Funding has been awarded to Brighton & Hove City Council by National Highways under their Designated Funds Scheme for feasibility studies on 3 projects:
- Access for All
- Stanmer Bridleways
- Coldean Lane A270 (Lewes Rd) Junction
These pages provide a summary of the 3 project proposals (being run alongside each other as they are linked).
The Feasibility Studies have been awarded to Jacob's consultancy. This is the first stage of stakeholder engagement and there will be further opportunities to feed into the process as the proposals develop.
These routes and junctions are recognised in the Rights of Way Improvement Plan and the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan as key areas for access improvements.
Access for All project
Working in partnership with the National Trust and the South Downs National Park, the Access for All project led by Brighton & Hove City Council proposes to improve access for non-motorised users from Brighton & Hove to the South Downs.
The A27 dual carriageway divides the urban communities of Brighton & Hove from the green space of the Downs. The scheme would deliver:
- 2.5km of new access routes
- 9.8km of upgraded paths
- improvements for pedestrians and cyclists at 3 A27 junctions, linking up to the South Downs Way to create a new super network for recreation and access
Costs for the Access for All project
£70k has been awarded for the feasibility study by National Highways.
It's estimated that the total build of the project will be around £2.9 million. This includes assessing the potential for improvements to the A27 junctions at Ditchling Road/Coldean Lane and Carden Avenue for pedestrians and cyclists.
Ditchling Road South multi-user path has already been upgraded to a solid surface by Brighton & Hove City Council.
Stanmer Bridleways project
Stanmer Park is an 18th Century designed landscaped park and estate of 485 hectares.
It's a grade II listed park and recorded as ‘At Risk’ by Historic England. It comprises a park, woodland, and farmland with many public amenities to the north of Brighton. It comprises approximately a third of the total area of parks in the city of around 290,000 people.
It's a major gateway and sits within the South Downs National Park. It's a well-used recreation site with around 500,000 visitors a year, predicted to rise to 750,000 in the next 2 to 3 years.
It has received extensive renovation through a National Lottery grant and is now more of an attraction than ever to local, regional, and international visitors. It's also a route from the city to:
- Falmer
- the Universities
- Coldean
- Ditchling Beacon
In 2016 the Stanmer Park Conservation Plan stated 2 objectives:
- improved accessibility
- restoration of existing pathways used by pedestrians, cyclists, and equestrians
The project will provide a grant towards the improvement of:
- bridleways
- shared use woodland trails
- accessible woodland trails
These routes cover 11.5km of direct access to all parts of the estate and to the South Downs beyond. This includes 7.6km of surfaced bridleway together with 2.8km of improved slip-resistant surface on vehicular access routes/bridleways plus 1.1km of new trails.
The project would join with the Access for All project, encouraging active travel to Stanmer and beyond. There's great potential to create an accessible network across the area connecting with:
- the South Downs Way
- Sustrans national cycle routes, routes 2, 82, 20 and 90 are in the area
- the surrounding path network
This map shows the Stanmer Project areas in red and the Access for All project in blue.
Notes on map
NH Scheme 6 = Dyke Rd / A27 Junction
NH Scheme 8 & 9 = A27 junctions at Carden Avenue & Coldean Lane / Ditchling Rd – Old Boat Corner
NH Scheme 7 = Mill Lane crossings – not included within the remit of these projects
Brighton & Hove City Council Scheme 1 = Improvements to Coldean Lane Crossings through S106 / developer contributions (outside of these projects)
Brighton & Hove City Council Scheme 2 = National Highways related project – Coldean Lane A270 (Lewes Rd) junction improvements
Costs for the Stanmer Bridleways project
£80,000 of funding has been received for the Feasibility Study. Projected costs for implementation are approximately £1.8 million.
Coldean Lane A270 (Lewes Rd) Junction
The extensive path network in Stanmer is cut off from the city by the barrier of the A27 trunk route which dissects the historic parkland. It interrupts cycling and pedestrian access from adjacent communities into their local park and restricts those coming from further afield.
To redress this, the Coldean Lane A270 (Lewes Road) pedestrian and cyclist crossing facilities need upgrading.
The Coldean Lane A270 junction is an area with much scope for improvement. It links the extensive cycle network in Brighton running alongside Lewes Road and the cycle network running on and into Lewes approximately 7km away and southwards to Woodingdean.
This junction is important as an access point into Stanmer and the Downs via the Coldean Woods and footbridge over the A27 or to cross Coldean Lane and enter the park via Stony Mere Way. From this junction, the cycleway becomes a shared path with the footway into and alongside Stanmer.
This junction can be used for leisure visits to Stanmer and the South Downs or commuting for students and workers to the universities.
The scheme would provide upgraded and safer crossing facilities for users at the Coldean Lane A270 crossing, plus upgraded access to 5.6km of existing cycle routes (NCN 90 and 20).
In the LCWIP (Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan), the junction is on identified strategic links to Stanmer park and surrounding areas: Lewes Road (Priority Strategic Route 3) and Coldean Lane (Strategic Route 32).
Costs for the Coldean Lane A270 (Lewes Rd) Junction project
£75,000 of Feasibility Study Funds have been awarded. The budget for construction is expected to be £535,000. Costs will be subject to the development of the design.
Contact us about a Designated Fund project
To provide initial feedback on these projects or for any queries, send an email to Cityparks@brighton-hove.gov.uk with the subject title: Designated Funds Projects