Wealden approved £558,000 for Hamsey Bridge on 2 September, matching Lewes district. The last third rests with the South Downs park, which meets on 17 September.

A walking and cycling bridge over the River Ouse between Lewes and Hamsey now has two of its three funders in place. Wealden District Council’s Cabinet approved up to £558,000 towards it on Wednesday 2 September. Lewes District Council committed the same amount in March.

Only the South Downs National Park Authority’s share is still missing. Its next Policy and Resources Committee meets on 17 September, and no agenda had been published on 6 September.

The bridge is the first phase of the Lewes to Uckfield Greenway, a proposed 14.5km traffic-free route for walking, wheeling and cycling. Hamsey is the hamlet on the far side of the Ouse immediately north of Lewes.

What Wealden actually agreed

Wealden’s Cabinet met at Hailsham on 2 September. Its published decision allocates up to £558,000 of Community Infrastructure Levy money in the council’s capital programme, but ties it to conditions:

  • the money is for Hamsey Bridge, plus connections to the existing road and cycle network and route signage
  • it is subject to Lewes District Council and the South Downs National Park Authority formally committing their matching contributions
  • the Director of Place is given delegated authority to do due diligence, obtain consents and enter into the necessary agreements
  • the council will carry on working with Lewes, the National Park and other partners on the rest of the route

The Community Infrastructure Levy is a charge on new development. Councils that charge it must spend it on infrastructure that supports growth in their area, under section 216 of the Planning Act 2008 and the 2010 CIL Regulations.

That raises an obvious question, because the bridge is not in Wealden. The officer report answers it directly. It says that although the bridge lies within Lewes District, “its function is to enable a route which directly serves development and communities within Wealden”, particularly the growth planned at Uckfield.

Why this one bridge decides the whole route

The report is blunt about the bridge’s importance. It calls it the largest single piece of infrastructure the route needs, and says that “without the bridge the route is simply not feasible”.

It is needed twice over. The bridge is required for the interim quiet-lane version of the route, using existing low-traffic lanes, and for any later dedicated off-road greenway.

Building it would not guarantee the rest. The report is careful about that too, saying further works and agreements would still be required before a continuous route could operate.

Neither council has published a total cost for the bridge. Each of the three partners is being asked for one third, and one third is £558,000, which puts the projected cost at roughly £1.67m.

The route: 14.5km in four sections

The feasibility study was carried out by consultants Greenways and Cycleroutes and cost £15,000, funded jointly by Wealden and Lewes district councils. It divides the route into four sections:

  • Uckfield to Isfield
  • Isfield Farm Shop to Barcombe Mills
  • Barcombe Mills to Hamsey
  • Hamsey to Lewes

The northerly stretch from Uckfield follows the former railway line. The report estimates that an e-bike would cover Uckfield station to Lewes station in 38 minutes, based on 14mph.

Who is paying for Hamsey Bridge Three equal shares of £558,000 each towards Hamsey Bridge. Lewes District Council committed its share in March 2026. Wealden District Council committed its share on 2 September 2026. The South Downs National Park Authority share is not yet committed. Two of three shares are in. Each is £558,000. Source: Wealden District Council Cabinet decision, 2 September 2026, and Lewes District Council, March 2026. Lewes District Council £558,000 committed, March 2026 Wealden District Council £558,000 approved, 2 September 2026 South Downs National Park Not committed. Committee sits 17 September What the money buys Hamsey Bridge over the River Ouse, plus links to the existing road and cycle network and signage. It is phase one of a 14.5km Lewes to Uckfield route in four sections. No money is spent until all three shares, the consents and the land agreements are in place. Graphic by The Lewes Post
The bridge needs three equal shares. Two are agreed.

The bigger obstacle is land, not money

Funding is the visible hurdle. The report identifies a larger one.

The entire route is in third-party ownership, and no formal access or land agreements have been reached anywhere along it. Some landowners have been approached informally during the feasibility work, and the report says initial discussions indicate that some are open to further engagement.

It also explains why councils cannot simply ask. Landowners are reluctant to commit while the project is only being investigated, “including those who have expressed support in principle”. Funding the bridge is meant to break that stalemate by proving the scheme is real.

One section may arrive with a housing development instead. Planning application WD/2025/0922/MEA at Owlsbury, west of Uckfield, includes a length of the greenway inside its red line. The report assumes the greenway proceeds regardless of whether that permission is granted.

It does not close the door on the railway

The former Uckfield to Lewes railway is protected in planning policy so that development does not prejudice reinstating it. That protection sits in Wealden Local Plan Policy TR17 and Lewes District Local Plan Policy DM37.

The feasibility study looked at the greenway against that safeguarding and concluded the route can be accommodated without prejudicing a future railway. The report states plainly that the greenway “does not alter or weaken the existing planning protection afforded to the former railway route”.

What Lewes District Council said in March

Lewes District Council’s Cabinet agreed its £558,000 on 19 March, as part of a wider Community Infrastructure Levy report. Its commitment was contingent on planning permission and on Wealden and the National Park matching it.

Councillor Laurence O’Connor, the cabinet member for planning and infrastructure, said at the time that the route “addresses the need for safe walking and cycling routes in and out of Lewes that also link with the countryside and local villages”. He said it would transform everyday journeys for the Hamsey community, including shopping and reaching services in Lewes.

What it means for you

Nothing changes on the ground yet, and nothing will for some time.

  • No construction date exists. The money is an allocation, not a start. Wealden’s own report says expenditure will not be committed until the remaining funding, statutory consents, land agreements and delivery arrangements are all in place.
  • The next date to watch is 17 September, when the South Downs National Park Authority’s Policy and Resources Committee meets at Midhurst. Its agenda was not published on 6 September, so there is no confirmation yet that the greenway is on it.
  • The interim version needs no new path. If the bridge is built, the route can open using existing quiet lanes while the off-road sections are worked up.
  • Flooding shapes the design. Works in the Ouse valley and its flood meadows will need raised paths, boardwalks and culverts, plus consents from the Environment Agency. Anyone who has walked the Ouse path in winter will recognise the problem.
  • If you use the lanes north of Lewes now, the practical alternative is unchanged. The A26 carries the traffic, and Hamsey Road at Barcombe has been shut since December.

A separate campaign is pressing for a crossing on the other main walking route out of Lewes: see our report on the Offham Road petition.

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