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Eastbourne A22 southbound updates after 'fluids on road after four car collision'

Motorists are advised the road is currently closed on the southbound carriageway

• Updated 18:15, 16 MAR 2022

An urgent appeal has been launched following a report of a collision involving an Audi, a Honda, a Lexus and a Citroen. Two people involved were taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Motorists are advised the road due to residual traffic. Anyone with relevant information or dashcam footage is urged to email [email protected] or call 101, quoting serial 194 of 16/03.

See our live updates from today as they came in.

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• Traffic and diversion routes 13:46
• Two taken to hospital 12:55
• Police appeal for information 12:40
• Crash took place early hours of this morning 12:14

Road re-opened

The road is now re-open following the earlier accident, but delays remain on routes through Polegate as traffic looked to avoid the closure.

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All lanes have now reopened

Long delays and queuing traffic due to earlier accident on A22 Golden Jubilee Way Soutbound between B2247 Dittons Road (Stone Cross Roundabout, Stone Cross) and B2191 (Shinewater roundabout, Eastbourne).

Congestion to traffic through Polegate, from Dittons Road and Pevensey Road, along the High Street, and down Eastbourne Road from the A27.

Queues continue back onto Polegate Bypass. Traffic is also slowing on the northbound A22.

All lanes have been re-opened.

Substance of 'fluid' confirmed

It has been confirmed the 'fluid' which has contributed to the road closure is oil.

Inrix said:

"A22 Golden Jubilee Way Southbound closed, delays due to oil spillage and accident investigation work between B2247 Dittons Road (Stone Cross Roundabout, Stone Cross) and B2191 Willingdon Drove (Shinewater roundabout, Eastbourne)"

Traffic and diversion routes

East Sussex Highways has mapped out a diversion via A27 Polegate Bypass, A2270 Eastbourne Road Willingdon, A2021 Kings Drive Eastbourne, A2280 Cross Levels Way and A22 Highfield Link.

According to Inrix traffic is heavy through Polegate, from Dittons Road and Pevensey Road, along the High Street, and down Eastbourne Road from the A27.

Road remains closed

No developments or word as to how long the road will remain closed for.

Where exactly are the police?

According to traffic monitoring service inrix, investigation work is happening along Golden Jubilee Way Southbound. Officers are carrying out their work between B2247 Dittons Road (Stone Cross Roundabout, Stone Cross) and B2191 Willingdon Drove (Shinewater roundabout, Eastbourne).

Two taken to hospital

Sussex police has confirmed two people have been taken to hospital. Both a reported to have minor injuries.

Police appeal for information

Sussex Police is appealing for anyone who witnessed or has information about the crash to come forward.

Anyone with relevant information or dashcam footage is urged to email [email protected] or call 101, quoting serial 194 of 16/03.

Map of incident

Crash took place early hours of this morning

According to Sussex Police, the crash happened at 7:30am.

Traffic is still affected by the collision hours later.

Tweet from East Sussex Highways

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Eastbourne tops list of best 15 places to visit in the UK

Cities, towns and regions were put on the must-visit map according to cultural events, plus food and drink scenes, article bookmarked.

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Eastbourne has been named the best place to visit in the UK in 2023.

The list, compiled by Time Out , covered the top 15 UK destinations for visiting next year, with Birmingham and Cardigan in West Wales winning second and third places respectively.

Local experts nationwide were consulted to decide on the British cities, towns and regions worth making the trip to.

“These are places with thriving food, drink and arts scenes,” says Time Out. “ They’re cities with big cultural openings and spectacular new hotels. And they all have at least one huge event (and in many cases, several) coming up that should immediately go in your calendars.”

According to this expert research, among the best sights to see in Eastbourne are the Towner art gallery and South Downs National Park.

Meanwhile, there are a few cultural events happening across the year in this coastal East Sussex town. These include: Eastbourne Walking Festival, which runs from 16-25 September, Crossing The Screen International Film Festival (3-5 March) and Beach Life Music Festival (15-16 July).

Hospitality hotspots helping this picturesque seaside resort top the poll are Beans Coffee & Kitchen and Port Hotel, while there’s live music to listen to at Dew Drop Inn, Printers Playhouse or The Stage Door.

Birmingham’s food and drink scene is noted as contributing to the West Midlands’ city coming in second place. The Good Food Guide 2022 listed three Birmingham restaurants in its list of the 20 buzziest restaurants in the UK . Plus, 2023 is the 20th anniversary of the renowned shopping hub, Bullring, as well as the 10th anniversary of the Library of Birmingham. The Ashes also returns to Edgbaston from 16-20 June.

Cardigan in West Wales sits in third place, with the market town praised for its independent businesses, gin distillery, castle and riverside views. Maritime hotel Albion Aberteifi also gets a mention, as well as the Canolfan Teifi market and the Other Voices festival in November 2023.

