Exceat Bridge: South Downs planners approve replacement bridge scheme

Plans to replace a key bridge along a popular tourist route have been given the go ahead by National Park planners.

The one-way Exceat bridge near Seaford will have a new two-way, two-lane system under the proposals.

They were approved by a majority of planners on the South Downs National Park Authority.

Many visitors to Seven Sisters Country Park, Beachy Head and Birling Gap on the East Sussex coast use the route.

Karl Taylor, of East Sussex County Council, said the ageing bridge, built in the 1870s, had come to the end of its life and needed major structural work.

One option of repairing the existing bridge in situ would result in closing the busy A259 for many months, he said.

Mr Taylor told the planning committee of the South Downs National Park Authority: "The replacement of this bridge is not a vanity project, it is of necessity."

But opponents said the replacement bridge would add to congestion and harm the character and appearance of the area, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Vic Ient, from the South Downs Network, said the scheme failed to make enough provision for cyclists and walkers, pointing to the fact five footpaths and bridleways meet at the existing bridge.

Mr Ient, along with other objectors, also argued a set of temporary traffic lights on the bridge should be made permanent, as an alternative to building a full replacement.

The decision to approve the scheme was welcomed by Lewes MP Maria Caulfield.

She said: "We have been campaigning tirelessly to ensure that planning for the Exceat Bridge Scheme is approved and I am thrilled that it has now been approved and work can finally begin."

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