Praise for bypass decision

The Highways England announcement that the grey route is its preferred choice for the A27 Arundel bypass is very welcome.

This route runs south of Arundel, outside the

South Downs National Park, but unfortunately it will be closer to Walberton than the other five possible routes considered during the recency consultation exercise.

It is nevertheless quite wrong for the Binsted

(ABNC) anti-bypass group to allege that the grey route will ‘devastate’ Arundel. It will not.

Instead Arundel residents, together with many other users of the A27, who have vigorously campaigned for an offline bypass over many years, strongly support the Highways England decision, especially as the new road when built will reunite the town, currently divided by the existing relief road.

It will also resolve the traffic congestion at the

Crossbush and Ford Road roundabouts, thereby improving safety and it will stop the through-town rat running which currently blights Arundel.

Furthermore, it will reduce pollution and noise levels and, incidentally, it will mean that our friends in Storrington will no longer suffer being one of the highest polluted villages in the country.

It should also be remembered that the A27 is part of the South Coast Highway which is vital for goods and heavy transport.

Arundel would of course have been well served by any of the offline choices but, unfortunately, the

South Downs National

Park Authority objected