Billingshurst By-Pass

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roadphotos
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Billingshurst By-Pass

Post by roadphotos »

Is Billingshurst getting a By-pass, there is some building work in progress on the north east side of the town but there are no signs that say that a by-pass is being constructed. The only signs I can see are for the new housing in the area. The access to the new housing is via the roundabout at the northern end of the existing A29 by-pass and from the A272 east of the town. My guess would be that the 2 access points to this new housing would be linked up to form a A272 by-pass but I can't find any information to confirm this so I thought I'd see if anyone has any more information on this.
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

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roadphotos wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 16:20 Is Billingshurst getting a By-pass, there is some building work in progress on the north east side of the town but there are no signs that say that a by-pass is being constructed. The only signs I can see are for the new housing in the area. The access to the new housing is via the roundabout at the northern end of the existing A29 by-pass and from the A272 east of the town. My guess would be that the 2 access points to this new housing would be linked up to form a A272 by-pass but I can't find any information to confirm this so I thought I'd see if anyone has any more information on this.
Google, as ever, is your friend and leads to the development masterplan (8MB pdf) that shows the various aspects of the proposed development.
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

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Thanks, it does indeed look like a by-pass is being constructed as part of this development
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

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As I haven't been down that way lately I thought I'd see if anyone knows how this development and by-pass is progressing. As there's been a construction site on the edge of Billinghurst for over 2 years I would say that it should be nearing completion
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

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On the OS 250k 2020 version, it shows the bypass as being completed with the A272 (as a primary route) going around the north. This technically means that the A29 will duplex with the A272, but signposted as the A272 since it's a primary route.
I might go and have a look at it over the next couple of days if I'm heading that way.
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

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Thanks, would be interesting to see how it's progressing. Interestingly although the A272 is a Primary Route it has Non Primary signage
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

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roadphotos wrote: Sun Mar 15, 2020 08:13 Thanks, would be interesting to see how it's progressing. Interestingly although the A272 is a Primary Route it has Non Primary signage
I'll be heading over that way tomorrow, I'll post photos on geograph and put a link to them on here. The A272 does have some primary route signage, it really does vary depending on location, but the whole route between the A22 & A3 is supposedly primary route.
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

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As I promised, kinda. Didn't take any photos, but here's my dashcam footage (ignore music and my wonderful singing).
The Eastern end has its roundabout built, however not much of the bypass bit is open (looks like just construction traffic, hence why I didn't go down there.
The Northern end has quite a bit of it built, but again I turned around cause it looks like just construction traffic is meant to go along there.
https://youtu.be/z-rSrJ09ElU
https://youtu.be/UC5FRXlrD-o
I'd still expect it to be another 18 months until the bypass is ready for full opening. Plus, all the signs I saw west of the A24 had the A272 as non-primary, including some newish ones.
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

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roadphotos wrote: Sun Mar 15, 2020 08:13 Thanks, would be interesting to see how it's progressing. Interestingly although the A272 is a Primary Route it has Non Primary signage
It is weird as the OS and AA has the A272 primary from the A3 at Petersfield to the A22 at Uckfield, but it is only signposted as a primary road between the A24 past the A23, round Haywards Heath to the A22.

Everything between the A3 and A24 is non primary.

Conversely for example the A418 between Thame and Aylesbury is shown as non primary on the OS and AA maps but is signed as primary and has been for the last 15 years and that passes through Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

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The section between the A3 and A22 is indeed primary (as well as the Spitfire Link) whereas the rest of the road is non-primary. There was even confusion on OpenStreetMap but looking at the section of the road anywhere along this primary part points to this link http://www.openstreetmap.org/user/daveemtb/diary/7808. I think some confusion originated somewhere in the history of signage along the road so any replacements are just copies of what was there before. The opposite situation occurs along the A228 in Kent. The non-primary section between the A26 and A21 almost entirely has primary route signage.
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

