A272 classification

The request was partially successful.

Dear West Sussex County Council,

I would like to ask some questions that relate to the A272 in West Sussex
1. Which parts of the A272 (within WSCC) are classified as Primary Routes. Please state what road junction (or boundary) that these section(s) start and end at.
2. Is WSCC planning on upgrading any non-primary parts of the route to primary, or vice versa? Please state the changes and to/from which junctions
3. Does WSCC receive/give additional funding or priority to Primary Routes over non-primary A routes? If so, please state by how much.
4. Is there any authorisation for to use non-primary signing on primary sections, or vice versa?
5. Has there been any communications with East Sussex CC or Hampshire CC about changing the A272's primary classification?
6. In relation of the Billingshurst's A272 relief road being completed:
a. Is the North Western part of the bypass (currently A29) going to be signed as the A272 or A29?
b. Is the North Western part of the bypass going become part of a primary route?
c. Is the old A272 route through the town going to get a road classification and number, or become unclassified?

Thank you & Yours faithfully,

Thomas Jarvis

westsussex@infreemation.co.uk, West Sussex County Council

Dear Thomas Jarvis

Thank you for your request which has been assigned reference FOI/1706

Freedom of Information request - A272 classification

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West Sussex County Council

 

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westsussex@infreemation.co.uk, West Sussex County Council

Dear Thomas Jarvis,

Our Ref: FOI/1706

On 22/11/2020 you made the following request for information, which has
been dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004.

Request for information that relate to the A272 in West Sussex
classifications, funding and signage

We have now completed a search for the information which you requested and
confirm that this Authority holds data relevant to your request.

The Response to your request is as follows:

Which parts of the A272 (within WSCC) are classified as Primary Routes.
Please state what road junction (or boundary) that these section(s) start
and end at.

The whole length of the A272 (from the County Boundary with Hampshire to
East Sussex) forms part of the Primary Route Network (PRN) as described in
the WSCC Local Transport Plan (LTP)

2. Is WSCC planning on upgrading any non-primary parts of the route to
primary, or vice versa? Please state the changes and to/from which
junctions

The whole length of the A272 (from the County Boundary with Hampshire to
East Sussex) forms part of the Primary Route Network (PRN) so there are no
plans to downgrade this part of the network.

3. Does WSCC receive/give additional funding or priority to Primary Routes
over non-primary A routes? If so, please state by how much.

All highway maintenance funding is based on the total highway maintainable
road lengths recorded within the County and reported back through the
R199b forms submitted to DfT each year. (more information can be found
here :  

[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...)

4. Is there any authorisation for to use non-primary signing on primary
sections, or vice versa?

All signage along the A272 conforms to the Primary Route Network
requirements

 5. Has there been any communications with East Sussex CC or Hampshire CC
about changing the A272's primary classification?

A recent consultation process was completed in October 2020 with all
neighbouring authorities to ensure that a consistent approach to
classifications, hierarchy and inspection frequencies were maintained
across county boundaries.

6. In relation of the Billingshurst's A272 relief road being completed:
a. Is the North Western part of the bypass (currently A29) going to be
signed as the A272 or A29?

The A29 will retain its classification unaltered. Only the new road will
be classified as A272.

b. Is the North Western part of the bypass going become part of a primary
route?

The North Western part of the bypass (currently A29) will retain its
current classification which does not form part of the Primary Route
Network

c. Is the old A272 route through the town going to get a road
classification and number, or become unclassified?

The lengths of the A272 through the village (East and West Streets & High
Street) have now been classified as C class roads

 

 

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Yours sincerely,

Hayley, CI Group FOI, Highways and Transport.

 

 

References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/

Dear [email address],

Thank you for your response, however could I please clarify some discrepancies.

The West Sussex Transport Plan 2011-2026 page 28 onwards (which I presume is the LTP that the response is referring to) shows some A roads (mostly, but not all Primary Routes) as "Other Strategic Roads" - grouped under the "Strategic Road Network". However the SRN is just another phrase to describe all trunk roads that are maintained by Highways England. This doesn't make sense and also doesn't show what is a primary route, so the LTP isn't very clear here what is part of the Primary Route Network (PRN).
On the map on Page 28 it shows the A272 being "Other Strategic Road" between the border of East Sussex and the A24 at Buck Barn. It's also this section of the A272 that uses (almost all) Primary Route signs (yellow on green), oppose to the non-primary (black on white) found at all but 1 sign between the A24 & Hampshire.

In the description on Page 29 it says that it is part of the PRN throughout, but only strategic between the A24 & East Sussex. If this is the case, why hasn't the A272 had its Primary Route status withdrawn West of the A24?

The response says that "All signage along the A272 conforms to the Primary Route Network requirements", however this simply isn't the case since all but 1 sign in West Sussex West of the A24 uses non-primary route signing. Also new signs (like those erected recently around Billingshurst) do not show the A272 as a primary route. Which is why I am asking if there is authorisation to use non-primary signs on the primary route.

Also again with the Billingshurst Bypass, the response suggests that the "primary route" A272 will run as the non-primary A29 around the Northwestern quadrant of the bypass. This simply doesn't make much sense as this would mean that the Primary Route Network would have a 1 km gap in it at the A29.

Please could the answers be clarified in regards of what the A272 is (West of the A24)? Primary or non-primary? Please state if these signs are correct, or not (in terms of their colours, not whats on them).
And please clarify what the Northwestern quadrant is of the Billingshurst Bypass in terms of road number and primary status.

Yours sincerely,

Thomas Jarvis

westsussex@infreemation.co.uk, West Sussex County Council

3 Attachments

Dear Thomas Jarvis,

Our Ref: FOI/1706

On 11/12/2020 you made the following request for clarification on the
response sent to your EIR request dated 10/12/2020.

Please see the below attachments demonstrating the status of the A272 as
PRN.

Yours sincerely,

Hayley, CI Group FOI, Highways and Transport.

westsussex@infreemation.co.uk, West Sussex County Council

Dear Thomas Jarvis,

Our Ref: FOI/1706

Following on from our recent response to your request, please see the
below statement:

We would always aim to use green signs on a primary route, but this isn't
a requirement. Likewise, a primary destination on a non primary route
should have a green boarder. But again, this is not a requirement, it's a
recommendation. 

The route is PRN but the signing has been downgraded to protect the route
as parts of it are unsuitable for long distance traffic and HGVs.

 

Yours sincerely,

Hayley, CI Group FOI, Highways and Transport.