Car crash road closure hits business

Framfield Road, Uckfield, was shut at the traffic lights junction with the High Street just before Christmas after a car crashed into a Victorian cottage-style house.

The vehicle left a hole large enough for somebody to walk through in the single-skin brickwork property that bore the main impact.

Also damaged were the frontages of the office of independent financial adviser Gavin Absolom and an adjacent hairdressing salon, Hair By Us.

The house had to be shored up with scaffolding which stretches out into the road.

Framfield Road is closed between its junction with Alexandra Road and the High Street with traffic being diverted along Harcourt Road and New Place.

Duncan Bennett, an Uckfield town councillor who lives in Framfield Road, said: 'I have put a query into the highways department at East Sussex County Council on behalf of residents who are concerned by the way in which adjacent roads are being used as a short cut.

'Narrow roads with parked cars are never easy to negotiate and there have been a few heated exchanges between motorists as to who should reverse when vehicles cannot pass each other.'

The Express spoke to Gavin Absolom who said: 'I'm lucky in that I don't rely on passing trade particularly but I'm sure the Golden Dragon takeaway is suffering as well as the Framfield Fish Bar. People may well use other outlets on the high street because of the disruption.'

Other shops in the street include a pet shop, The Hobby Box, a successful model shop that is much-valued by railway enthusiasts, and Pandamonium, a children's play centre.

Jodie Funnell, a superviser at Pandamonium, said: 'It's certainly not ideal to have traffic problems with parents bringing children to the area. We have our own car park and our customers know where we are but the situation needs to be sorted out as soon as possible.'

Repair work on the cottage began this week.

Drivers are also concerned about the difficulties of traffic negotiating the junction between New Place and the High Street.

One driver who uses the route every day told the Express: 'No parking cones placed in the road have narrowed the carriageway and it's quite a squeeze if a bus or lorry is coming out of New Place.

'The no parking area should be extended to improve people's vision. It would also help if the cones were placed on the pavement, rather than the road, but no doubt they are in the road for health and safety reasons.'

East Sussex County Council has issued a notice which will temporarily close the affected stretch of Framfield Road until April 23.

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