Rival petitions on cycle route plan for Hastings park

On Monday (March 14), Cllr Claire Dowling, East Sussex County Council’s lead member for transport and environment, is set to consider two petitions connected to plans to create a shared pedestrian and cycling path through Alexandra Park.

The two petitions have conflicting aims with one calling on the council to remove part of the proposed route, while the other urges the council to move ahead with the proposals in full. 

The petition against the proposals, which was brought to the council by Labour ward councillor Godfrey Daniel, argues the shared route would result in “inevitable conflict” between cyclists and pedestrians, particularly those with mobility difficulties. It has been signed by 468 people.

The other petition (presented to the council by Hastings Green Party councillor Julia Hilton)  comes in response to this, arguing the opposition had been “based on a campaign of misinformation and scaremongering”. It has been signed by 256 people.

It reads: “This route project being taken forward by East Sussex County Council has been through a very long process of consultation, safety audits, redesign work and delays. 

“It has been approved by the Hastings Borough Council cabinet by a unanimous vote and has also been approved by East Sussex County Council.

“It is strongly supported by local groups and organisations that campaign for long overdue improvements to cycling and walking infrastructure in Hastings to encourage active travel, to reduce the ever-present risks to cyclists of injury and fatalities on the roads and to tackle climate change.

“It would be a tragic and retrograde step to abandon the route through Alexandra Park as it would destroy the integrity of the whole routes network and undermine action to respond to the climate crisis”. 

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While a decision will ultimately lie with Cllr Dowling, officers have recommended that she inform both petitioners the proposals will likely go ahead as planned.

This, officers say, is because removing the section proposed would “leave a gap” in the town’s cycle network, severing the west of the town Hastings from a number of future cycle routes planned in the east of the town and into the town centre.

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However, officers noted that alternative routes through the park had been considered, but were found not to be as safe as what is proposed.  They also noted that other paths in the park would remain as pedestrian only, with this to be enforced by Hastings Borough Council wardens.

The final decision on the route is expected to be made later this year, pending the outcome of a Hastings Borough Council consultation on changing the town’s bylaws. This consultation is expected to take place in June 2022.

Despite this, council papers show £560,000 has been set aside for the scheme in the coming year’s capital programme. The majority of this (£500,000) is made up of time-limited Local Growth Fund monies which will need to be spent by March 2023.

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