Haywards Heath: South Road

Haywards Heath town centre was identified as a priority area for investment in theWest Sussex Transport Plan 2022-2036. A scheme was developed in 2022 covering South Road and Commercial Square, but following the September 2022 mini budget, it was deemed unaffordable.

Since then, West Sussex County Council has revisited the proposals and updated the design. The Council is now seeking feedback on the revised proposals, and inviting members of the community to have their say.

The proposals aim to improve the look and feel of the area, and make it more attractive for people walking, wheeling and cycling.

Residents and visitors had the opportunity to share their views on the proposals via an online survey, which opened on 19 January and ran until 2 March 2026.

LED Conversion Project

The project will replace all the West Sussex County Council-owned street lights that are not already LED. This equates to 65,249 lanterns.

Street lights are the third-biggest consumer of energy and creator of carbon for the County Council. Converting street lights to LED will significantly reduce both our use of electric and creation of carbon, helping us reach our target to become a carbon neutral organisation by 2030.

The replacement of the existing lanterns with LED lanterns will commence later this year and is planned to take four years to complete. The implementation will begin in the area where street lighting uses the most energy and then will move through the county to ensure efficient future maintenance.

The project is divided into eight delivery areas, each area will take roughly six-months to complete. You can view these geographically on the above map.

Chichester Public Realm

West Sussex County Council is prioritising public realm improvements to Chichester City Centre. The existing public realm within the pedestrianised zones of East and North Streets is deteriorating and the current surface has reached the end of its useful life.

We have just finished digging some trial holes in North and East Street to allow us to finalise some of the details (tree pits, drainage and other underground apparatus) The works, undertaken by Volker Highways, started on 12 January 2026 and lasted around three weeks.

We are aiming to complete the design phase this spring, so that the main contract can be procured over the summer. Construction is planned for 2027

Burgess Hill Place and Connectivity Scheme

The Burgess Hill Place and Connectivity Programme is part of the Mid Sussex Growth Programme and is considered one of the most ambitious programmes in the region.

• Phase One of the project is complete. We are checking the completed remedial works to officially close this phase.

• The Phase Two scope includes Victoria Business Park and town centre improvements to Church Road and Church Walk. As the Church Road and Walk improvements are going to be done in partnership with other town centre regeneration projects, work is on hold awaiting progress from other partners. 

• The Victoria Business Park public engagement exercise commenced in October and ended on 5 December 2025. We are reviewing the consultation feedback and commissioning the detailed design will follow. 

Bognor Regis Esplanade

The public realm works along Bognor Regis Esplanade were part of the wider Arun Growth Programme, which is the mechanism for delivering the Arun Growth Deal. 

The scheme was completed in late March 2025 and has been under contract maintenance for the last year.  Following a Road Safety Audit, some minor adjustments have been advised. As part of these, an additional pathway has been added in the central area to link parking to the Place Saint-Maur crossing - this follows the desire path created by the public.

The maintenance and watering of the landscaping areas will be licensed to Arun District Council later this year.

Halogen Bulb Replacement Programme

Works to upgrade our traffic signals to the latest LED technology are now complete. The improvements will save money and reduce our carbon emissions by nearly 600 tonnes – the equivalent of taking 283 petrol cars off the road for a whole year

The latest LED technology now operates 94 traffic signal sites around West Sussex. The new lights use 84% less energy than halogen bulbs which will save us an estimated £594,000 in energy costs. The work became necessary because outdated halogen light bulbs are no longer manufactured.

While working on the traffic signals, we also upgraded pedestrian crossings with the latest puffin crossing detectors. These improve safety and reduce traffic delays by monitoring how the crossings are used in real time. Other improvements to make the crossings more accessible included resurfaced footways, new tactile paving and refreshed road markings.

Photo caption: From left to right Tim Macaulay (Landbuild Contracts Manager), Lee Maskell (Senior Project Manager; Traffic Signals and Street Lighting, West Sussex County Council); Simon Osborne (Asset Manager, Traffic Signals and Street Lighting, West Sussex County Council); Joe Harper (Telent Contracts Manager) at one of the new LED signal crossings on South Street in Chichester.

A259 Bognor Regis to Littlehampton

West Sussex County Council is developing a major road enhancement scheme for the corridor of the A259 between Bognor Regis and Littlehampton in Arun District.

The scheme extends between, and includes, the B2132 Yapton Road (Comet Corner) junction and the B2187 Bridge Road (Tesco’s) junction.

The key objectives of the scheme are to:

• Enhance the conditions for walking, cycling and bus travel, encouraging the switch from car use to greener modes of transport.
• Improve the road safety record and journey-time reliability along the A259 corridor between Bognor Regis and Littlehampton.
• Increase junction capacity to support economic development, including the delivery of strategic development sites identified in the Arun Local Plan.

We are progressing the detailed design which is now close to completion. The planning application for the proposals at Comet Corner junction has been submitted and the Oystercatcher junction’s planning application is expected to be submitted to West Sussex County Council’s Planning Services shortly.

A29 Realignment, Phase 1A Barnham Road Roundabout

The A29 realignment scheme is an important part of the aims for Arun District, as outlined in the West Sussex Transport Plan.

The Barnham Road Roundabout is part of the A29 realignment scheme between Fontwell and Barnham.

• We have secured a contractor for the roundabout’s construction. The required land for the roundabout is being negotiated, and once this is completed the construction phase will be confirmed.
• In the meantime, we are making progress with plans to undertake advanced site clearance, ground investigative works and utility diversions, ready for construction

Produced by the Customer Communications Officer, Highways Transport and Planning. Please contact highways.PMO@westsussex.gov.uk with any comments or suggestions.