Sussex Express, 6 December 1968
British Rail have had to review their plans to the close the Lewes - Uckfield line, including Barcombe Mills and Isfield stations on January 6.
Closure of the line depends on the South East Area Traffic Commissioners approving the provision of extra bus services, and for that purpose they held a two day enquiry at Lewes last week.
When the hearing was adjourned on Thursday, the Chairman (Major General A.J.F. Emslie) said he hoped to complete the enquiry in one more day. But because of heavy commitments, he could not sit again until after Christmas on a date to be announced. And yesterday it was announced that the inquiry would be resumed at Lewes on January 20.
On Thursday the commissioners continued to hear objections to the proposed bus arrangements.
Mrs Heather Kirby, a member of Hadlow Down Community Committee, said there was hardly ever room even to stand in buses.
She also referred to the present dangerous state of the roads, owing to the presence of large articulated lorries, and spoke of the great size of the single decker buses.
There was danger at times owing to floods, and travelling under such conditions, one sometimes did not know whether one would reach one's destination.
Mr G.M. Morgan, Vice-Chairman of Uckfield (sic. Isfield) Parish Council, began his objection by expressing the fear that the issue had been pre-determined, but the Chairman assured him that the Commissioners were independent.
Mr Morgan went on to say that this was not simply a parish pump matter, concernign only Isfield and Barcombe Mills. It was a regional question, affecting a considerable part of the administrative county of East Sussex.
"Buses," he said, "are no substitute for trains, but are only an ancillary service."
Students would be handicapped in travelling to their places of education if they had to depend on buses. This would present a difficult problem for the East Sussex Education Committee.
The Chairman agreed that it was not a parochial matter. The County Council had originally objected to the rail closure, but had withdrawn.
Mr Morgan said a large number of people had capitulated on the ground that they thought the issue had been predetermined.
The Chairman replied that the Commissioners were simply the Licensing Authority for the bus service.
Major J.H. Pickering, of Uckfield, a member of the Roads and Bridges Committee of the East Sussex County Council, and a member of Uckfield Rural Council Planning Committee, was another objector, but made it clear he was speaking on his own behalf.
He told the Commissioners it was his opinion that the Minister had ignored the undisputed and rapid growth of population in the area affected by the proposed bus service.
They had been given the number of people travelling on the trains in the past three years.
During that time, the population of Uckfield had increased by 5,000, and the increase was expected to reach 10,000 in the next five years.
Crowborough was expanding at about the same rate, and there was a general increase in population in the whole area affected.
It was illogical to assume that the proposed bus service could meet the anticipated demand in the immediate and not too distant future.
Road traffic too, was rapidly increasing at an alarming rate, and the County Planning Officer had said road traffic would increase by four times in the next 25 to 30 years.
At the moment, no major improvement to roads in Uckfield, which would radically alleviate the present appalling conditions could be expected for another for another eight to 10 years, and he foresaw that the position in Lewes would also not be solved during thar period.
Any rational person must conclude that it would be unrealistic to imagine that bus services could be an adequate substitute for the present services provided by the railway without great and serious inconvenience to the public.
Mr J.D. Brand, of Framfield, a committee member of the East Sussex Travellers Association, spoke of the inadequacy of the proposed bus service, and said some people would be faced with additional travelling time of one hour 40 minutes, and more. Bad weather, including icy roads, would make matters even worse.
Points brought forward at that (sic) inquiry reinforced their contention that the withdrawal of the rail service would inevitably result in a considerable loss of social amenity to an area which was expanding at a considerable rate, and culturally and industrially as far as the large towns were concerned.