Wealden's £558,000 for the Ouse bridge survived a five-councillor call-in on 21 September. But no money moves until the South Downs park commits its third.

The money Wealden District Council set aside for a walking and cycling bridge over the Ouse north of Lewes has survived a challenge from five of its own councillors.

Wealden’s Scrutiny and Performance Committee met on Monday 21 September and resolved to take no further action on a call-in of the £558,000 allocation. That means the Cabinet decision of 2 September can now be implemented, the council confirmed on 22 September.

It does not mean the bridge is funded. Every one of the three contributions towards it is conditional on the other two, and the third partner, the South Downs National Park Authority, still has not made a decision. No date for one has been published.

What the call-in said

The call-in request was received on 3 September, the day after Cabinet voted. It was signed by five councillors, named in the committee report as Andrew Wilson, Lunn, Newton, Reed and David White.

They argued four principles of decision making had not been met: proportionality, clarity of aims, reasonableness, and a clear record of the options considered.

Their stated reasons were narrower than that sounds:

  • Whether Cabinet had enough information to commit the money, given the stage of feasibility work, the outstanding land agreements, consents, detailed design, partner funding and “the absence of an identified overall project cost”.
  • Whether the decision showed value for money, given that it starts with “the first and most difficult element” of a project whose later phases are not funded.
  • The relationship between the reasons given for deciding now, including local government reorganisation and delivery by a future authority, and the evidence in the published report.

The request explicitly did not allege the decision was outside the council’s policy and budget framework, which is the only ground on which a full council can overturn one.

The committee had three options: take no further action, refer the decision back to Cabinet, or refer it to full council. It took the first.

Three councils, three conditions, one still missing

The bridge would run from north of Monks Way in Lewes, BN7 2EX, across the Ouse and north to Ivors Lane at Hamsey, BN8 5TB, along the line of the disused railway between Lewes and Uckfield. That description comes from Lewes District Council’s own Community Infrastructure Levy report.

Funder Amount Decided Condition
Lewes District Council £558,378 19 March 2026 Planning permission, plus both partners matching it
Wealden District Council up to £558,000 2 September 2026 Lewes and the South Downs park formally committing theirs
South Downs National Park Authority not decided none none published

Lewes District Council’s Cabinet agreed on 19 March to release £558,378.00 from its CIL strategic pot for what its minutes call the “Malling to Hamsey Link Bridge Project”. It was one of four allocations that day, totalling £944,620.20 and leaving £2,129,536.35 in the pot.

When it announced the proposal, the council said the funding “would be contingent on planning permission and the South Downs National Park Authority and Wealden District Council match-funding” its own commitment.

Wealden’s report describes its £558,000 as one third of the projected cost of the bridge. Neither council has published a total. Three shares of that size would put the bridge close to £1.67m, but that is our arithmetic, not a published figure, and the absence of one is exactly what the call-in objected to.

Councillor Kelvin Williams, Wealden’s lead councillor for Public Health and Asset Management, put the position plainly in the council’s statement: “This is an allocation, not an unconditional release of funds. Partner funding must be secured, and the required due diligence, consents, land agreements and delivery arrangements must be in place before any money is released.”

Who has committed to Hamsey Bridge Lewes District Council committed £558,378 on 19 March 2026. Wealden District Council committed up to £558,000 on 2 September 2026, confirmed after a call-in on 21 September. The South Downs National Park Authority has made no decision and has published no date. Hamsey Bridge: two thirds committed, one third missing Each contribution is conditional on the other two £558,378 Lewes District Council Agreed 19 March 2026 Needs planning permission and both partners £558,000 Wealden District Council Agreed 2 September 2026 Call-in resolved 21 September 2026 No vote South Downs park No decision published Not on the 17 Sep committee agenda No land agreements anywhere on the 14.5km route. The whole corridor is in third-party ownership. No total project cost has been published. Sources: Wealden DC and Lewes DC committee papers · Graphic by The Lewes Post

The South Downs decision has no date

The national park authority’s Policy and Resources Committee met on 17 September. The greenway was not on the agenda. Its published forward programme now gives two more opportunities:

  • National Park Authority meeting, Thursday 15 October 2026, 1pm, South Downs Centre Hall, Midhurst. No agenda has been published.
  • Policy and Resources Committee, 19 November 2026.

The authority publishes agendas five working days before a meeting, so the 15 October papers would be expected around 8 October. Meetings are webcast on its YouTube channel and are open to the public.

What is still unresolved

Wealden’s own report is blunt about how early this is. On land, it says the entire route is in third-party ownership and that “no formal access or land agreements have yet been reached”, with some landowners open to further engagement. It calls land ownership a risk to delivering the full off-road route.

The feasibility study that produced all this cost £15,000. It found that an e-bike journey between Uckfield and Lewes stations would take about 38 minutes at 14mph.

The route is also inside a safeguarded railway corridor, protected by Wealden Local Plan policy TR17 and Lewes District Local Plan policy DM37 against development that would prevent the old line reopening. Wealden’s report concludes the greenway “can be accommodated without prejudicing potential future railway reinstatement”.

Consents may be needed from the Environment Agency and the lead local flood authority for work near the river. An equality impact assessment has not been done, because the scheme has not reached detailed design.

What it means for you

Nothing changes on the ground this year. There is no planning application for the bridge, no land agreement, no design and no construction date.

What has changed is that the first of the three contributions is now settled. Wealden’s money is allocated in its capital programme and no longer open to challenge by its own councillors.

For anyone who walks or cycles between Lewes, Hamsey and Barcombe, the practical points are:

  • The bridge is the first phase, not the last. Wealden’s report says the wider route “is simply not feasible” without it.
  • Nothing is spent until the South Downs park decides. Watch the 15 October agenda.
  • Uckfield and Isfield are in Wealden, about eight miles north of Lewes. The 14.5km route would connect them, but only the crossing itself is in this district.

We will report the national park authority’s decision when it is published.

Related: our earlier report on the funding, Lewes planning news and Lewes roadworks and travel.

Sources