Best UK destinations to visit in 2023

• Scarborough

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Current traffic around Eastbourne

The following traffic incidents and congestion for Eastbourne have been reported by Highways England, Traffic Scotland, Traffic Wales or Transport for London (TfL) in the last two hours:

Traffic in Nearby Villages

• Willingdon (0.5mi)
• Lower Willingdon (0.52mi)
• Foulride Green (0.52mi)
• Hampden Park (0.88mi)
• Polegate (1.04mi)
• Wannock (1.08mi)
• Dittons (1.27mi)
• Downside (1.54mi)
• Stone Cross (1.74mi)
• Upperton (1.74mi)
• Jevington (1.88mi)
• Langney (2.09mi)
• Hankham (2.14mi)
• Folkington (2.29mi)
• South Downs (2.55mi)
• Roselands (2.58mi)
• Mill Hill (2.6mi)
• Summer Hill (2.85mi)
• Westham (2.86mi)
• Rickney (3.02mi)
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• Meads (3.49mi)

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An arty weekend in … Eastbourne, East Sussex

The centenary of the trailblazing Towner gallery is a big lure, but the resort’s independent shops, restaurants and coastal walking will be an enjoyable bonus

Make the trip for …

Eastbourne, a Victorian seaside resort that is edging its way back into fashion , is in the spotlight this year thanks to its venerable art gallery. Towner Eastbourne is celebrating the centenary of its opening (a mile away from the current building, in the town’s Manor Gardens) with special exhibitions, installations, screenings and talks, culminating with the Turner prize, which it is hosting for the first time (28 September-14 January, winner announced on 5 December).

The gallery originally focused on Sussex landscapes, but its collection has expanded over the decades to include abstract British art and international contemporary art. In 1962, the Observer described the Towner as “the most go-ahead municipal gallery of its size in the country”, and it is still a progressive place. For example, it has commissioned a three-year research project into the gender imbalance in its permanent collection , and has pledged that 50% of future acquisitions will be by female artists.

There are some outstanding pieces by women in its current exhibitions, Towner 100: The Living Collection (until 28 August), and Towner 100: Unseen (until 24 May, both free). They include Composition: Eastbourne (1935), an abstract landscape by Margaret Benecke, the granddaughter of Felix Mendelssohn, and Sea Painting, Birling Gap (2017), by Jessica Warboys, which she made by submerging pigmented canvas in the sea. More familiar names on show include Andy Warhol, Paul Nash and Grayson Perry.

The Towner also has a wonderful room devoted to Eastbourne’s beloved Eric Ravilious , the watercolourist, designer, illustrator, wood engraver and war artist who died in 1942, aged 39, when his plane was lost off Iceland.

In 2009, the Towner moved to its current home, a modernist building decorated on three sides with an arresting geometric mural by German artist Lothar Götz. While the gallery can only display a fraction of its 5,000-plus collection at any one time, it offers weekly tours of its art store (Sundays 2pm, £10).

Next up in the Towner 100 programme is Barbara Hepworth: Art and Life , featuring some of the artist’s most celebrated sculptures (from £6, 27 May-3 September).

Other galleries in town include Emma Mason , which specialises in printmakers working in Britain from the 1940s onwards, and Volt, a contemporary gallery run by community arts organisation Devonshire Collective. Street art by Sussex artists including SOS can be seen along the promenade and in the windows of the former Debenhams building in the town centre.

Souvenir shopping

Little Chelsea, on and around Grove Road, is a hub of independent shops including Camilla’s Bookshop , which has more than 500,000 volumes and a resident parrot called Archie. The Enterprise shopping centre behind the station also has boutique gift, jewellery and homeware shops. Barley Sugar on Cornfield Terrace is a lovely deli, gift and vintage shop selling everything from Sussex cheeses to ceramics. It’s well worth scouring the antique shops on Seaside Road – we bought a watercolour for a tenner that turned out to be by the artist Horace Walter Tuck, whose work is in the Norfolk Museums Collection . There are occasional artisan markets at the Waterfront on Sovereign Harbour , east of the town centre (next one 8-9 July).

The Towner is holding a centenary celebration on 27 May, with art workshops, free films in its cinema, a brass band and DJ sets, galleries open until 8pm and bars until 10pm. Or time a visit to coincide with the Rothesay International tennis tournament , the traditional warmup for Wimbledon (24 June-1 July). Top tip: there is a great view of the courts from the DQ Terrace Bar & Café .

