Archive for category: News

Community Speedwatch is looking for volunteers to help join our Chailey Team.

 This is a vital role in helping to reduce antisocial driving and to help prevent death and injury on our local roads.

Community Speedwatch (CSW)is a National Initiative where active members of the local community join with the support of the Police to monitor speeds of vehicles using a Police issued speed detection devices. Vehicles exceeding the speed limit are reported to the Police. The aim is to re-educate speeding drivers to reduce their speeds.

In cases where education is blatantly ignored and evidence of repeat or excessive offences is collated (even across county borders), enforcement and prosecution may follow.

Volunteers receive appropriate training and are supported by neighbourhood policing team (NPT) staff. The Chailey group works with a minimum of two persons present and sometimes three on particularly busy sites. The team is provided with a body worn camera, to record as necessary, and is covered by police insurance. All sessions and timings are preapproved by the police and officers attend some sessions.

The Chailey team operates at six different sites in North and South Chailey. In the last 12 months the group has undertaken 52 sessions recording 283 speeding offences out of the 17365 passing vehicles (1.62%). The group is not there primarily to catch speeders, but to slow traffic by their presence. A nil return of speeders during a session is a successful one. Some sites have noticeably higher recordings for speeding – Mill Lane, South Chailey where 126 of 1406 cars reported (8.96%) and Warrs Hill, North Chailey where 78 of 2055 cars reported (3.79%). In the last 12 months the highest reported speeds are 51mph in 30mph limit in Mill Lane (+70%), 61mph in 40mph limit at Warrs Hill (+52%).

More volunteers are always welcome and will allow more frequent monitoring sessions. As a volunteer you can give as little as 90 minutes (one session) a month. You can choose which sites and dates you wish to volunteer for.

The scheme aims to cater for the problem of real or perceived speed related offending, and through partnership with the community it is used in circumstances that are necessary, justifiable, and proportionate to:

 Reduce death and injury on the roads.

 Reduce speed of vehicles to the speed limit.

 Increase public awareness of appropriate speed.

 Improve the quality of life for local communities.

 To join please visit http://www.communityspeedwatch.org     and  go to registration tab, choose to join an existing group then select Chailey group. The first part of training is taken online at your own pace. Once this has been passed, you will receive further practical training with existing Chailey group members.

The following message is from Andy Mitchell, Countryside Officer, ESCC.

Cattle have moved onto Pound, Memorial & Romany Ridge Commons.  There are currently no cattle on Red House or Lane End Commons.   The 4 Exmoor ponies remain at Red House Common.

Please let me know if any are signs are missing.  Please also report any issues with gates or fences to me and do reply to me if you no longer wish to receive update emails.

If there are any problems with the cattle, please report this to the farmer directly on 07710 031820.

And a reminder that fly-tipping is dealt with by Lewes District Council along with litter, dog nuisance, car parks or bins – please contact them directly here: https://www.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk/report-a-problem/

Please keep dogs under control so they don’t chase or worry the livestock.   Dog fouling remains an issue – and Neospora is a parasite that causes cattle to abort calves.  Please clean up after dogs and don’t allow them into the cattle troughs, this water is for drinking only.

For many years the Parish Council has attempted to achieve a pedestrian crossing at or near the junction of Mill Lane and the A275. The first feasibility study was carried out in 2011 but more recently, the feasibility study undertaken in 2020 looked at two possibilities:

1.  A controlled crossing on the A275 to the south side of Mill Lane Jct. estimated cost £245,000

2 . Two uncontrolled pedestrian refuge islands on A275 either side of Mill Lane Jct.  estimated cost £85,000

The Parish Council considered the report in 2020 and concluded that the uncontrolled crossing would not be considered safe enough based on the feasibility report, and the controlled crossing would be unaffordable for the Parish Council, so could not realistically be considered.

Nevertheless  as there was still a strong desire for a crossing amongst the Councillors and  residents and school children who have to cross the A275 regularly, in 2023 we requested a further feasibility report to consider dropped kerbs, tactile paving and footpath improvement, to cross A275 south of Mill Lane. 

This ‘desk top study’ took into account the last speed data collection which was in 2019 which shows drivers mainly (on average) driving at 40mph, which is the speed limit. It also looked at the accident record for the  period 2020 – 2023 which showed 1 ‘slight’ accident on Mill Lane. (In fact if you look at the area of the A275 up to Markstakes and down to Grantham Close, the number rises to 4 ‘slight’ accidents and 1 serious.)

The conclusion of the latest feasibility study is as follows

‘An uncontrolled crossing does not provide precedence to pedestrians, good judgement is required from the pedestrians and pedestrians may have much longer waiting times on busy routes. Elderly, disabled pedestrians or school children may find them difficult to use, particularly on busy routes.

For these reasons, the proposed uncontrolled crossing facilities would not provide the benefits to pedestrians at this location and East Sussex Highways would not recommend that the introduction of an uncontrolled crossing point with dropped kerbs and tactile paving, on the A275 south of the Mill Lane Junction be considered further. The option of a signalled crossing developed in 2011 would be more appropriate at this location.

Regrettably therefore, at the most recent Parish Council Meeting, Councillors accepted that the only crossing of any kind that is likely to meet with ESH approval is a controlled one. In 2020 this was costed at approximately £245,000 which was significantly beyond our reach. It is likely to be considerably more expensive now.

Our available funds are (approximately) £22,000 and although some Community Infrastructure Funds could be bid for from Lewes Council, we fall way short of the necessary funds, even if we were successful in the bidding process.

Additionally, a Controlled Crossing would involve the provision of road lighting on and to the approaches of the crossing facility and Councillors are aware that there has in the past been resistance to this from residents who live close to the proposed crossing site. 5 new street lighting columns might be required.

We attach below the latest feasibility report for you to view. We shall continue to search for viable solutions which include reminding East Sussex Highways and Lewes District Council that as long as planning permission for new developments in Chailey continue to be awarded, thereby increasing both the traffic and the number of residents who wish to cross the A275, a far more meaningful financial contribution will be needed from the developers to insure the future road safety in the area.

Elizabeth Berry

Chair, Chailey Parish Council