A PACKAGE of traffic changes has been given the green light after councillors voted to proceed with a series of road restrictions and a new eastbound bus lane in Eastbourne, despite strong concerns raised by the Enterprise Shopping Centre about access to its car park.
East Sussex County Council’s Planning Committee agreed today (10 December) to implement the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) following months of consultation, objections and detailed traffic modelling.
The scheme forms part of the county’s Bus Service Improvement Plan, aimed at speeding up local bus services and improving journey reliability along the A259 corridor.
Objections centred on the Enterprise Shopping Centre, whose representatives argued that the combination of proposed restrictions, particularly a ban on right turns out of the car park when the current central reservation is removed, and the enforcement of an existing No U-Turn rule at The Avenue, would make it harder for customers travelling west from the town centre to enter the car park.
The centre submitted its own alternative design, which they argued would maintain customer access while still supporting bus priority.
However, following analysis by council officers, their proposals were ruled out on grounds of safety, accessibility and reduced bus performance. Traffic modelling also indicated their plan would deliver fewer journey time benefits than the council’s preferred layout.
In response to the concerns, councillors have agreed to partially uphold the objection relating to car park access, allowing drivers travelling westbound to make a right turn directly into the Enterprise Centre, rather than relying on the previously used, but unofficial, U-turn manoeuvre at The Avenue junction. All other elements of the objections were dismissed.
As part of the plans, there will be no right turn from Hartfield Road into Upperton Road, due to visibility concerns caused by buses stopping nearby.
There will be enforcement of the existing ‘No U-Turn’ at Upperton Road/The Avenue. This prohibition already exists in law but lacks signage.
Although the central reservation at the car park entrance will be removed to make way for bus lanes, there will be no right turn out of the Enterprise Centre car park, retaining the current restriction and requiring outbound drivers to head towards Station roundabout.
A new eastbound bus lane on Station Parade will be implemented, reducing general traffic from two lanes to one but predicted to improve peak journey times for buses and cars due to new signal timings, according to officers.
There will be loading bans on Station Parade, to ensure stopped vehicles do not block the new bus lane, with alternative loading bays available on nearby streets.
Luke Johnson, Operations Manager at Your Eastbourne BID told councillors at the meeting; “We surveyed town centre businesses that would be most impacted by the scheme to gather their views on the proposal. The results are concerning.
“60% of respondents where unaware that these changes were even being proposed, 86% believe the scheme would negatively impact their business, 88% fear it could contribute to shop closures and 90% supported the more cost-effective and efficient alternative options put forward by the Enterprise Shopping Centre – there is clearly some work to do to convince the public of the benefits to this scheme.”
A full Road Safety Audit is scheduled for early 2026 ahead of construction work.
