The government has confirmed there are currently no plans to make the A21 a dual carriageway through East Sussex, improving Rye’s connections to London.
A debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday 14 April heard MPs tell the roads minister how the road’s lack of capacity and poor safety record make a significant impact on the area’s transport links.
The Adjournment Debate at Westminster was called by Dr Kieran Mullan, MP for Bexhill and Battle.
“South of Pembury the A21 is still predominantly single-carriageway,” he said. “Yet it carries long-distance traffic volumes entirely unsuited to the road’s original design. Large sections are characterised by tight bends, multiple junctions and direct access from homes and farms.”
He noted National Highways had spent £20 million on safety improvements to the A21 since 2020.
“I urge the minister to recognise the A21’s role as the principal gateway to some of the most economically disadvantaged communities in the south-east and to move beyond short-term mitigation. Specifically, will he commit to advancing the strategic case for dualling the A21 south of Pembury, including village bypasses?”
His call was backed up by Hastings and Rye MP Helena Dollimore. “Hastings and Rye ranks in the bottom 10 constituencies in the whole country for social mobility, and our poor transport connections are cited by the Sutton Trust as one of the reasons.”
She backed calls for the A21 to be dualled, but criticised National Highways for the way it handled the many overnight road closures. “It does not give any warning or put signs up in advance to tell people that the road is closed. In the pitch black at 10 pm, people are confronted with a road closure and one sign sending them down a series of dark country lanes, with no further signs after that. That puts them in an extremely difficult position in the dark. It is not safe.”
In reply Simon Lightwood, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, acknowledged the importance of the A21. “It is a key route in the strategic road network, performing a vital role in connecting coastal communities in East Sussex and larger towns in Kent to the M25 and the wider national network. When the road falls short in terms of capacity and reliability, particularly on its single-carriageway sections, this can have a real impact on economic opportunities, journey times and quality of life.”
He said work on improving the roundabout at Kippings Cross was likely, improvements elsewhere were not. “As for dualling the remaining single-carriageway stretches of the A21, there are no plans to do so at the present time. It does not form part of the plans set out and it is not one of the schemes included in the pipeline of schemes for construction in the early 2030s. Dualling the A21 would carry a significant cost, and the delivery of such a scheme would be really challenging, given the local topography and the number of settlements that the route passes through.”
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