ONE could be forgiven for thinking that ‘the only game in town’ for addressing improvements on the A27 east of Lewes is a major new dual carriageway carving a scar through unspoilt Low Weald countryside and devastating views from the South Downs National Park. And what of the Long Man of Wilmington?
If lobbyists have their way, the new road could be just a mile from the ancient monument. Some would have us believe that we need to swallow the ‘bitter pill’ of new road infrastructure of the kind emerging out of government A27 feasibility workshops.
Well, it became apparent to the 100 or so people who attended a Campaign to Protect Rural England (Sussex) public meeting in Polegate that plans for damaging new roads west of Polegate are firmly on the table without convincing economic evidence or traffic demand data to back them up.
Traffic on the A27 between Polegate and Lewes has not increased in the last 10 years. Instead there has been increasing use of the rail service, and access could be improved to meet demand. A sign posted on the A27 just outside Lewes reminds us of the direct rail link option between Lewes and Eastbourne.
Our meeting learnt how safety and accident concerns on the A27 could be addressed by junction improvements already planned, except that the fate of those junction improvements was apparently flung out of the equation. Neither was investment in rail.
Local people learnt of protests that same day against bus service cuts in East Sussex, when surely investment in public transport is the responsible way to better connect Sussex and safeguard all our futures. Do we want to trash our countryside heritage?
Has the value of our beautiful countryside and historic villages been wiped off the balance sheet?
Georgia Wrighton – Director, Campaign to Protect Rural England (Sussex), Blackboys, Uckfield, East Sussex
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