CLOSURE OF LAMBLEYS LANE

Friday 15 September 2000 saw the closure to public use of probably the shortest section of road in the BN15 area. The unmade section of Lambleys Lane going south from the A27 to West Street was finally closed following years of campaigning by the Parish Council and local residents, who were concerned at the amount of traffic using it as a rat-run to avoid the queues for the Downlands traffic lights. Ironically, due to the fuel crisis, at the time of the closure there was so little traffic around that it was not being used anyway!

The pictures on this page were taken on the day before closure. The loose stones that can be seen in front of the sign in the picture on the left is the temporary footpath built along the length of the south side of the A27. This was laid to replace the northern footpath, which was closed due to major works relocating underground services prior to completely rebuilding the A27 over the winter period.

Looking south down Lambleys Lane from the western side (picture right), it is hard to appreciate just how close to built-up areas this is. Just behind is the normally busy A27. The gate that will close the road off from the following day is clearly visible. Just across the bottom right hand corner of the picture the new footpath around the gate can just be seen.

Looking up the other way (left), the A27 can just be seen in the background through the darkness of the tree-lined road, a feature sadly less evident in modern times. However, Sompting Parish Council commenced a vigorous tree-planting programme in 1997, which has seen a substantial number of trees planted along roadside verges.

The scene from the A27 following the closure of Lambleys Lane. The sign in the foreground has been replaced, and the gate is now firmly shut to all vehicular traffic (other than the local farmer).