Winter Service Plan

In West Sussex Highways, the winter season starts on 1 October. Our fleet of gritters were out the last weekend of September to carry our trial runs of the gritting routes.

Take a look at our 2025/2026 Winter Service Plan which has now been published to see the operational strategy we will use to keep roads and paths safe and passable.

Have you seen the Riparian Toolkit?

The Riparian Toolkit is designed to support you with watercourse/riparian matters in your area.

We are pleased to announce the launch of the new Riparian Toolkit designed to support you with watercourse/riparian matters in your area. If you have not yet received your copy, please do contact us at Parish-Town.Enquiries@westsussex.gov.uk and we will email it to you.

The toolkit provides readily accessible information and resources on topics such as:

• Riparian ownership and responsibilities
• Guidance on managing vegetation
• Contact details for relevant agencies

We believe this resource will help you when assisting residents with watercourse enquiries.

Have your say on proposals to improve the A24 between Worthing, Horsham and Dorking

West Sussex County Council and Surrey County Council are inviting public feedback on proposals to improve the A24 between Worthing, Horsham and Dorking.Â

The proposals aim to make walking, cycling and public transport more attractive options for journeys and improve the standard of our roads. The West Sussex Transport Plan and Surrey Transport Plan set out how the councils intend to address a number of challenges, including climate change, congestion, public health and road safety through improvements to the transport network.

Improving the A24 Corridor

The A24 between Worthing, Horsham and Dorking is a vital route for access to jobs, education and local services. However, high traffic levels lead to congestion, noise and air pollution.

We’re exploring improvements to key junctions to boost capacity and safety, alongside measures to make bus services more reliable and active travel—like walking and cycling—safer and more appealing. These changes aim to reduce car use by encouraging more short trips to be made by public transport or on foot or bike.

The types of improvements that we are considering along the route include:

• Junction capacity improvements
• Bus priority and bus stop improvements
• Walking and cycling path improvements
• Crossing facilities for people walking, cycling and horse-riding
• Road safety improvements including junction modifications, safety barriers and speed limit changes

The scheme is at an early stage of development and future delivery is likely to depend on securing Government grant funding, so it may be several years before construction could commence on the larger scale schemes.

The consultation opened on Tuesday 16 September and closes at 23:55 on Monday 27 October 2025Â

A281 / B2117 Poynings Crossways - Road Safety Scheme

Work commenced on Monday 8 September, to carry out safety improvements along the A281 between its junctions with Clappers Lane and the B2117 Brighton Road (also known as Poynings Crossways).

The interventions were developed in response to a growing number of crashes, which mostly involved drivers failing to give way at the B2117 junction.

Description of Works:

• Improved signage on all four approaches to the junction.
• Improved chevron signing on the bend.
• Refreshed road markings.
• A reduced 40mph speed limit throughout the series of bends and junctions (approx. 1km in length).
• Extensive vegetation clearance and branch clearing activities to restore sightlines.
• Extension of High Friction Surfacing (HFS) treatment on westbound approach to address a pattern of harsh braking incidents.
• Replacement of two Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS) on the A281.

Reducing roadworks reaps real rewards

Disruption caused by roadworks in West Sussex has been reduced by almost a third, thanks to a scheme which encourages utility companies and contractors to plan their works more effectively.

We’re one of only four local authorities in the country to operate a Government-endorsed lane rental scheme, which allows us to charge up to £2,500 a day for works on our busiest roads.

Not only is the scheme helping to keep traffic moving and reduce inconvenience to residents and road users, it is also generating much needed income we can reinvest in road repairs and community highways projects that we would not otherwise be able to support.

Organisations can apply to the Lane Rental Surplus Fund for projects that benefit West Sussex highways.  

Flooding

As Autumn progresses the risk of localised flooding increases.

What can you do? Find out if your property is at risk from flooding by checking Environment Agency flood map.

Flood Warnings

If your home or business is at risk of flooding you can sign up to receive flood warnings from the Environment Agency. The service is free, and you can get warnings by phone, email or text message.

You can also check for current Environment Agency flood warnings and Met Office weather warnings.

Read our Flooding Advice: Flooding advice - West Sussex County Council

You can report Drainage Issues here: Report a drainage problem - West Sussex Self Service

Keep up to date

WhatsApp

Did you know you can get gritter alerts, grass cutting updates and up to date information on road issues on WhatsApp? You can follow silently or opt for alerts to notify you when we share an update. To find us open WhatsApp and select "Updates" from the bottom menu, then simply search for WSHighways or click the link -Â WSHighways.

Facebook, X & Bluesky

Updates on emergency reports are posted every day and project updates are posted frequently on the West Sussex Highways Facebook @West Sussex Highways, X @WSHighways, and Bluesky @wshighways.bsky.social accounts.

Produced by the Stakeholder and Partnerships Officer, Highways Transport and Planning. Please contact active.communities@westsussex.gov.uk with any comments or suggestions.