Vision for how Haywards Heath can continue to thrive

A guiding vision for how Haywards Heath’s town centre can continue to thrive has been set out in a new masterplan.
South Road, Haywards HeathSouth Road, Haywards Heath
South Road, Haywards Heath

The draft document, produced by Mid Sussex District Council, describes how the safe, creative and family-focused settlement offers a spacious green setting in which to live with diversity and convenience of services, open spaces and cultural activities.

It sets out a range of different future opportunities as well as challenges to overcome.

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These include the possibility of building a multi-storey car park, introducing more leisure uses especially at the Orchards Shopping Centre, making South Road more attractive to shoppers, pedestrianising The Broadway and altering the Muster Green gyratory.

Haywards Heath SUS-150625-132757001Haywards Heath SUS-150625-132757001
Haywards Heath SUS-150625-132757001

The masterplan is set to be discussed by the council’s scrutiny committee for housing, planning and economic growth on Thursday October 22 and would then be approved for public consultation.

According to the document: “Engagement during the project with local organisations suggest that Haywards Heath has an emerging sense of pride and confidence about it, and a sense that the town centre has potential in developing an independent shopping experience alongside a cultural and social offer.”

SOUTH ROAD

In general the town centre’s public realm is considered ‘fairly poor’ with patchy and uneven surfaces, inconsistent and unattractive street furniture and narrow footpaths in places and few areas of trees and planting.

Possible new layout for the Muster Green gyratoryPossible new layout for the Muster Green gyratory
Possible new layout for the Muster Green gyratory
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Town centre streets are car dominated, with connectivity for pedestrians affected by disjointed crossing facilities and hampered by forecourt parking.

The masterplan suggests any proposals to update highways to improve traffic flow and movement brings with it an opportunity to improve the public realm and increase the town centre’s overall attractiveness.

As the main road through the town centre South Road would be one of the key areas of focus.

Since the relief road opened in 2014 it ‘has not functioned as intended’ with the route through the town centre still sometimes quicker depending on the time of day.

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No accompanying traffic reduction schemes have been implemented in the town centre to discourage through traffic and change driver habits.

At Tylers Green, the wide, direct approach to Haywards Heath tends to channel approaching vehicles towards the town centre, instead of directing them on to Isaac’s Lane to continue on the relief road.

This all impacts on South Road, with measures needed to divert traffic to the relief road, creating a more pleasant high street experience for pedestrians and cyclists.

Other public realm upgrades mentioned by the masterplan are integrated street trees, widened footpaths and more dedicated areas for cycle parking.

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The link between South Road and The Broadway is not well defined, disconnecting it from the rest of the town centre and is difficult to cross due to the fast moving traffic and long banks of parked cars.

Road narrowing of South Road could encourage alternative routes for through-traffic, provide opportunities to enhance the public realm and improve active travel choices to the retail heart of the town.

The masterplan says: “South Road has the potential to be an attractive and vibrant focal point for Haywards Heath, however needs significant improvements.”

It also describes how the town lacks a coherent identifiable and legible cycle network and the volume, dominance and speed of traffic in Perrymount Road, The Broadway and South Road all create an unattractive environment for cyclists.

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Facilities for cycle parking are also relatively limited in the town centre.

ORCHARDS SHOPPING CENTRE

As the district council has owned the Orchards Shopping Centre since 2016, this site provides a ‘significant opportunity and catalyst for change in the town centre’.

Built in the 1980s, it is ‘due for a makeover’ with any redevelopment needing to attract new visitors and at different times of the day to support an evening economy.

Investigative work has already started around the possibility of using a site around the north-western side of the Orchards for a leisure facility.

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Interest in convenience retail remains high, and the car park at Hazelgrove had been identified as a potential option.

Other complementary town centre uses should be considered at the Orchards to ‘help harness its potential to provide a central and diverse hub for the town centre’.

Meanwhile with leisure and activity patterns changing the masterplan describes how ‘meanwhile uses’ are becoming popular, reducing the negative impact of vacant retail units. Multiple sites clustered together can help to provide a critical mass and varied offer.

Pop-up shops can also offer short-term leases for people looking to test out business ideas or allowing established companies or online brands to set up temporarily.

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Uses could include retail, food and beverage, or interactive experiences such as workshops and escape rooms.

MUSTER GREEN/THE BROADWAY

The Muster Green gyratory is dominated by traffic, and making this a more pleasant environment whilst also accommodating the needs of transport is seen as crucial to the success of any wider masterplan.

The Muster Green North, Dolphin Road and South Road sides of the gyratory could be converted to two-way operation and The Broadway arm closed to vehicle through traffic with a new pedestrian priority zone formed.

Mini roundabouts would be installed to the north and south of Dolphin Road.

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This would reinforce The Broadway as the town’s food and beverage hub.

It has hosted markets and festivals in the past and this could provide a permanent area for this and other community events without affecting traffic.

PERRYMOUNT ROAD AND COMMERCIAL SQUARE/RAILWAY STATION

The importance of Perrymount Road as the traditional base for office employment in the centre of town is highlighted in the masterplan as well as the risk from permitted development conversions to residential use and redevelopment proposals reducing available floorspace.

It suggests the area could benefit from public realm enhancements to make it a more attractive pedestrian environment. The need for opportunities for small and start-up businesses is also mentioned.

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Further up the road, the masterplan describes the need to ensure Commercial Square is an attractive arrival point to the town for those arriving by public transport and a revised junction layout for the roundabout is suggested as a possibility.

PARKING

There are a number of small car parks dotted across the town centre and many of these operate at near capacity from 9am-5pm.

This can lead to frustration for shoppers as anecdotal evidence suggests visitors often circle between car parks looking for spaces.

The proposal is to consolidate these ‘fragmented, low capacity car parks’ with the focus on the Orchards as the location for increased capacity.

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A multi-storey car park could be built at either the Orchards or Hazelgrove Road.

This would in turn release some of the smaller sites for redevelopment.

OTHER OPPORTUNITY AREAS

Other opportunity sites listed in the masterplan are various parcels along South Road, the fire station and Royal Mail site in Mill Green Road, the Texaco petrol station, the Priory, Iceland car park as well as the Gower Road and Franklynn Road car parks.

Clair Hall was permanently closed by the council’s cabinet last month and the masterplan says it will ‘need to consider all future viable options’ for the site.

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Victoria Park and Clair Park are both listed as major assets of public open green space in the town centre and each’s specific characteristics ‘need to be protected and enhanced’.

There are opportunities for Victoria Park to become better integrated with the town centre as its northern edge borders South Road.

Improvements could also be made to Sussex Road, with proposals to regulate forecourt parking where possible, remove the guard railing at the roundabout and introduce a crossing facility.

New crossings are also mentioned for both Heath Road and Church Road.

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The masterplan also mentions the need for gateway features and wayfinding as some of the town centre’s issues arise from it being relatively elongated.

It explains: “It is currently unclear where the town centre begins and ends, and where local destinations are for both residents and visitors - particularly when you arrive via the train station.”

What do you want to see in the future in Haywards Heath? Email your thoughts to the newsdesk.