READER’S PICTURE
is the absence of a demonstrable and deliverable A27 mitigation scheme to accommodate the traffic growth arising from the review.
Readers may be interested to know that the corollary is that CDC cannot meet the government’s housing targets, leaving developers to have a free rein in the unprotected areas of the district.
While this may not affect residents in the north of the district, it is of great concern to tens of thousands of residents south of the
A27 and along the A259 corridor. The infrastructure shortcomings and sheer threats to their basic enjoyment of life and to the environment, are evident.
Understandably the district council is being blamed for this stalemate, but is it all their fault? In reality it is the lack of capacity to accommodate any traffic growth on the A27 that is holding up the local plan.
This is not new: the 2013 iteration of the local plan recognised this, and housing numbers were set lower to reflect that.
This remained the situation until 2015, when a major consultation of options was being developed by Highways England, holding the promise of highly necessary long-term relief and capacity increase.
Many will remember what happened next, when in early 2016 northern route options were very suddenly withdrawn and then omitted when the flawed consultation was finally launched.
Secretary of State Grayling then put the blame on the public for not agreeing on inferior and inadequate options, and cancelled the scheme altogether in 2017.
So, when residents look to the district council to expedite its plan, they should consider how it was that senior politicians allowed themselves to
be persuaded in 2016 to instruct Highways England to withdraw options, and the consequences of that.
Aside from the obvious traffic congestion and the damage to the public’s faith in their elected representatives, the enduring disastrous consequence is that there is no realistic A27 traffic mitigation, that there is no way ahead with the local plan, and that developers have a free rein.
While this has been understood by many for some time, it is regrettable that CDC waited so long before publicly accepting this in its September newsletter.
The years and funds wasted on something that never should have happened
cannot be recouped, but CDC’S cabinet and officers should now publicly commit themselves to unlocking matters and enlist the political support of MP Gillian Keegan and Roads Minister Baroness Vere, to put maximum effort into the Department and National Highways to bring forward an all-options A27 consultation.
The process must be seen to be completely transparent and preferably, after all that has passed, should be overseen by a competent, independent invigilator and supported by the Mrs Keegan, to guard against any repeat of the interference and events of 2016.
Both the county and district councils have similar resolutions
regarding their preferred option, passed in 2018, and endorsed again at CDC in July 2021.
Locally, the political will is there.
PIETER MONTYN County Councillor for the Witterings