Arundel Bypass Grey Route will devastate Arundel, surrounding villages, beautiful countryside, and the setting of the South Downs National Park. This long, expensive, 70mph dual carriageway is the wrong response to traffic problems at a time of climate and biodiversity crisis.
Please join us in supporting a less damaging solution: the Arundel Alternative.
The Arundel Alternative would be an uninterrupted, 40mph, wide single carriageway, between the Ford Road roundabout and Crossbush junction, avoiding current pinch points to improve traffic flow, with minimal or no widening west of Ford Road roundabout.
From the east, the Arundel Alternative continues under a remodelled Crossbush junction, removing signals which cause holdups to the east. Access to Arundel and Lyminster is via existing roads.
From Crossbush Junction, the new road continues over a new rail bridge, avoiding five pinch points at:
1) Warningcamp junction, 2) Arundel rail station, 3) bus stops, 4) signal pedestrian crossing, 5) Causeway roundabout, which together cause holdups to the west at Chichester Road and Ford roundabout.
The short stretch of new road would meet the existing route
by Fitzalan Road junction. The river bridge is upgraded and Chichester Road has marginal (if any) widening.
Ford Roundabout potential layout by City Infinity
With two lanes, Ford roundabout is comparable to other roundabouts along the A27 with some flow limitations, but it is not a key source of holdups. There are several options for shaping the area to improve traffic flow and walking and cycling access. These may include:
Keeping the roundabout: reconfiguring lane space would enable vehicles to leave at the A284 junction more easily. Restricting access at Maltravers Street junction would limit town through-traffic and improve roundabout flow. Walkways can be expanded around the roundabout and a footbridge provided across Chichester Road.
Remodelling for a through road: (see illustrative potential layout) where the new single carriageway continues across the junction with an underpass linking Ford Road and A284. The A27 would be raised less than a metre and space turned to a green area. Safe walking and cycle links through the underpass parallel the existing river-side pedestrian underpass.
The Arundel Alternative and any Ford roundabout schemes should be implemented alongside further transport measures that include walking and cycling links to Ford station, planned infrastructure on West Coastway rail, and improvements to bus services to Worthing, Littlehampton and Chichester. Together, these transport improvements benefit all residents and business, not only those with access to a car.
The Arundel Alternative follows part of the same line as two of Highways England’s options, Cyan and Beige.
The Arundel Alternative is a wide single carriageway 40mph road that is affordable and deliverable and meets future traffic needs.
All options put forward by Highways England are costly, highly damaging 70mph dual carriageways that will increase traffic and carbon emissions.
Pinch points slow road traffic at busy times.
The road limits walking and cycling access at Arundel.
The bridge over the railway is narrow, dangerous and in poor repair.
Hold ups cause rat-running and air pollution in the town.
Remove all interruptions for free flowing traffic on the A27.
Improve safety as wide single lanes provide visibility and access.
Cut rat-running within Arundel.
Improve cycling and walking access across town and to the railway station, and easy car access for Burpham, Warningcamp and Crossbush.
Do not damage the South Downs National Park or its wildlife.
Do not damage villages and businesses or lose trade in Arundel.
Minimise new traffic and carbon emissions.
The UK parliament has declared a climate and ecological emergency. Major new roads increase carbon emissions, as do all six of Highways England’s options.
‘Typically, new roads lead to new journeys, filling up the additional space’ (National Infrastructure Commission)
Increased traffic from a 70mph, dual carriageway scheme at Arundel would increase delays at Fontwell, Worthing and Chichester. By contrast, the Arundel Alternative would allow traffic to flow without adding to congestion.
The Arundel Alternative is the most likely solution to be affordable economically, and to be acceptable to the Planning Inspectorate because it is far less damaging.
To try to improve Storrington’s air quality by devastating villages and countryside at Arundel is too great a cost. A bypass at Arundel is unlikely to solve Storrington’s problems.
A dual carriageway would sever habitats and push wildlife species towards local extinction. It would also increase flood risk.
We cannot afford to lose carbon stores like woodland and wetlands, by destroying them with new major roads. The Arundel Alternative protects both woodland and wetlands.
Popular walks, views, wildlife and tourist businesses would be severely damaged by Highways England’s proposed dual carriageway options. These would be protected by Arundel Alternative.
The Arundel Alternative should be part of a low-emission, co-ordinated transport plan, including public transport, walking and cycling, which would benefit everybody.
