This is when the Queensway Gateway Road in St Leonards is set to open

There were fears earlier this year that the Queensway Gateway Road would not open until 2023.

But regeneration company Sea Change, which is behind the project, said today (Thursday, July 15) that the road is due to be completed in November this year.

The road has been beset by delays throughout its development and work began last September to create a temporary link between the Queensway Gateway Road and the A21 Sedlescombe Road North.

In March, a report presented to the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) stated the Queensway Gateway Road (QGR) would be completed ‘in January 2022 at the earliest’ and added that if a compulsory purchase order (CPO) was deemed necessary, completion could be delayed by between six and 18 months, taking the completion date to August 2023.

The road has attracted opposition from environmental campaigners, Seachangewatch.

In March, Andrea Needham, spokesperson for Seachangewatch, said ‘millions of pounds of public money’ had been spent on the road and branded the scheme an unnecessary, environmentally destructive project’.

However, Sea Change said the Queensway Gateway Road remained on track to be built for considerably less than the £15m budget awarded, thanks to the use of locally-sourced, recycled natural materials.

A spokesman for the company said the road’s progress had been delayed ‘in large part because protestors challenged its original planning permission via a judicial review’.

The Sea Change spokesman added: “The Queensway Gateway Road is largely developed and should soon be ready to open to traffic.

“We’re planning to build a link through to the A21 with an eight-week programme of works, for which we’re seeking approvals from East Sussex County Council and Highways England.

“We also need the county council to establish a Traffic Regulation Order to close Junction Road, which should take two to four months to put in place.

“This should enable us to start work on the link in early September and complete it in early November this year.

“So the road’s opening date is now in the hands of the regulatory authorities, and we’re sure all local road users would encourage them to act swiftly so they can benefit from the new road.”