The puffin crossing will remain in the same place outside Fat Fish.
Further along, in the direction of Hassocks, the existing give way priority will remain in place.
During the works the contractor is hoping to reuse as many of the attractive granite kerb stones as possible.
“We are hoping that the new layout of the High Street,” Stephen continued, “will encourage drivers to park in designated spaces which will therefore not obstruct the flow of traffic.”
The Parish Council are already in discussion with Mid Sussex District Council about the possibilty of increased frequency of traffic wardens on the High Street to enable those spaces to be more readily used for shoppers ‘nipping in’ to local shops rather than all day parking.
During the period of the works buses will be diverted via Jane Murray Way in Burgess Hill, so bus users should expect slightly longer journey times. The Parish Council has also just announced that it has put on a special shuttle bus which links the west of the village to Hassocks. The ‘33C’ is a FREE service running from Willow Way through to Pyecombe and Hassocks. For more details of this service and other bus route diversions see www.hurstpierpoint-pc.org.uk
Drivers travelling from one end of the village to the other are being asked by the Parish Council to avoid using College Lane and Cuckfield Road, as these are not part of the formal diversion and will become congested very easily.
The contractor will be working on-site from 7.30am until 5pm, Monday to Saturdays during August. For any more information residents can visit the Parish Council website or go into the Parish Office on Trinity Road.
All information also available on pages 16/17.
So, after many years of talking about it, the High Street is being transformed this month to include new features such as wider pavements, a new traffic flow system and cycle racks.
The work, which has been researched and commissioned by Hurstpierpoint & Sayers Common Parish Council, will start on Sunday 2nd August when the High Street will be closed to vehicles at both ends. The closure will remain in place until Friday 28th August.
It is important to note that pedestrian access to the High Street shops will remain open throughout the works period.
Parish Clerk Stephen Hoyles commented: “This work has been in the pipeline of the Parish Council since 2007, so it’s good to finally be starting the project. The primary reasons for the work to be carried out are that of pedestrian safety and to slow traffic speeds down as they pass through our village. We have been talking to residents over this long period of time and we know people are worried about this in Hurstpierpoint.”
One of the major parts of the project is making the very narrow section of pavement on the other side of the road, opposite Nationwide, wider. At some points it could be nearly twice as wide. The extra width is being created by narrowing the road on that stretch and introducing a give way priority system.
Outside Nationwide the pavement area will be dramatically increased and will continue along to West Furlong Lane.
On the south side of the High Street an entirely new pavement is being created outside West Furlong Court, which will continue up to Mansion House. The existing pavement here will be replaced with new keyblock paving and a nib is also being created in front of the steps of the house.
There will be space allocated for a new loading bay outside The New Inn. This will operate in the mornings and become a short term parking bay thereafter.
Outside the Post Office there will be a new crossing point created, and just further along the street another give way priority will be put in place. This will enable drivers to see all the way down the High Street before proceeding down the single lane.