Resident's Meeting & Correspondence from WSCC
Published: 01 May 2025
Broadbridge Way and Sargent Way - Resident Meeting
A joint meeting with WSCC Highways, inviting residents, alongside County/District Councillors and BBH Parish Council to provide an update on the Neighbourhood Centre car park, bus camera enforcement and Sargent Way.
Date: Tuesday 20th May 2025
Time: 5pm - 6pm
Location: Parish Office, Sargent Way, RH12 3TS
Please share with neighbours, friends in the village that may not be online. All residents are welcome to attend.
If you are planning to attend we would be grateful if you could update the event to allow us to manage number expectations.
Many Thanks
Please see the below correspondence sent to residents from West Sussex County Council:
Thank you for taking the time to alert West Sussex County Council Highways (WSCC) of your concerns regarding traffic movements around the Neighbourhood Centre and Sargent Way, Broadbridge Heath.
As you may or may not be aware Sargent Way is still privately maintained and is yet to become publicly maintainable highway, and subsequently not under the jurisdiction of West Sussex County Council Highways. Sargent Way remains under the control of the developer/managing agent, Countryside Properties, who are now part of Vistry. Unfortunately, the developer has not been engaging with WSCC to resolve the sites adoption issues.
Despite this, officers at West Sussex County Council Highways has been working with a number of parties including County Councillor Christian Mitchell, Broadbridge Heath Parish Council, Horsham District Council (HDC) and the landowner Elmdon Real Estate (ERE), regarding the use of Broadbridge Way, the Neighbourhood Centre Car Park, Sargent Way and other surrounding roads.
To give some history to matters and explain what works have been explored or achieved:
The Neighbourhood Centre and bus gate were opened circa 2019/2020 and almost immediately through traffic movements started to take place in the car park, with the predominant movement from west to east. It was the Neighbourhood Centre works which created the downgrading of the original A281 through the area with the intention to redirected traffic to the newly completed A264 link to the A24, this downgrading was both a local plan and, development masterplan, requirement. Highway Improvements were made at the Tesco roundabout, Newbridge Junction and Farthings Hill junction to complement the downgrading, these also formed part of the agreed development proposals and were developer funded.
Alterations to the bus gate (to allow for Eastbound buses) was undertaken by WSCC in late 2020 / early 2021.
In November 2022 WSCC completed 7.5 tonne weight restrictions Traffic Regulation Orders and associated signage works on Broadbridge Way including advanced warning signs at Farthings Hill Junction and Newbridge Roundabout, at the request of the Parish Council and in discussion with Local Councillors.
In October 2022 WSCC undertook installation of speed control measures within the Neighbourhood Centre Car Park, with ramps located at entrance / exit points and across the middle of the car park. Segregation of the Car Park and removal of the through movement could not be agreed with the then landowner, so speed control measures were all that could be installed.
In December 2022 an ANPR Bus Gate Enforcement Camera was installed to capture drivers abusing the bus gate. However, WSCC were subsequently advised that its existing powers, being used elsewhere, were not appropriate and thus the necessary traffic powers were not in place and the camera had to be switched off. WSCC applied for and received the necessary powers from the DfT in the autumn of 2024 and internal approvals to progress the re-introduction of bus camera enforcement in December 2024. The Bus Gate site has been reviewed for signs compliance and is in the process of being re-commissioned; timelines for this rely on the introduction of the car parking segregation but advance warning will be given of its reactivation.
Following further feedback from Local Councillors about continued traffic abuses in the local area a CCTV survey was undertaken in July of 2023. The survey helped identify all vehicle and pedestrian movements around the Neighbourhood Centre in particular the bus gate way and those vehicle movements through the Neighbourhood Centre Car Park.
The outcome of this survey was presented to local Councillors and WSCC undertook an Options review to examine further interventions for the Neighbourhood Centre Car Park, amongst other intervention approaches for the local area. Options included the use of WSCC Highways Powers to close one of the access points, most likely the entry from the speed table / bus gate into the car park, or continue to lobby the landowner to allow segregation of the car park.
To better understand the traffic use in the local area, a detailed Automatic Number Plate Recognition camera survey was undertaken in July 2024. This survey continued to show high use of the Neighbourhood Centre as a through route, as well providing information to understand the wider traffic flows into, out of and through Sargent Way and the housing area. Traffic speeds were also recorded in parts of Broadbridge Way and Sargent Way.
As agreed with local councillors, further contact was undertaken by WSCC with the Neighbourhood Centre landowner (ERE) during 2024 and, in October, a verbal agreement was reached for WSCC to progress the segregation of the Neighbourhood Car Park. The Planning Authority (Horsham DC) advised that the proposed changes to the car park would require a planning application, to vary the planning conditions; WSCC officers are currently progressing this and the application will be submitted in the near future; the application will be the subject of a planning consultation.
With regards to the unfortunate incidents that have recently been highlighted on Sargent Way, at this juncture we are awaiting the outcome of the above mentioned planning application and if successfully implemented we will then need to monitor the effects of traffic then using Broadbridge Way and Sargent Way as an alternative (a further ANPR survey). It is somewhat hoped that by creating an inaccessible route at the Neighbourhood Centre that traffic will seek to use the improved route via the A264 Broadbridge Heath By-Pass, as intended in the local plan and development masterplan. It may be that if the car park changes are implemented there will be a period of increased traffic volumes but we remain hopeful that in time the desirable route will be via the A264 Broadbridge Heath By-Pass, the monitoring surveys will assist to inform that.
Please be assured that this matter is receiving WSCC’s utmost attention and the County’s highways officers will endeavour to provide the most appropriate outcome for all, that is within its allowable powers. We hope to offer a meeting with residents, in conjunction with the Parish Council and WSCC County Councillor Mitchell, in later April early May to discuss the above and our next steps, and will let you know a date, time and location in due course.