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The A418 between the A40/M40 and Aylesbury is shown on the latest (2020) AA and A-Z Great Britain Road Atlases as a Primary Route (coloured green), previous editions had shown the road as Non Primary (coloured red) and as mentioned the whole of this section of the A418 has Primary Route signage so I believe it to be a Primary Route. The A228 has Primary Route signage on the dual carriageway section at East Peckham but the road is Non Primary. The reason this section has Primary Route signage is because when this section was constructed the plan was (and still is) to give the A228 Primary Route status as soon as the necessary improvements to the road have been completed at Colt's Hill (near Capel). Unfortunately due to a lack of funds these improvements have still not been done so the A228 remains Non Primary although interestingly one road atlas (A-Z) shows it as a Primary Route. Also after the improvements at Colt's Hill are completed it is intended to downgrade the A26 to Tonbridge to a Non Primary Route. As for the A272 it will be interesting to see whether the new section at Billinghurst gets green or white signage as the current road at Billinghurst has Non Primary (white) signs even though it's actually a Primary Route.
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

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roadphotos wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2020 19:45 The A418 between the A40/M40 and Aylesbury is shown on the latest (2020) AA and A-Z Great Britain Road Atlases as a Primary Route (coloured green), previous editions had shown the road as Non Primary (coloured red) and as mentioned the whole of this section of the A418 has Primary Route signage so I believe it to be a Primary Route. The A228 has Primary Route signage on the dual carriageway section at East Peckham but the road is Non Primary. The reason this section has Primary Route signage is because when this section was constructed the plan was (and still is) to give the A228 Primary Route status as soon as the necessary improvements to the road have been completed at Colt's Hill (near Capel). Unfortunately due to a lack of funds these improvements have still not been done so the A228 remains Non Primary although interestingly one road atlas (A-Z) shows it as a Primary Route. Also after the improvements at Colt's Hill are completed it is intended to downgrade the A26 to Tonbridge to a Non Primary Route. As for the A272 it will be interesting to see whether the new section at Billinghurst gets green or white signage as the current road at Billinghurst has Non Primary (white) signs even though it's actually a Primary Route.
I'd place money on non-primary signs. If I am honest, the A272 should only be primary between the A23 and A24, mostly due to the A27 being utter rubbish (in places) between the A23 and A24 meaning that for traffic going from lets say Horsham to Brighton, should go A24->A272->A23 instead of A24->A27. The [new] signs on A24 just to the south of Horsham, do in fact have Brighton listed under the destination of A272, for I'd expect these reasons.
Once the A27 is a proper free-flowing dual carriageway between the A24 & A23, then the A272 should be downgraded to non-primary, unless by that point the A272 is upgraded to a HQDC as well. However, that it looking 25 years into the future for either or both of those actions to of taken place.
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

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West Sussex County Council seems to have replacing primary signs on the A272 west of the A24 with non-primary signs for a number of years. Still loads of green ones about, and all maps seem to show the road as primary as far as Petersfield. I guess it is an attempt to discourage long-distance traffic, but there really isn't any better east-west route between the A27 and M25.
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

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Also, although I doubt anybody looks at it, there is an "advisory lorry routes map" produced by WSCC. Notably, the whole of the A272 is designated as "Local Lorry Routes" rather than "Strategic Lorry Routes", although it's got the A2300 as strategic, which isn't right in any sense.
https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/media/198 ... ap_web.pdf
West of the A24, the only bits that I can think are constantly signed as primary is Spitfire Link (By the M3), as Nathan said, and also the short section of road between the A3 and B2070 (old A3), however this section of the A272 is actually maintained by Highways England, however it may technically just be a spur of the A3.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.01258 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.01648 ... 312!8i6656 Non primary sign on the spur, saying that the (A272) towards Winchester is primary (when its non-primary), double wrong. & followed by a primary sign
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.01988 ... 312!8i6656 newish signs say that the spur is primary and the A272.
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

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The Billingshurst by-pass is shown as completed on the 2021 A-Z Great Britain Road Atlas so I'm guessing that it must be nearing completion
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

