Mid Sussex District Council has undertaken further assessment of the various proposals for the provision of a relief road for East Grinstead.
The various relief road options detailed in the draft Plan present different challenges, not least because of their location but also in terms of engineering and costs.
Recently, the District Council, in conjunction with the Highways Authority, West Sussex County Council, appointed engineering consultants to provide an independent assessment of costs for the preferred relief road options and this has now been delivered.
It shows that, whilst feasible from an engineering standpoint, the associated costs for the Worth Way link are estimated to be up to £157m. This figure includes site investigation, design and construction costs etc as well as a significant contingency provision. The estimate excludes land purchase and claims, ecological mitigation costs and planning fees etc.
This estimate represents approximately £60,000 per dwelling and makes the Worth Way option unviable and therefore, undeliverable solely through developer contributions.
The cross-party Joint Members' Advisory Group for East Grinstead (JMAG), which includes County, District and Town Council officers and councillors, recently received the independent estimate and is unanimously of the view that the Worth Way option should no longer be included as a relief road option.
The Council is acutely aware of the level of strong feeling and concern generated by the Worth Way option and residents living nearby are being notified in writing of the officers' recommendation to Council.
The Worth Way option was included in the draft Area Action Plan as an alternative to a relief route through the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It was an option which had been suggested at one of the "stakeholder" workshops, held to inform work on the Area Action Plan. It was also a route which was shown to provide a level of traffic relief for the town and which could be delivered in engineering terms.
Under current planning legislation, it is the Council's responsibility to show that all reasonable options have been considered and consequently that any decisions and recommendations can be considered "sound" by the Inspector appointed to examine the Area Action Plan.
Under the current planning system the Worth Way option will have to be included in the Sustainability Appraisal Report that will accompany the Area Action Plan when it is submitted to Government (as will other road and development options which have been considered and discarded). Alternative options will be considered at the public examination into the Area Action Plan; these may include alternatives promoted by individuals and organisations.
The estimates received indicate that an outer relief road route is viable and could be delivered through developer funding. This information and further traffic detail regarding the outer routes will be considered by Council in due course.
Judith Hewitt, Head of Planning Policy and a member of JMAG, commented:
"Throughout the consultation process so far, we have repeatedly given assurances that we would listen to the concerns of the many people who responded during the consultation process and the Worth Way option is, arguably, the most contentious.
"The statutory responsibilities placed upon us did, however, mean that we could not merely relegate this option without proper justification and now, having independent information which clearly illustrates that the option would not be deliverable on cost grounds, we owe it to residents in and around Worth Way to bring any uncertainty about the future of their area to an end.
"The District Council's planning officers will be recommending to Council that the Worth Way option should no longer be considered as a preferred relief road option, given the revised cost estimate. This would mean that when the Council considers options for development at East Grinstead to submit to Government this autumn, the Worth Way route would not be included in the Area Action Plan.
"Further information on the traffic implications of the relief road routes will inform the decisions to be taken in the summer and later in the autumn."
ENDS
PR579/JH/MB-K
22 March 2007
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Contacts
Claire Tester
Head of Economic Promotion and Planning
Mid Sussex District Council
Oaklands Road
Haywards Heath
West Sussex
RH16 1SS
Tel: 01444 477322
Email: ClaireT@midsussex.gov.uk
