3. Introduction
East Sussex at a glance
An evidence base has been developed which provides the analytical foundation of Local Transport Plan 4 (LTP4) and ensures that the direction promoted in this strategy addresses the objective needs of the county. This section sets out summary findings of this evidence base.
Geographic context
The county of East Sussex is situated in the south east of England. It covers an area of 1,792 km2 (692 square miles) and includes the administrative boroughs and districts of Hastings, Eastbourne, Lewes, Rother, and Wealden. It is classified as “Urban with significant Rural” in the six-fold classification. The districts and boroughs are:
- Eastbourne = “Urban with City and Town”.
- Hastings = “Urban with City and Town”.
- Lewes = “Urban with significant rural”.
- Rother = “Largely rural”.
- Wealden = “Mainly rural”.
With the county classified as ‘urban with significant rural’ it highlights the requirement to consider the differing needs of the communities and businesses in East Sussex within urban and rural areas of the County, concerning transport connectivity within settlements but also to local centres and towns in East Sussex and cross boundary destinations.
It is home to the eastern area of the South Downs National Park (south west of the county) and a large proportion of the High Weald National Landscape (across the north and east of the County).
East Sussex is located south of London, with Kent to the north and east, West Sussex and the city/unitary authority of Brighton and Hove to the west, and Surrey to the north west.
The map in Figure 3.1 includes the County’s major transport corridors including national cycle network routes, railway lines and stations, strategic road network, major road network and other A roads.
Population and demographics
Based on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) 2021 Census, the population in East Sussex is approximately 546,000, an increase of over 19,000 people (3.6%) since 2011, with population increases in each of its boroughs and districts.
The population is set to increase to 628,000 by 2035 (an increase of 15%). All borough and districts are also expected to continue to experience population growth:
- Wealden is expected to see the greatest increase in population at 22% with an additional 43,600 people.
- Eastbourne is expected to see the smallest increase at 4% with an additional 4,100 people.
- Hastings is expected to have 5,000 more residents (+5.4%), Lewes 11,200 (+11%) and Rother 12,100 (+12.5%).
This population growth increases the need for housing, accessible transport, access to jobs, healthcare, education and learning provision in addition to the creation of places where people are proud to live, work and visit.
Analysing this population growth by age bands shows that East Sussex has an ageing population.
- The population of those aged 0 to 17 is expected to increase by only 1% between 2020 and 2035.
- The number of people aged between 18 and 64 is forecast to increase by 4%.
- Those aged over 65 are projected to increase from around 146,100 in 2020 to 202,100 in 2035, an increase of 38%.
- Wealden would see the largest increase in the number of people aged over 65, increasing from approximately 42,680 in 2020 to 62,600 in 2035, (47% increase).
- Wealden is also expected to see the largest increase in those aged 0 to 17 with a 13.5% increase expected by 2035, and those aged 18 to 64 with a 13.8% increase.
- Those aged 0-17 in Eastbourne are expected to decrease by 11% from approximately 19,900 to just over 17,800 by 2035.
The implications of an ageing population include ensuring there are viable alternative transport opportunities for those who may be unable to drive, to access key services and amenities that can be accessed by a range of transport (including non-car) modes.
Health and wellbeing
In East Sussex, 65% of adults are classified as being overweight or obese.
Lewes and Newhaven Air Quality Management Areas.
In 2005, an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) was declared in Lewes town centre for nitrogen dioxide. In 2014, an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) was declared for the Newhaven gyratory (A259) around the town centre for nitrogen dioxide. Lewes-Eastbourne Council work in partnership with key partners, including East Sussex County Council to identify and deliver measures to improve air quality within the AQMA’s.
Increasing physical activity through encouraging greater amounts of active travel (in place of vehicle travel) can support improving air quality and improve the health and wellbeing of residents.
Employment
The number of East Sussex residents who are in employment (within or outside the county) in 2020 has increased by 8,000 since 2010 (from 176,000 employees to 184,000).
However, employment opportunities are not evenly distributed across the county. Eastbourne and Lewes districts have higher numbers of jobs per working age resident suggesting there is a higher proportion of jobs available in these districts, whilst in Wealden, Rother, and Hastings there is a lower proportion of jobs for every working age resident.
There are 24,335 businesses in East Sussex (3,870 in Eastbourne; 3,140 in Hastings; 4,530 in Lewes; 4,130 in Rother; and 8,665 in Wealden). Delivery of transport improvements is an important part of increasing the attractiveness of East Sussex, as a choice of business location and enhancing strategic connectivity between districts and boroughs will better connect people to these employment opportunities.
Travel to work journeys
Commuters in East Sussex largely travelled in private cars and vans (60%) prior to the pandemic. The next highest mode of travel was on foot at 12%. This data also shows that a higher proportion of people worked from home in East Sussex (8%) before the pandemic, compared to England and Wales as a whole (5.4%). The higher rate of working from home after the pandemic provides an opportunity to pursue interventions to build well connected communities where residents can access goods, services, and opportunities without making long journeys.
