Controversial Rottingdean Planter Removal Proposed For Summer

A controversial planter will be removed from Rottingdean High Street so that tests can establish whether it improves the air quality or adds to pollution.

Debate has raged about the planter ever since it was put in place in October 2019, with supporters saying that it had helped calm the traffic.

It was part of a wider project by Rottingdean Parish Council and Brighton and Hove City Council.

At the same, a hatched yellow box was painted by Dene’s Mews and traffic was barred from turning right out of West Street by the High Street and A259 traffic lights.

High Street has been an air quality management area since 2013 because nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions exceeded legal limits.

Opponents believe that it has done little or nothing to improve the levels of pollution and may even have made them worse than they would otherwise be. A petition calling for it to be removed attracted 694 signatures.

A proposal to remove the planter for four weeks is due to be decided in the coming week by a Brighton and Hove City Council committee.

A report to the council’s Transport and Sustainability Committee said:

“One ward councillor invited feedback from residents in late 2022 on the proposal to remove the planter.

“There were approximately 30 responses, mostly from people who wanted the planter retained because it made them feel safer as slower traffic made it easier to cross.

“Messages of support included some students from St Margaret’s Church of England Primary School.

“Air quality was the main theme in the responses, with people saying they had noticed the improvement.

“By contrast, it was noted that social media messages were overwhelmingly in favour of removing the planter but it was not clear how many of the people posting these messages actually lived in Rottingdean.”

The report also said:

“The temporary removal of the planter / chicane and the monitoring of traffic flows before and after this will allow an assessment of its air quality impact for the first time.

“This will allow officers to make a decision on the basis of air quality benefits rather than traffic management considerations.”

While air quality in the road has improved over several years, the trend has matched national decreases in harmful emissions, linked to the lower proportion of diesel vehicles in use.

The rate of improvement in air quality has been slower since the planter was put in place – even despite the drop in traffic during the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns.

Southbound traffic has become stop-start, with frequent queues and congestion.

The report to councillors said:

“Hot combustion processes in air produce oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitric oxide (NO) are both oxides of nitrogen and together are referred to as NOx.

“In the case of Rottingdean High Street, road transport is the main source of these emissions.

“For modern vehicles operating on the public highway, NOx emissions can be mitigated with selective catalytic reduction on the vehicle exhausts.

“This technology is less effective in stop-start traffic, when engines idle and exhausts have lower temperatures.

“Road traffic emissions disperse less effectively in confined spaces such as street canyons.

“This long-term trend (of air quality improvement) in the High Street is broadly comparable to the national trend.

“There are a variety of influences behind this trend, including travel behaviour in the immediate post-pandemic period (and) the diesel legacy of the UK fleet which contributes the greatest proportion of NOx.”

The report also noted the small but steady increase in hybrid and electric fleets, the effects of the fuel price crisis last year and seasonal differences, with colder temperatures produce higher emissions.

The report added:

“Officers acknowledge the planter may cause revving as vehicles accelerate to get around it when there is a gap in northbound traffic.

“NO2 results from the nearest monitor have not improved significantly since 2020.

“Based on data currently available, it is not possible to say that the planter has had a positive impact.

“There is no base-line or post-installation data because traffic diverting along Steyning Road to avoid the lower High Street has not been monitored.

“There are counters on Chailey Avenue, but these will not count diverting traffic using Newlands Avenue to access the A259 avoiding the lower High Street.

“This means it is not possible to measure the contribution the planter has made though diversions.”

Officials are understood to have started a four-week traffic count in Steyning Road and, if councillors agree to the removal of the planter, another four-week traffic count would take place in September.

Councillors are being asked to the allow officers “to decide whether the planter will be reinstated based on air quality and traffic counter results”.

The Transport and Sustainability Committee is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 4pm on Thursday (6 July). The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.