School Streets scheme: these are the road closures in East Sussex

The School Streets scheme aims to create more space for social distancing, walking and cycling during the school run, and is being delivered by East Sussex County Council in partnership with walking and cycling charity Sustrans.

Roads will be closed to non-essential traffic during drop-off and pick-up hours in term time in a six-week trial scheme, which begins on March 15 and will run until May 7.

READ MORE: Portslade school is fourth to join School Streets in Brighton and Hove

The council said operating times will depend on each participating school and will be timed to align with when pupils arrive and leave, with restrictions likely to be in place for up to one hour in the morning and up to one hour in the afternoon.

The blue lines on the maps below indicate zones where vehicles are restricted during School Streets hours, and the red lines indicate where barriers and stewards will be.

Here are the schools taking part:

Southover C of E Primary School, Lewes

Harbour Primary and Nursery School, Newhaven

Langney Primary Academy, Eastbourne

All Saints C of E Primary School, Bexhill

Ark Blacklands Primary Academy, Hastings 

All Saints C of E Junior Academy, Hastings

School Streets is part of a wider programme of long term projects the council plans to deliver to support more walking and cycling across the county, funded through a £1.8 million grant from the second tranche of the Department for Transport’s Emergency Active Travel Fund.

Cllr Claire Dowling, lead member for transport and the environment, said: “I am delighted we have secured government funding to run trial School Streets schemes at six schools in East Sussex.

“Working with Sustrans, I hope we will be able to show the benefits of these schemes in terms of road safety and air quality as well as providing more space for social distancing, to both the schools taking part and their wider communities.”

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Sustrans is supporting schools to deliver School Streets as part of its commitment to making it easier for people to walk and cycle.

Helen Kellar from Sustrans said: “We’re really pleased to see East Sussex County Council and schools across the area taking the initiative to put School Streets in place.

“These schemes will help to give families the space they need to get to school safely. As a road free from vehicles could typically gain an extra seven metre wide space for pedestrians, maintaining physical distancing at busy school run times will become much easier.

“Previous School Streets schemes have proved beneficial for road safety and air quality. And they create a cleaner, more pleasant environment outside the school.

"In turn, School Streets increase the likelihood that children will walk or cycle to school instead of being dropped off in a car.”