Seahaven Academy bus services axed due to government decision

The bus route offered a safe passage of transport for children to access the school and get home, especially in the dark and cold winter months. There are now going to be several schools leaving and starting at the same time in a small area which could create traffic issues.

Other concerns raised by campaigners on the cancellation of the bus service include the poor street lighting around the A259 at the fairway, that the bus stop sizes are far too small to deal with the 200 to 300 children that will be using the bus stops and accessing the 12 and 14 buses.

The school has been forced to change their school times due to the government’s decision in March 2022 that they have to be open for longer periods, which has led to this decision affecting the bus service.

Councillor Sean Macleod, Newhaven North, said: “Parents are rightly stressed and annoyed by this decision and feel their children are being let down due to the County Council wanting to save money. The Council have ignored my request to open discussions with the town councils to see if they could help contribute some money to help with the cost of running these services as happens in Lewes. I really can't understand why they won't do this.

“Many parents choose Seahaven due to the fantastic transport links that serve the school. For some, it would now be easier to send their children to other schools. I honestly don’t think the consequences of this move have been fully thought through. Hundreds of children will now be crossing and walking along the A259. Are Brighton buses ready for potentially 200 to 300 children using their services at the close of school time? This at the same time as other schools are leaving.

“I feel this is a bad move and one East Sussex County Council will regret making in the long term as I think this will create many issues. We need to now see huge improvements to the lighting along the A259 and for the bus stops to be greatly improved in size. Children's safety now has to become a priority.”

An East Sussex County Council spokesperson said: “We appreciate the concerns raised around bus services to and from Seahaven Academy following the school’s decision to change its opening hours.

“The number 12 and 14 services are operated by Brighton & Hove Buses and the council does not provide any funding for these services. We are, however, liaising with the operator to see if capacity can be increased on these routes around the school’s start and finish times.

“After safety concerns were raised over the size of the bus stop areas on the A259 Brighton Road we have started work to increase the size of these two bus stops and are aiming to have this completed as soon as possible.

“Due to limited resources available we can only implement road safety schemes where the need is greatest. Following a review by the Road Safety team, the A259 at the Fairway has not been identified as a priority for road safety and does not meet the criteria for progression under the Community Focussed Safety Scheme programme.”

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