A £280 MILLION scheme to reduce congestion on the A27 has been scrapped because of a lack of consensus how to solve the problem.

Transport secretary Chris Grayling has cancelled the scheme following the withdrawal of support from councils.

A public consultation on five proposals for new roads, flyovers and pedestrian crossings which would have shaved six minutes off journey times was held last year. Highways England, West Sussex County Council and MPs have all expressed “disappointment” at the scheme's demise but Greens have hailed it as a “massive victory” for the local community.

Highways England said it was committed to improvements elsewhere on the A27 including the Arundel Bypass.

Chichester MP Andrew Tyrie said: “We have to try to persuade the Government eventually to return to this. And before we do so, we have to find a solution that can unite the whole community.

“None of Highways England’s schemes could achieve this. So they lost the confidence of the community.”

Arundel and South Downs MP Nick Herbert said campaigners lobbying for a northern bypass has scored an "own goal" for the county which would miss out on £280 million.

West Sussex leader Louise Goldsmith had labelled the consultation "unsatisfactory" for failing to include the option of a bypass and faces a challenge at May's elections because of her support for a more extensive road building solution.

She said: "We are doing all we can to persuade [the transport secretary] to reconsider his decision given the evident need of investment for the infrastructure of our county.

"The cancellation means that the dreadful congestion experienced by motorists everyday on this road will now only get worse."

Jim O’Sullivan, Highways England chief executive, said the authority was "obviously disappointed" because of the loss of significant strategic benefits to the region but any improvement had to be right for Chichester and there was no overall consensus.”

Keith Taylor, Green MEP, said all five options “equally unpopular and environmentally damaging”. He called for the money to now be spent on sustainable public transport directed by local communities.