Coastal West Sussex Partnership backs A27 bypass plans

The Coastal West Sussex Partnership is backing controversial upgrades to the A27 at Arundel, proposed by the National Highways Agency.

Partnership director Caroline Wood said: “The A27 is the main arterial route across coastal West Sussex and the main connection between Brighton and Portsmouth, so it is imperative that the road works effectively for the benefit of the regional and national economy.

“We welcome the proposed upgrade to the national road network and encourage National Highways to take three areas into account as a result of the consultation.”

Caroline Wood

The partnership outlined the three key areas. It said a full junction should be considered on the Ford Road route from Littlehampton and Bognor, due to increasing commercial and residential traffic.

Secondly, to minimise the impact of the new route on air quality, the group suggests imposing a 50mph speed limit across the whole new section of road, not just on the west side.

Lastly, there may be opportunities to link the laying of digital fibre connection to the building of the new A27 route and the group encourages National Highways to liaise with the council.

The partnership welcomed the progress made so far on plans for the new A27 route at Arundel.

It believes further improvements are needed across the whole stretch of the A27 in West Sussex, particularly in Worthing, Lancing and Chichester.

Henry Powell

Henry Powell, chairman of the partnership, said: “We’d like to encourage National Highways to take a more holistic approach to improving the whole A27 as this would have a much greater and more positive impact on the regional economy.

“We urgently need investment to improve journey times on this road heading east to west along the whole stretch of the A27 from Brighton to Portsmouth, with the removal of choke points and traffic being forced to take unsuitable alternative routes, leading to poor air quality along the road and in towns and villages such as Storrington.

“All A27 improvements should complement transport investment already being made, such as the A284 Lyminster bypass and the A259 corridor improvements at Littlehampton.

“Greater connectivity to and from the West Sussex coast will make the area more attractive to businesses and provide access for a broader recruitment pool, as well as boosting the tourism economy with better access for visitors to the coast and the South Downs National Park.”

The Coastal West Sussex Partnership is made up of leaders and senior officers from business, education institutions and the public sector to work on economic issues that affect the coastal area.