Timeline of activities to date
This website will be kept up to date and more information about plans will be published as soon as we have further details.
April 2025: A notice regarding the Public Local Inquiries in connection with the Scheme and Orders relating to proposals for the construction of a replacement bridge at Exceat will be held by an Inspector appointed for this purpose by the Secretary of State for Transport beginning at 10.00am on Tuesday 13 May 2025 at Council Chamber, East Sussex County Council, County Hall, St Anne’s Crescent, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 1UE to hear representations from remaining objectors.
The notice has also been placed on site around the Exceat Bridge and put in the local news press and London Gazette. The notices will be in the papers and on site for three weeks in the run up to the Public Inquiry. There will also be hard copies of the notice available at County Hall in Lewes, Seaford Library and Eastbourne Library.
A copy of the notice can be found below:
Core documents for Public Inquiry can be found here: Public Inquiry documents
Please see below for accessible copies:
Exceat Bridge Replacement Side Roads Order Site Plan R1 - accessible version
Exceat Bridge Orders - accessible version
Exceat Bridge Replacement Bridge Order Plan - accessible version - Page 1
Exceat Bridge Replacement Bridge Order Plan - accessible version - Page 2
Exceat Bridge Replacement Bridge Order Plan - accessible version - Page 3
The County Council’s Cabinet and the Department for Transport have approved our request to reallocate some of the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding to the Exceat Bridge project. This will allow the Council to build the two-lane bridge as originally planned, with minimal road closures during construction. You can find a copy of the Cabinet report on the County Council website: Agenda for Cabinet on Tuesday, 22nd April, 2025, 10.00 am | East Sussex County Council. The report contains more information about the Bus Service Improvement Plan and the reasons for the proposals to reallocate funds.
Work is now underway to finalise designs, carry out pre-construction preparations, discharge the necessary conditions attached to the planning approval and progress with the public inquiry to secure the land necessary to construct the two-lane bridge. We are aiming to start constructing the new bridge in spring 2026.
March-April 2025: . Following publication of the Cabinet report, one of the principal bus operators in the county came forward to suggest we explore the use of Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding as they considered a two-lane replacement bridge at Exceat to be of higher priority than other bus priority measures in our BSIP. This was reported to Cabinet on 4 March.
The reallocation of some of the BSIP funding to the Exceat Bridge project will require formal approval from the East Sussex Enhanced Bus Service Partnership and the Department for Transport. Therefore, Cabinet has deferred its decision in order to allow further discussions to take place. We have now commenced discussions with the DfT BSIP team.
February-March 2025: We are seeking permission from ESCC Cabinet and the Government to change the design of the bridge.
May 2024: Negotiations with landowners and the Compulsory Purchase Order process for the required areas of land to deliver the scheme are ongoing.
Construction is expected to start in 2025 and take around 18 months to complete. Some environmental works will begin in late 2024.
The temporary traffic lights currently in place will remain until the new bridge is complete.
October 2023: Notices regarding Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs), a Side Roads Order and a Bridge Order will be posted from Friday 20 October. There will be a statutory six week objection period, which will run until Monday 4 December.
The notices have been sent to the land owners. Notices have also been placed on site around the Exceat Bridge and put in the local news press and London Gazette. The notices will be in the papers for two weeks and on site for six weeks. There will also be hard copies of the notices available at County Hall in Lewes, Seaford Library and Eastbourne Library.
The orders allow for changes to the road layout as part of the construction of the new bridge including: realignment of the existing road, public right of way and local accesses; re-profiling the river and road embankments; addition of traffic calming measures and provision of a habitat area. You can see full details of the Plans and copies of the Orders at the links below.
The new bridge will be constructed next to the current bridge which will mean the road and pavements can stay open throughout almost all of the construction period. In all cases, alternative routes will be provided if there is a need to briefly close a road or footpath.
- East Sussex County Council (Exceat Bridge Replacement – A259 Eastbourne Road) (Classified Road) (Side Roads) Order 2023 dated 3 October 2023;
- East Sussex County Council (Exceat Bridge Replacement – A259 Eastbourne Road) Compulsory Purchase Order 2023 (including relevant plans) dated 3 October 2023;
- Statement of Reasons;
- East Sussex County Council (Exceat Bridge Replacement – A259 Eastbourne Road) Bridge Scheme 2023 dated 3 October 2023
Please see below for accessible copies:
- Exceat Bridge Replacement Side Roads Order Site Plan R1 - accessible version
- Exceat Bridge Orders - accessible version
- Exceat Bridge Replacement Bridge Order Plan - accessible version - Page 1
- Exceat Bridge Replacement Bridge Order Plan - accessible version - Page 2
- Exceat Bridge Replacement Bridge Order Plan - accessible version - Page 3
April 2023: Detailed designs for the new bridge completed.
December 2022: Planning permission granted by the South Downs National Park Authority with conditions in place to protect the natural landscape.
October 2021: East Sussex County Council is pleased to have been awarded funding for the project from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund. You can read a copy of the application form here (opens in a new tab). To find copies of the supporting information, technical data and appendices, simply visit the East Sussex County Council Freedom of Information page (opens in a new tab) and click on the East Sussex Disclosure Log link. Once in the Log enter the search term "Exceat Bridge".
August 2020: We carried out a public consultation in the summer of 2020. We received over 1000 responses on our proposals with 79% in favour of replacing the current bridge. We have used the feedback to further improve the designs. Further details can be found on our consultation page (opens in a new tab).