At the Full Council meeting on Monday September 21st, members of Rother District Council voted through plans to improve the roundabout near Ravenside Retail Park.
Over the years, many Bexhill residents, especially those living in nearby Pebsham, have rightly complained and campaigned about the unkempt state of the 'Ravenside roundabout', one of the first landmarks to greet visitors who are driving west to Bexhill from Hastings and other areas.
Repeatedly, those who have tried to improve this roundabout have met resistance either due to road safety, funding issues or other 'red tape' but finally on Monday night, the Rother Alliance led administration at Rother District Council voted to approve the project, dubbed the "Ravenside Gateway Roundabout Improvement Project" (RGRIP).
The 'RGRIP' will see a sculpture installed at the centre of the currently barren and unattractive roundabout funded mainly by sponsorship, with the remaining costs being met using Bexhill localised Community Infrastructure Levy funds.
In order for the plans to proceed, Rother will have to enter into a Section 96 Agreement with Highways England and develop a traffic management plan. Following this, Councillors agreed to a one-off tidy up prior to the sculpture's installation.
The sculpture itself will be commissioned through a tendering process where Sussex-based professional sculptors will pitch their concepts to a panel of Rother District Councillors and the local County Councillor who will then decide which sculptor and sculpture will be commissioned.
This is just one of many long overdue transformations to the area that the Rother Alliance are putting into action. It is hoped that the roundabout will become a focal point for conversation, much like the roundabout at the end of Battle High Street, and bring a sense of pride to one of the main gateways into Bexhill. To watch a recording of the Full Council meeting CLICK HERE
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