A Brief History of the Egrets Way Project

The people who initiated the Egrets Way Project in 2011 were not the first group of local residents to join forces to identify a safe cycling route which would connect Newhaven, Lewes and the villages in between. In 2004, an earlier attempt by members of the POLO (Parishes of the Lower Ouse) group to create a ‘Greenway’ running alongside the C7 Lewes to Newhaven Road had foundered when no achievable route could be identified.

However, in Autumn, 2011, three significant events occurred which encouraged members of those same communities to try again:

• the Environment Agency announced its intention to maintain the flood defences of the river in the Lower Ouse valley,

• the Government announced substantial funding for sustainable transport plans, and

• the South Downs National Park (SDNP), created in 2010, came into operation.

Following public meetings, held for the purpose of measuring support for the project, a constitution was adopted, a Steering Committee was created, officers were elected, and the project known as the Ouse Valley Cycle Network (OVCN) came into being. A great deal of work then began to identify a route, locate relevant landowners and meet with representatives of organisations with shared interests as well as engaging with the public through parish council meetings and attendance at local events. By the end of the year, the group had joined forces with a working party from the Kingston Road and Cranedown Residents Association and the Kingston Action Group which had long been exploring the possibility of creating an off-road cycleway connecting Kingston and Lewes. Sustrans was then commissioned to identify a riverside route running from Newhaven to Lewes with branches extending to Kingston, Rodmell, Southease and Piddinghoe. What followed was a process which has been repeated many times over with the project taking shape as opportunities arose and funding was secured.

In March 2012 the initial route to be constructed was identified (Kingston to Lewes), the landowners gave their consent for access to their land, operating funds were raised from local sources, planning permission was sought and granted following public consultations, and the funding for Phase 1 of the newly named Egrets Way network of paths was raised from local and central government sources. Sustrans was appointed to manage the project while Steering Committee members engaged in an extensive programme of community meetings and promotional activities. Phase 1 was officially opened in September 2012.

In 2013, the project Steering Committee decided to apply for charitable status and so adopted a new constitution and became a registered charity in January 2014. This enabled us to apply for major funding which was only available to charitable organisations.

Capital funding for the network construction has been largely secured and administered by the South Downs National Park Authority. For example, Phase 3 was funded via an award from the Department for Transport while phase 4 attracted both EU LEADER monies and Community Infrastructure Levy funds.

Once funding for each phase had been secured, SDNPA officers managed the delivery of the construction contracts and then worked in conjunction with Sustrans to deliver the individual projects within budget and in accordance with the agreements reached with the relevant landowners.

After three more phases of construction, resulting in a network comprising 5 miles of path at a cost of £2M, we have now reached Phase 5 (Newhaven to Piddinghoe). Construction has been delayed for nearly a year by the impact of COVID-19 but should begin later this year. We are now working toward the implementation of Phase 6 (Rodmell to Lewes), the last riverside section, for which landowners’ consent and capital funding of over £900k must be obtained.

Right from the beginning, the success of the project has been, and will continue to be, based on these critical factors:

• Cohesive planning and active support from Steering Committee members,

• Consent from relevant landowners,

• Successful collaboration with and between our key partners, the SDNPA and Sustrans, and many others including the Environment Agency, East Sussex Highways, Lewes District Council and, most recently, Highways England,

• Funding secured for both capital and operating requirements, and

• Ongoing and consistent support from local residents.

2020 has proven to be a trying year for most individuals and organisations in the UK and the Egrets Way Project was no exception. However, we have recently organised a group of Egrets Way volunteers who are responsible for monitoring the condition of the various pathways and for providing routine maintenance as required. There will be more volunteer opportunities in the future and anyone who is interested in becoming a member of this team should contact Rick Ross at: rickross.rr22@gmail.com.

What we have seen during 2020 is a significant increase in the number of people using the completed sections of path. The automatic people counter installed on the section running from Southease Bridge to the C7 north of Piddinghoe, which opened in 2016 and has been continuously monitored, has seen average monthly usage gradually rise from 600 users in the first year to 2,400 in 2020. Undoubtedly this is the result of many people deciding to take advantage of the sustainable access to the Lower Ouse Valley which the Egrets Way has always aimed to provide.

Annual Reports

 ‘ESCAPE ROUTE’  Egrets Way Video 2013

When the Egrets Way project got underway in 2011, our time was largely devoted to identifying the route, obtaining landowner and planning consent and securing funding for the first sections of path to be constructed.   We also spent considerable time engaging with local people to make them aware of the project and secure their support.  

One of the early project supporters, Roger Ordish, a retired BBC television producer, offered to make a video about the project which could be used to inform members of the public and potential funders. The original video was updated in 2013 and this is the version you see here.  While now dated, it remains a useful reminder of the original thinking behind the ongoing Egrets Way project.