Appeal for lower speed limits on Buxted road turned down

Requests for a lower speed limit on the A272 between Buxted village and the primary school have been turned down but a footpath beside the road will be widened over a lengthy stretch in the next few weeks.

Petitioners called for a 30mph limit and improved safety.

A report to the meeting of the East Sussex County Council Lead Member for Economy, Transport and the Environment, Cllr Carl Maynard, said: “A traffic survey carried out in Buxted in 2006 recorded a two way flow of approximately 8,600 vehicles per day.

“Buxted Primary School is located a short distance away from the A272 with its entrance on Hurstwood Road. There is a car park available in Hurstwood Road which allows children to be dropped off away from the A272.

"The school is well signed on the A272 with flashing amber lights and warning signs with coloured surfacing and slow marking on both approaches.

“The crash data provided by Sussex Police indicates that this part of the A272 has a relatively good crash record with only one serious injury crash in the last three years. The crash rate is, therefore, well below the threshold nationally recommended by Government for investigation into a lower speed limit.

“However, it was reviewed as part of our countywide review of speed limits on rural A and B class roads at the request of the local member, Councillor (Tony) Reid.

"Following a site visit, the officers and Sussex Police agreed that the extent of the existing 30mph speed limit in the village, and the 40mph speed limit covering the outlying development to the west, was the most appropriate given the local conditions and that the remaining part between the 40mph speed limit in Buxted and Coopers Green should stay as the derestricted national speed limit.

“The predominant factor to consider when determining a speed limit is the level of frontage development. The length of road between the school and the existing 40mph speed limit is very rural in nature with virtually no frontage development.

“If a 30mph speed limit was introduced here it would not be respected or observed by the large majority of drivers meaning that drivers would be less likely to observe the speed limit in the built up part of the village.”

The report added that a request for the footway to be widened has been made in the past.

“The county council has very limited funding available for footway improvements. A request for a wider footway was included in the county council’s consultation response to Wealden District Council in respect to a planning application to erect 67 new homes to the rear of the Buxted Inn.

“However, Wealden District Council did not consider the footway improvement to be sufficiently related to the development and decided not to pursue this as part of the application.

“It is recognised that the existing situation is far from ideal and as a result our construction and planned maintenance team are planning to undertake works to increase the width of the footway to approximately 1.0 to 1.2 metres between The Lodge and Yew Tree Cottage at an additional cost of £25,000.

"This is the worst part of footway between the village and the school and it is also the length of road that is subject to the derestricted national speed limit. The work is programmed to take place during this year’s school summer holiday.”

See our previous story: Buxted parents petition about road safety on school route