Get outside

A strenuous five-mile circular walk from the town centre runs over the cliffs to Beachy Head, Britain’s highest chalk cliff, then turns inland at Birling Gap to the village of East Dean, with its 15th-century Tiger Inn . The Beachy Head Story , on the way up, has exhibits about the landscape and paintings on loan from the Towner, including works by Ravilious and another Eastbourne son, Harold Mockford. It also hosts popups – there was a ceramics and glass exhibition when we visited. From East Dean, it’s another two-mile walk back into town (there are frequent buses).

Drinks and dinner

There is a clutch of quality coffee shops – we liked Foundry Coffee , which opened in the station’s old ticket office last autumn. The Art House is a lovely creative cafe that serves salads and smoothies and runs artistic activities (sketching, pottery, fabric printing) for children and adults.

Great pubs include the Lamb Inn , which dates from 1180, and the Eagle , which has live music at weekends – we saw a local blues-rock band. Several bars are clustered in Little Chelsea, including the Vinyl Frontier , a record shop-cum-bar, and the Enterprise centre is home to Ninkaci , a speakeasy-style craft beer bar.

The excellent restaurant at the Port hotel uses ingredients sourced within 30 miles of Eastbourne, so menus change seasonally – perhaps jerusalem artichoke soup with wild garlic oil, followed by smoked duck breast with asparagus, then rhubarb crumble (dinner Thurs-Sat only). Skylark , which also champions Sussex produce, is a bustling cafe by day and a relaxed restaurant by night. My battered banana blossom tacos were an inspired vegan option, and there was chalk-stream trout and salt-marsh lamb on the menu too (dinner Thurs-Sat, plus Sunday lunch).

Port (doubles from £80 room-only) opened in 2021 and is an uber-cool minimalist conversion of a Victorian seafront building. There are 19 rooms, six with views of the sea and pier, some with freestanding baths. Port has partnered with Devonshire Collective to show work by emerging artists from the south-east – the first exhibition, by Claire Shakespeare , was being hung when we arrived.

The Chatsworth hotel (doubles from £135 room-only) is a whacking seafront pile built in 1905 that recently reopened after a more classic refurbishment. There is a grand lobby with a vintage lift, enormous rooms with high ceilings and big windows, and marble bathrooms with whirlpool baths.

Getting there

Southern Railway has direct trains from London Victoria (90 minutes, from £44.20 return) and Brighton (40 minutes, from £26.20 return), visiteastbourne.com .

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App expands to make train travel easier

A train operating company has expanded its app which helps blind and visually impaired people navigate railway stations to three more stations in Sussex.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) said its Aira app would now be available to use at Chichester, Haywards Heath and Eastbourne.

It works by enabling blind and partially sighted customers to make a video call with a trained advisor who looks through the customer's smartphone camera to guide them around the station on speakerphone.

One blind rail user, Paul Goddard from Chichester, described his first time using the app as "absolutely fantastic".

On the other end of the call is someone who gives directions.

They even inform the person whether they need to push or pull a door open.

GTR sats it has worked with blind charities and advocacy groups on this project.

Dave Smith, the engagement manager at the Sight Loss Council, said: "I like the fact that you just connect - you got somebody in real time.

"They can say if there's anything in my way or if I'm not going in the right direction and it's just that reassurance."

Mark Pavlides, GTR's chief customer officer, added: "There are about 8,000 customers who are blind or partially sighted across the Sussex area.

"Many of those will be able to come through and get that confidence when they come through stations like Chichester."

The app was already being used at Brighton, East Croydon, London Blackfriars and Stevenage train stations.

As well as the three new Sussex stations, it also now works at Finsbury Park, Brent Cross West, Luton Airport Parkway, Bedford and Sutton.

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook , on X , and on Instagram . Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.

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• App helps blind and visually impaired passengers
• Rail operator sees 50% rise in female apprentices

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Northern Lights glow up skies across UK and around the world - see best pictures here

The incredible display was spotted across the UK, the northern US, Canada, Ireland and Northern Europe.

Saturday 11 May 2024 14:59, UK

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Skies over the UK were turned shades of pink and green as the Northern Lights produced incredible displays for skygazers.

The impressive Aurora Borealis, usually only visible from northern parts of the British Isles, was visible across large parts of the UK overnight, including Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and, unusually, southern England.

The display was triggered after America's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued its first severe solar storm warning since 2005 yesterday as a huge geomagnetic storm raced towards Earth.

The NOAA said the G5 geomagnetic storm, which is considered extreme and is the strongest level of geomagnetic storm, hit Earth on Thursday and brought with it the risk of affecting communications, GPS and power grids.

Aurora displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth's atmosphere around the magnetic poles.

The incredible display was also spotted across the northern US, Canada, Ireland and Northern Europe.

Chris Snell, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said: "It is hard to fully predict what will happen in the Earth's atmosphere, but there will still be enhanced solar activity tonight, so the lights could be visible again in northern parts of the UK, including Scotland, Northern Ireland and the far north of England."

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