Proposed grey route is 70mph dual carriageway which will increase traffic and carbon emissions in a climate emergency. It severely damages Binsted, Walberton, Tortington and Fontwell villages, the South Downs National Park setting and access, Binsted Rife Valley (rare chalk stream habitat), endangered species, diverse wildlife, reed beds and mud flats, local business, carbon stores, a popular riverbank walk and historic views, and the beauty and tranquillity of the Arun Valley. It passes right next to Binsted Church and very near to Walberton and Binsted Primary School (education setting for 300 children aged 3-11). Cost range £320 - £600m
Approaching Binsted Rife Valley, Walberton
Madonna Pond, Binsted
View to Binsted Church
River Arun where HE road would cross
View to Binsted Park
National Highways are holding a public consultation on the shockingly destructive Arundel Bypass ‘Grey Route’, running from 16 Nov - 16 Dec 2022.
Whilst NH may say they will not consider options other than their ‘Grey’ route, it is an opportunity to show there are better solutions such as the Arundel Alternative.
Anyone can respond to this consultation, more than once, raising any issues. You can comment in the NH survey online or on a paper form. You can comment by email or letter. Email responses are best. NH has to log all responses. Details at www.nationalhighways.co.uk/a27arundel.
Email to A27ArundelBypass@nationalhighways.co.uk
Here's a few of the key points to make (please use your own words):
Say that you object to the Grey route altogether, and why. They ask that we only respond to their latest changes, but if we do that, they will claim that fewer people are objecting to the route as such.
It would ruin the villages of Tortington and Binsted and cause more traffic in Walberton and Fontwell. It would ruin the river Arun walks and the setting of Arundel. It would sever a huge, important wildlife area.
It will bring nothing but more peak traffic and more congestion to Worthing, Chichester and villages and towns in between.
National Highways are still mentioning an old budget figure of £320M+. This is well out of date and costs must now be more likely to approach NH’s earlier top range estimate figure of £1.2Bn: Either way it is not the best use of that much public money when there are other higher priority needs.
Building an 8Km new road will incur an enormous carbon footprint in construction, and in its use it would encourage people to take longer, faster and more frequent car journeys. This is not compatible with government and global net zero objectives.
Once you have responded to the consultation, please share your comments with your MP!
Local groups are campaigning against the Grey Route and for better solutions at Arundel. Contact yours to find out how to get involved and help stop the destruction.
Arundel Bypass Neighbourhood Committee: Facebook / Twitter/ Web
Stop the Arundel Bypass Alliance: Facebook / Twitter
We know that the Arundel Alternative proposal is affordable and avoids the terrible destruction and massive costs of Highways England’s planned route across the Arun valley, the river, through Tortington, Binsted and Walberton. We need you to help ensure decision makers in Whitehall understand this as well.
Could you write a letter or email to support our campaign? You can make this even more effective by sending an Arundel Alternative leaflet (click below to open PDFs in a new window).
What do I write?
A short personal letter or email is fine. A few lines will suffice but don’t hold back. It's up to you to just say what you feel. You don't need any technical rationale, but please ask for the Arundel Alternative to be considered.
Some ideas – if you need any:
• what you will lose personally if Grey route is built;
• your fears about the climate emergency and flooding
• loss of rare or favourite wildlife, ecological crisis, your love of local nature
• history of the landscape, favourite walks
• the waste of money, impacts on local homes, communities and business
• lack of public transport or cycle facilities and domination of cars.
Andrew Griffith MP
Arundel & South Downs
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA
Andrew@GriffithMP.com
Rt Hon Therese Coffey MP, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: therese.coffey.mp@parliament.uk
Mark Harper MP, Secretary of State for Transport: transportsecretary@dft.gov.uk
South Downs National Park Authority: Trevor.Beattie@southdowns.gov.uk
West Sussex County Councillor Gary Markwell: gary.markwell@westsussex.gov.uk
West Sussex County Councillor Trevor Bence: trevor.bence@westsussex.gov.uk
Paul Marshall (West Sussex County Council Leader): Paul.a.marshall@westsussex.gov.uk
Dr James Walsh (Arun District Council Leader): cllr.james.walsh@arun.gov.uk
Joy Dennis (WSCC Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport): joy.dennis@westsussex.gov.uk
Arun District Councillor Faye Catterson: cllr.faye.catterson@arun.gov.uk
Arun District Councillor Paul Dendle: pauldendle@aol.com
Arun District Councillor Grant Roberts: cllr.grant.roberts@arun.gov.uk
Arundel Town Council: townclerk@arundeltowncouncil.gov.uk
Walberton Parish Council clerk@walberton-pc.gov.uk
Please write to local newspapers to tell them your views about the Arundel Bypass, and to voice your support for the Arundel Alternative:
Littlehampton Gazette: letters@littlehamptongazette.co.uk
West Sussex County Times: letters@newsletter.co.uk
Chichester Observer: news@chiobserver.co.uk
Bognor Observer: news@bognor.co.uk
The Argus: letters@theargus.co.uk
West Sussex Gazette: WS.Letters@jpress.co.uk
If you wish you express concerns about the consultation process you could also write to Michael Gove MP at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: michael.gove.mp@parliament.uk
