Eastbourne bus lane plans could 'be the end of small businesses', says cafe owner
An Eastbourne cafe owner said town centre bus lane plans could ‘be the end of small businesses'.
New bus lanes have been proposed in parts of Eastbourne as part of East Sussex County Council’s (ESCC) government-funded £41.4 million Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP).
One of the proposals includes a new eastbound bus lane running between Wharf Road and Eastbourne railway station.
ESCC is also seeking to amend the bus lay-by on A259 Upperton Road opposite Cuckmere House; amend the nearside lane on A259 Upperton Road heading eastbound, allowing only buses and left-turning vehicles; make ‘minor changes’ to the kerb line from Southfields Road to ‘reduce speeds’; upgrade pedestrian crossings, and remove loading and unloading from Station Parade and parts of Upperton Road.
Hayley Chester, owner of That Coffee Place in Station Parade, said she believes the plans will put her livelihood ‘on the line’.
She said: “We feel that we've not been listened to by East Sussex County Council.
"They just want to go ahead regardless of our concerns.
"They want to cut the tree down outside here, and they want to take half the pavement away and make the walkways narrower for pedestrians. That then makes my shop closer to the road.
"There's hardly any parking around here. I've got nowhere to take deliveries from.”
Hayley also worries about construction noise bothering customers if the plans go ahead in their current form.
She added: “The last thing you want is someone digging up the pavement and bulldozing down the road.
"The noise, the chaos outside, no one would want to sit inside a coffee shop if all they can hear outside is drills and the upheaval of that type of work.
“Something like that, it would be the end of small businesses like myself.”
Denise Harwood, commercial director at The Enterprise Centre, is also calling for a change to the plans.
She said: “Whilst we have no objections to buses, this has been sold to the public as adding a bus lane, in fact, this will remove one lane of mixed traffic to the main artery to Eastbourne’s town centre, causing major disruption and traffic congestion.
“Our shopping centre is full of independent businesses; shops, eateries and services, all of whom rely on customers visiting their businesses. As does The Beacon, Little Chelsea and of course, the professional quarter in Hyde Gardens and Gildredge Road.
“The whole town will be impacted by the congestion this will cause.”
An ESCC spokesperson said: “The bus priority scheme on the A259 between Upperton Road and Station Parade will build on the existing bus priority measures in Eastbourne town centre and will improve journey times and reduce delays, support a more reliable bus service and improve connections to key destinations, encouraging more people to visit the area.
“The scheme has been through a public consultation and the county council’s planning committee considered the traffic regulation orders at its meeting in December. The committee upheld objections for part of the scheme and the proposed no right turn into The Enterprise Shopping Centre car park from Upperton Road will not be progressed.
“Construction of the scheme is now at the planning stage and information will be shared with the public and traders ahead of any work starting.
“We appreciate that construction of the scheme, funded by the council’s Bus Service Improvement Plan grant, will cause some disruption but we are working with our contractors to ensure this is kept to a minimum.”
A protest against the bus lane is set to take place outside That Coffee Place on Friday, May 15 at 2pm.