Councillors agree £11m funding for Exceat Bridge

Councillors have agreed to commit additional funding to plans to replace a bridge in East Sussex.

In a meeting earlier, East Sussex County Council cabinet members agreed to "redirect" more than £11m towards plans to replace Exceat Bridge.

A two-way bridge will replace the current single-lane structure, which forms part of the A259 between Seaford and Eastbourne.

The proposals saw opposition from some councillors, who argued the project was proving to be too expensive and should be dropped altogether, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The funding decision comes a little more than a month after the project was set to be discontinued due to rising costs.

Cabinet members had previously considered plans to construct a like-for-like replacement of the existing structure.

But Councillor Nick Bennett, Conservative cabinet member for resources and climate change, said: "If we build a single-lane bridge now, in 20 years time people will think that we've missed a great opportunity to build something far more substantial that supports the infrastructure for a long time."

The additional funding for the project is to be taken from money tied to the council's Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP).

There are expected to be disruption to other projects within the BSIP because of the reallocation, councillors were told.

Green Party councillor Johnny Denis said: "[Traffic in Newhaven] is the biggest pinch point of all; for everybody, for the maximum number of users.

"That ought to be the priority, not this white elephant, or should we call it a red herring in terms of traffic solutions on the A259."

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