Protesters fighting against a controversial road scheme will express their displeasure through the medium of song this weekend.

Campaigners against the Arundel Bypass grey route will gather to sing carols with a difference at the National Highways’ mitigation consultation event, to be held at Walberton Pavilion on Saturday, December 10.

National Highways launched a consultation following design changes to the bypass.

The organisation said the four-week consultation - November 16 to December 16 - will give people the opportunity to have their say on the latest changes to the project that have been made following a detailed analysis of over 4,000 responses received during the last consultation held earlier this year.

Villagers and supporters of the Say No to Grey campaign, from Walberton and Binsted, will be outside Walberton Pavilion from 11am on Saturday singing carols that demonstrate the strength of their feelings.

People can expect alternative rendition of Christmas classic Deck the Halls:

“We don’t want the Arundel bypass, Fa la la la la, la la la la.

“Dump the Grey route in the long grass, Fa…… (Jingle Bells tune).

“No more roads, no more roads, specially not this one,

“It’s called the Arundel bypass and it really shouldn’t be done, O…”

Campaigners say Walberton is one of four villages that will be “severely affected” by the Arundel Bypass and said the mitigations put forward by National Highways in its supplementary consultation documents are “flawed”.

Among the protesters’ critiques of the scheme were:

They said congestion at Crossbush will move to Fontwell, traffic will “grind to a halt” at two consecutive sets of traffic lights at both Fontwell roundabouts.

They also criticised National Highway’s proposals for bat bridges and roosts.

They said road-building increases carbon emissions when “we must address the climate emergency” and that cancelling “expensive, low or no value new roads” would “put money back in the nation's budget”.

They also said only seven per cent of people supported the Grey Route at the first consultation.

A spokesman from the Say No to Grey campaign said: “It is not too late to stop the Grey route. There is a viable, cheaper, less destructive alternative if government and planners could be persuaded to look at the plan again.”