Chichester’s congestion

Under the headline

‘End Chichester’s traffic nightmare now’, the 14th April on-line Observer describes the queues on the A27 bypass on ‘a day like any other’.

It also warns of ‘Severe traffic delays at Chichester of more than 20 minutes and average speeds of 5 mph in places, and queueing all around the bypass’.

A similar report was published less than a year ago-1st June 2022 – under the headline ‘Traffic chaos is crippling Chichester’.

Reports and letters have appeared in the Observer for years. This is hardly new.

While some blame new housing, this longstanding congestion well predates that.

It is inherent in the twin roles of the bypass around the City: originally a threemile local distributor road interrupted by five roundabouts and a set of traffic lights, contrary to the DFT appointed Inspector’s later findings in 1981, this became part of the National Strategic Route Network designated as the A27.

It is the only strategic link along the coast connecting centres of economic growth to the ports, to centres of learning, of recreation, and to other essential facilities.

Consequently, the local and strategic traffic streams conflict with each other competing for road space in equal measure.

Congestion at Chichester is experienced by all users, local and strategic.

For as long as these two traffic streams are not separated by a new bypass, each will continue to have a negative influence on the other and the problem will increase. Mitigation for new housing will not deal with this.

While this may be of little concern in the north of Chichester District, it affects tens of thousands of residents south of the A27 and westwards along the A259 daily, as well as similar numbers of users of the A27, regardless of the season.

This negatively affects the regional economy, results in unacceptable accident levels, and rat running through and around the city.

Ever since 1981, the many observations recognising a northern bypass as the only effective means of separating these traffic streams, were always quietly side-lined.

But not so quietly in 2016 when, after decades, Highways England (as it was then) was finalising a public consultation including options to the north of Chichester.

Two weeks before this was due to start in March 2016 it was suddenly delayed without explanation and relaunched in July minus northern options.

HE’S later report showed that the proposed inferior options were poorly received by many of the 5000 respondents to the consultation, asking for a northern option to be included.

Subsequently, Secretary of State Grayling, rather than facing the real reason for the poor acceptance, cancelled the scheme, blaming the stunned population for not accepting the proposals.

FOI discovery revealed the role of our Westminster politicians of the day in persuading the earlier Secretary and the Roads Minister to postpone the consultation and withdraw the northern options, said to be damaging the Goodwood Estate.

Political action at the eleventh hour had overridden all the detailed professional reports produced by consultants at enormous cost, and numerous consultations with local stakeholders.

This should never have been allowed to occur.

In the interests of fairness to tens of thousands of residents, motorists and businesses, and of the economy and safety, determined political action supported by our current MP with today’s Transport Ministers should ensure an all-options consultation is included in RIS 3 and not delayed again.

Belatedly, all parties must have the opportunity-denied them seven years ago- fairly and transparently, to judge the pros and cons of all options.

Cllr Pieter Montyn Tawny Close, Birdham