  The lack of footways, particularly outside the village centres, encourages the use of cars for short local journeys.

6. While traffic can flow freely outside the peak periods, delays occur to traffic accessing the A21 from side roads.  In addition, due to the poor alignment and narrow width of the A21 any incident or maintenance quickly causes significant queuing.  Traffic volumes on the route are currently 18,500 vehicles per day at Flimwell, reducing to 15,800 south of Hurst Green.  The accident rate is also above the national average.

7. The existing A21 corridor between Flimwell and Robertsbridge crosses a very sensitive area in environmental terms with landscape, cultural heritage, ecological and settlement issues being key constraints to route improvements.  The entire route is within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and being an historic route, largely follows the landform.  There are large areas of ancient woodland and Sites of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) which, in places, come to the roadside; in addition there are numerous listed buildings.  The ridges at Silver Hill and to a lesser extent at Flimwell are prominent features in the landscape.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

8. A newsletter showing an indicative route for the improvement was issued in November 2002 and exhibitions were held where the public were invited to express their views.  The indicative route started at the southern end of the dual carriageway north of Flimwell and was shown to a 3-lane wide single carriageway standard that would be clearly marked out with alternative overtaking and climbing lane sections.

RESPONSE TO CONSULTATION

9. A total of 1449 people attended the exhibition, and 905 completed questionnaires and a further 341 written responses were received.  Overall 79% of all respondents approved or strongly approved the proposals and 14% disapproved.

10. Opponents of the scheme were principally concerned with the impact of the consultation route on property with most considering that the route was too close to property.  Other concerns raised were the poor accident record of the dual carriageway section north of Flimwell which was excluded from the improvement shown at consultation, the high level of traffic joining the A21 from the A268 at Flimwell, east/west traffic through Hurst Green and the impact on the cricket field at Hurst Green.

11. Most statutory bodies were in favour of the principle of the improvement.  There were concerns over the safety of the 3-lane wide single standard with those raising the concerns suggesting that the improvement should be to dual carriageway standard.  The environmental bodies were concerned over the impact of the proposals on designated sites, principally the High Weald AONB, the SNCIs and the areas of ancient woodland.

12. A number of alternatives were suggested during consultation to address one or more of the issues.  These were developed to a stage where a meaningful assessment could be made.  Taking on board the assessment of the alternatives and the comments received, a revised alignment was developed to be the best balance between the various concerns without increasing the environmental impact significantly.  This revised alignment is a development of the consultation route with the following amendments:

• The improvement is extended to the B2079 junction (Lady Oak Lane) half way along the dual carriageway section north of Flimwell with a roundabout provided at this junction;
• Dual carriageway from the B2079 junction to a point south of Flimwell with wide single carriageway beyond this point and a northbound climbing lane at Silver Hill;
• Provision of north facing slip roads to the A268 at Flimwell to reduce traffic going through Flimwell;
• Adjustment of the line of the bypass to the east, further away from Hurst Green but west of Iridge Place;
• Adjustment of the line further east between Silver Hill and Robertsbridge.

MINISTER’S CONCLUSIONS

13. The Minister is satisfied that there is a need to upgrade the A21 between Flimwell and Robertsbridge and notes that most respondents agree that a dual carriageway road following the corridor of the existing road should be provided.  However, he is mindful of the very sensitive landscape of the area and the need to protect the environment, which has various designations.  For this reason he has agreed that the dual carriageway section should be kept as short as possible commensurate with the safe operation of the new route.

14. The Minister accepts that there is a need to upgrade this section of the A21 to address the poor accident record, community severance and to assist the regeneration of Hastings.  He notes that while there is a consensus in favour of the improvements there are conflicting opinions concerning the route and standards of the improvements.  The Minister is satisfied that the modifications made since the consultation have achieved the optimum balance between the conflicting constraints.

15. The Minister is mindful of the importance of minimising the impact of the improvements through this sensitive area.  He assures the various interested parties that every effort will be made to resolve the outstanding issues which some parties have expressed on the environmental aspects and impact on property.  In particular he will encourage partnerships with interested parties in order to take on board as far as possible the various concerns.

THE NEXT STEPS

16. The Preferred Route will now be protected from development in accordance with the provision of Article 15 of the Town and Country Planning General Development Order 1995 (SI 1995 No 419).  Anyone whose property is blighted as a result and who can satisfy the relevant requirements of the Town and Country Planning Act may serve a Blight Notice on the Minister requiring him to purchase the property.

17. Further design work on the Preferred Route will now be carried out to address issues of local access and the provision of safe overtaking opportunities on the single carriageway section.  Landscape measures to mitigate the effect of the new road will also be formulated during the design of the Preferred Route.  Sound insulation will be offered at the appropriate time to any residential properties that qualify under the Noise Insulation Regulations.

18. Progress of the scheme beyond this announcement will be considered following advice from Regional Partners on the scheme’s priority within the funding available for major transport schemes in the South East.  Subject to this, once the scheme has entered the Government’s priority work programme detailed proposals will be developed and published in draft orders under the Highways Act 1980 in due course.  These draft orders will be open to objection and representation and, depending on the weight and nature of any objections, a Public Inquiry may be held.  The start of construction will depend on completion of the statutory procedures.

19. The Minister is grateful to all individuals and all organisations who commented.  Their views will be considered further as the design of the scheme progresses.

 Department for Transport
 February 2005