REVISED plans have been approved for the next piece of the jigsaw in the refurbishment of an area of Bexhill.

East Sussex County Council’s improvements to Sackville Road roundabout have been scaled down due to concerns about the cost of the original scheme and the length of time it would take to complete.

The council had originally planned to replace the central island on the roundabout, but this would have increased the overall scheme cost to £510,000 and extended the construction period to 28 weeks.

The alternative plan will see the existing central island retained, but three of the four pedestrian islands on roads leading off it will be upgraded and made larger, narrowing entrance lanes, while the pavement on the southern side of the roundabout will also be widened.

The cost of the scheme will be significantly less than the original proposal, at around £175,000, and will only take around eight weeks to complete.

The project, the second part of the Marina improvement scheme, was approved by Cllr Carl Maynard, county council lead member for transport and environment, at his lead member meeting on Monday, March 14 2016.

Cllr Maynard said: “With any scheme of this nature, we have to be sure we’re getting value for money for the taxpayer – all the more so in the current difficult financial climate.

“Our aim for this part of the scheme was to make it easier for people to cross the road and reduce vehicle speeds.

“The revised plans will still allow us to achieve these objectives, but much more quickly, at a greatly reduced cost and with a lot less disruption to residents and motorists.”

Work already completed under the Marina improvement scheme has seen pavement widening, bus stop and zebra crossing improvements and a reduction of the speed limit in Marina to 20mph.

The scheme, aimed at improving pedestrian links between the seafront and town centre and boosting Bexhill’s economy, also complements recent improvements to Marina Court Garden carried out by Rother District Council.

The revised plans, which have the backing of the Bexhill Town Centre Steering Group, also include replacing one on-street parking space in Marina with double yellow lines, to ease access to the De La Warr Pavilion stage door.

More information is available in the papers for the lead member meeting at https://democracy.eastsussex.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=177&MId=2462&Ver=4