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roadphotos wrote: Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:01 The Billingshurst by-pass is shown as completed on the 2021 A-Z Great Britain Road Atlas so I'm guessing that it must be nearing completion
It is shown on the 2019 1:250,000 OS as complete. https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/maps/ind ... 12&layer=6
I'd say it won't be complete until Summer 2021 at earliest, however it is hard to find any updates on the internet from the developer or the council regards its construction.
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

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Just to the North of the Bypass/relief road there is a seperate development (ind estate with maccies & petrol station!)
However the signs pointing on the A29 to the south are so very very wrong.
Billingshurst.PNG
Billingshurst.PNG (61.73 KiB) Viewed 1712 times
Firstly, the A272 is primary... which on this sign (and almost every other sign west of the A24) is shown as non-primary
Billingshurst at this point CANNOT be a destination of (A272), you continue ahead at the next roundabout (or go left/right around the A272/A272(A29) bypass) to enter the town from either side of the bypass. It wouldn't be wrong to include Billingshurst as a destination of the A29, or not as a destination of any route at all.
It really should have Haywards Heath & Midhurst as the destinations of the (A272)
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

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I've recently put in an FOI to WSCC about the classification of the A272, especially west of the A24. Because much of the signage is non-primary and I was curious about the A272/A29 duplex.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... sification
WSCC still have the A272 as part of the primary route network along with both East Sussex CC and Hampshire CC and have no plans to downgrade it.
Interestingly they have said that
All signage along the A272 conforms to the Primary Route Network requirements
, I don't want to call them out on it right away, but surely that's not true since the majority of West of the A24 uses black on white signs, especially newer signs.

With the Billingshurst bypass, they have said that where it duplexes with the A29, it will keep the A29 number, and not be part of the primary route network. That will mean the A272 will stop being a primary route at the North side of Billingshurst, then run a few KM West non-primary (as the A29) before becoming primary again, certainly doesn't sound right.
The old A272 route through the town will unsurprisingly become a Class III road.
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

Post by Nathan_A_RF »

That better not be the case because that's stupid. The primary route should take priority along the north section of the bypass, even if the number remains A29 along that part.
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Re: Billingshurst By-Pass

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jervi wrote: Thu Dec 10, 2020 17:28 I've recently put in an FOI to WSCC about the classification of the A272, especially west of the A24. Because much of the signage is non-primary and I was curious about the A272/A29 duplex.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... sification
WSCC still have the A272 as part of the primary route network along with both East Sussex CC and Hampshire CC and have no plans to downgrade it.
Interestingly they have said that
All signage along the A272 conforms to the Primary Route Network requirements
, I don't want to call them out on it right away, but surely that's not true since the majority of West of the A24 uses black on white signs, especially newer signs.

With the Billingshurst bypass, they have said that where it duplexes with the A29, it will keep the A29 number, and not be part of the primary route network. That will mean the A272 will stop being a primary route at the North side of Billingshurst, then run a few KM West non-primary (as the A29) before becoming primary again, certainly doesn't sound right.
The old A272 route through the town will unsurprisingly become a Class III road.
Unfortunately knowing WSCC officers, they probably have not go a clue what a primary road actually is.

You need to look at the plan on page 28 of the Local Transport Plan 2011-2026

In this WSCC classify roads as "Motorway and Trunk Roads", "Strategic A Roads", and "Other A Roads".

You will see the A272, east of the A24 as a "Strategic A Road" and west of the A24 as "Other A Roads". Unfortunately a lot of experienced officers have jumped ship over the last 5 years and the new intake of graduates and the like have not a clue.

Therefore seeing other "A Roads", is why signs are white as the officers have not understood there classifications bear no resemblance to the DfT's
Guidance on road classification and the primary route network. I've had some wet behind the ears officer telling me that the A272 at Cowfold is part of the Strategic Highway Network (SHN), which my reply was, It is not, none of your highway is part of the strategic highway network as that is solely managed by HE. The reply was yes it is look at the plan in the LTP. Trying to explain this is there own classification and what a primary roads was hard work.

Only a decent Inspector at an appeal , understood what the SHN is.

So I expect your FOI is referring to the LTP and therefore I expect the officer has not got a clue what a primary road is.
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