FAQs

The Hazelwick and Tushmore junctions on A2011 Crawley Avenue are important junctions for access to education, jobs and services including Manor Royal Business District and Gatwick Airport. However, the junctions experience high volumes of traffic with most journeys currently being made by private car. This results in congestion, especially during peak times, and there have been a high number of collisions, some of which have involved pedestrians and cyclists. The high levels of use cause traffic noise and poor air quality for nearby residents that has led to the designation of an Air Quality Management Area at Hazelwick. 

As part of the Forge Wood development, traffic signals are planned to be introduced at the Hazelwick junction to mitigate the transport impacts of the development. 

Levels of bus use in Crawley are the highest in West Sussex and there is potential to grow this further. However, services experience delay and longer journey times through the Hazelwick and Tushmore junctions as a result of congestion at peak times. 

Facilities for pedestrians and cyclists at the Hazelwick junction are limited and some existing facilities at the Tushmore junction are not in line with the latest design guidance. These issues limit the attractiveness of public transport, cycling and walking which could be addressed by improvements to the junctions.

The West Sussex Transport Plan 2022-2036 (opens in new window) sets out how the county council is intending to address a number of challenges, including climate change, congestion, public health and road safety through improvements to the transport network.

Number of collisions at Hazelwick in the last 5 years is 51, number of collisions at Tushmore in the last 5 years is 16, source of data WSCC Earthlight mapping tool.

The proposals aim to improve road safety and reduce congestion. The proposals also aim to make local bus services more reliable and a more attractive transport choice, and make active travel a more realistic, attractive, and safe option for journeys using these junctions. This could lead to a reduction in short-distance car journeys, if more journeys are made by public transport, cycling and walking. The proposals being considered are also be expected to lead to improvements to air quality and noise around the junctions.

At this early stage a detailed cost estimate has not yet been produced. However, we expect  costs to be in line with similar improvements being delivered around the country. Cost estimates will be prepared as part of the design process and shared during a future consultation.

It is currently expected that the improvements would be funded largely using developer contributions and central Government grants that are intended for transport improvement schemes, alongside county council funding. In order to access central Government grants, it will be necessary to demonstrate in a business case that the proposals are deliverable and would provide good value for money.   

Widening roads without also providing improvements to public transport, walking and cycling facilities will encourage more people to drive. The West Sussex Transport Plan 2022-2036 (opens in new window) identifies the need for improvements to highways, public transport and active travel facilities to tackle congestion.  

The proposals include the provision of bus lanes and bus gates on approaches to the Hazelwick and Tushmore junctions. This aims to make bus journey times more competitive and more reliable, and make bus travel a more attractive alternative to the car for some journeys, helping to reduce congestion.

By providing improved facilities for cycling that are off the carriageway, we also aim to encourage more people to cycle in Crawley, particularly those people that are less confident cyclists.

The proposals would provide improvements benefiting journeys to a number of key destinations including Manor Royal Business District, Gatwick Airport and other education, employment and retail destinations. The scheme would therefore make it easier for people to use public transport, walk and cycle where these are viable options, rather than using their private vehicles.

Aside from the measures to improve the attractiveness of public transport, walking and cycling, the scheme includes road safety improvements, including adding or upgrading crossings at Hazelwick and Tushmore junctions. There are also proposals to increase the number of circulatory lanes associated with introducing traffic signals at the Hazelwick junction.

The designs that are being developed will be designed in accordance with the latest cycle design guidance (LTN 1/20) (opens in new window).

The proposals include new bus lanes and bus gates using traffic signals for buses at the Hazelwick and Tushmore junctions.

A key function of the proposals will be to ensure that any proposals developed will link to existing facilities such as linking to Woolborough Lane and Manor Royal, or can be linked in the future as other improvements come forward.

Information about the county council’s approach to road maintenance is available at: https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/campaigns/better-roads/ (opens in new window).

It is currently expected that the schemes will be largely funded using central Government grants and developer funding that cannot be used for road maintenance.

The county council is undertaking a separate public consultation to understand the views of residents on proposals for a Controlled Parking Zone in the Three Bridges and Pound Hill areas of Crawley between 4^th November and 1^st December 2024. Further information is available at https://yourvoice.westsussex.gov.uk/parking-strategy (opens in new window)

Following the end of the engagement period, all responses will be analysed and used to help us decide the next steps for the proposals. We will share a summary engagement report on this webpage in due course. If the proposals are taken forward, feedback will be used to help develop the proposals into feasibility level designs. Further consultation on the feasibility designs will be undertaken to invite comment on the emerging designs of the proposals, which we expect to be undertaken in 2025.

The next steps for the proposals will be informed by the outcomes of this engagement period. Further design and consultation would be needed before any improvements could be constructed.  

Construction would be subject to a business case, all relevant statutory processes (e.g. planning) and securing central Government funding and developer contributions for delivery. Therefore, it is not possible to confirm a delivery timescale at this stage. However, it is likely to be several years before any construction could commence.

There is the potential for localised impacts of the scheme for example on grass verges, vegetation and wildlife from the proposals as a result of any highway widening and lighting proposals. These impacts will be assessed in further detail as the design develops, through a detailed environmental assessment including ecological impact assessment.

We have a commitment to ensure that all major schemes consider ‘biodiversity net gain’, so any impacts on biodiversity will need to be accompanied by compensatory biodiversity improvements that result in an overall measurable improvement in biodiversity elsewhere locally. 

This is unknown at this stage. Before any construction on the proposals could start, a Construction Management Plan will be developed to minimise the impact on the local community as much as possible. This will detail any necessary road closures or changes to access for pedestrians and cyclists as well as diversion routes during construction. Further details of construction impacts will be made available during a future consultation.

An Air Quality Management Area (opens in new window) has been declared at the Hazelwick junction due to exceedances of mean average annual standard for NO₂. DEFRA has also identified Noise Important Areas close to both junctions. Therefore, we are considering a range of potential measures that could reduce pollution and noise such as changes to speed limits and surfacing and welcome your views on these proposals as we also consider whether these would be effective and provide value for money.

You can either email any comments or questions to the team at LTP@westsussex.gov.uk or you can telephone 01243 642105. If you are deaf and have the NGT app installed on your PC, laptop, or mobile phone, you can contact us on 18001 01243 642105.