Active travel (walking, wheeling and cycling)
35% of adults in East Sussex walked continuously for at least 10 minutes at least five times per week (includes any continuous walk of at least 10 minutes. Includes walking for leisure, for travel, rambling/Nordic walking. Excludes hiking, mountain/hill walking, and walking around shops). This figure is above the national average of 31%. However, the proportion of adults cycling at least once per month has decreased from a peak of 15% in 2017 to 10% in 2021. This figure is below the national average of 13%. People are influenced by several factors in choosing if to cycle or walk for all or part of regular journeys, and includes the availability and quality of infrastructure. The East Sussex Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) sets out proposals to enhance existing or deliver new active travel infrastructure, extend networks and ensuring integration with other modes. This ambition will contribute to supporting an increase in cycling and walking.
Bus passenger journeys
Bus passenger numbers in East Sussex decreased from 19 million in 2009/10 to 15 million in 2019/20 reflecting the declining national trend. Reasons for this national decline include the reduced bus funding from Local Transport Authorities, reduced services and increasing fares. During the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, bus passenger journeys in East Sussex fell a further 9 million to 6 million. The East Sussex Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) secured £41.4m in government funding in July 2022 with the aim of improving passenger numbers to exceed pre-pandemic levels. This money has delivered bus service enhancements across the county and will also introduce bus priority measures on popular and congested bus routes. The plan will support the proposals of the BSIP and provide an opportunity to further deliver significant improvements for the bus network, both services and infrastructure. Including bus routes parallel to which there is a rail route, in order to offer users choices at different costs and allow them to make their own ‘cost vs. time’ decisions.
Railway station use
East Sussex is home to 38 railway stations, most of which are in the county’s main urban areas. In 2019/20, entries and exits at stations in the county reached a peak of 18.4 million, declining to 5.6 million in 2020/21 due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. In 2021/22, it demonstrated a considerable recovery to 13.6 million entries and exits.
During 2019/20 Eastbourne was the busiest station in the county with over 3.6 million entries and exits and 61,000 interchanges (changes between services). Lewes and Hastings were the next busiest stations with 2.6 million entries (and 508,000 interchanges) and 2.4m million entries and exits (65,000 interchanges) respectively. Bexhill and Polegate are the only other stations in the county to have over 1 million entries and exits with 1.5 million and 1 million respectively.
Passenger numbers are showing a positive recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic and there is opportunity to work with the train operating companies and Network Rail, which are likely to merge to become Great British Railways in the near future, to grow rail patronage, particularly on inter-urban trips.
Strategic highway journeys
Traffic volumes in East Sussex are highest along its major roads, some of which are managed by East Sussex (for example, A26 Lewes to Tunbridge Wells and A259 Peacehaven to Pevensey) and others by National Highways (namely the A21, A26 (Newhaven to Lewes), A27 and A259 Pevensey to the county boundary with Kent via Bexhill, Hastings, and Rye).
The high traffic volumes on these roads reflect their role in providing strategic connectivity within the county, to London and international gateways such as Gatwick Airport and the Port of Newhaven (other maritime transport has not been explicitly considered in the LTP due to a lack of ports and infrastructure elsewhere in East Sussex), and to other parts of the south east region. Demand (high traffic flows) along these corridors is similar during the morning and evening peak periods, however these roads face significant delays during peak periods due to high demand. There are opportunities to improve these routes to provide faster journeys for bus, safer routes for active travel users, to address safety concerns and improve journeys for all users.
Stakeholder and public engagement
Stage 1 - scoping
As part of the development of the East Sussex LTP4 evidence base, engagement was held with local, regional and national stakeholders as part of stage 1 - Scoping. The purpose of early engagement was to understand:
- Stakeholders’ priorities for travel and transport.
- The key issues people encounter in relation to travel and transport.
- What opportunities there are for improving travel across East Sussex.
In order to understand these three key elements, the following targeted engagement was undertaken:
- Targeted engagement with East Sussex County Council members and officers and key local stakeholders (e.g. districts and boroughs, Transport for the South East, Network Rail, National Highways, South Downs National Park Authority, operators, active travel groups).
- Targeted young person’s engagement with primary and secondary schools and further education colleges.
- Engagement with local senior groups and disability groups.
- A public consultation via the Online Engagement Platform.
Summary of priorities
The priorities identified during the early engagement have been summarised as follows
- Key stakeholders’ engagement (East Sussex County Council members, East Sussex County Council officers, local stakeholders)
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There were a range of issues and opportunities raised across three broad themes of:
- Area for intervention (e.g. electric vehicle charging, road safety).
- Supplementary documents (e.g. Investment Plan).
- Ways to develop the LTP (e.g. future proof).
- Young persons’ engagement
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The key insights from the young persons’ engagement highlighted that:
- Most students travel to school via sustainable modes and when walking, wheeling, scooting and cycling they dislike busy roads dominated by cars.
- Students acknowledge that cars cause pollution but are modes they like to use.
- Primary aged students prefer to travel on foot or by wheeling, scooting or cycling, more so than travelling by bus.
- Public online engagement
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The two most important priorities highlighted by a short survey on priorities were:
- Safety, health and air quality.
- Accessibility, equity and social inclusion.
The key issues and opportunities identified by respondents on a map were:
- Issues: just over a half of all general comments related to public transport, and for specific comments congestion followed by a lack of transport infrastructure were the most common issues identified.
- Opportunities: 60% related to public transport and a third (33%) concerned active travel infrastructure.