Last chance to see? A walk in the woods to protest possible bypass

Arundel residents have been shown on a guided walk where proposals for an offline Arundel bypass could harm rare wildlife.
Walkers gathered in the ancient woodland to see what could be harmed by an A27 bypass. Pictures: Boyd NortonWalkers gathered in the ancient woodland to see what could be harmed by an A27 bypass. Pictures: Boyd Norton
Walkers gathered in the ancient woodland to see what could be harmed by an A27 bypass. Pictures: Boyd Norton

Organised by Arundel Scate, part of the South Coast Alliance for Transport and the Environment, the walk took 45 people along the controversial proposed ‘pink-blue’ A27 bypass route.

Walkers turned up on Sunday to follow paths through ancient woodland in Tortington Common to Scotland Lane medieval road.

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They stopped at Noor Wood camp, directly in the path of the ‘pink-blue’ dual carriageway route where Julie and Tony Upson, owners of a patch of woodland, described their conservation work.

Dormouse monitor and naturalist Ian Powell, who has helped survey the area, said: ”These woods are a haven for rare wildlife including bats, dormice and butterflies.

“It is important that areas of ancient woodland like this are not lost or fragmented – they are irreplaceable.

Arundel resident Jean Norton said at the walk: “I commute daily on the A27 to Worthing with usual frustrations but my fear is a huge dual carriageway will destroy these beautiful woods and wildlife here and result in more traffic and pollution around Arundel anyway.”

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Options for an A27 bypass at Arundel will be revealed this summer following a lengthy consultation.

Arundel Scate advocates a mix of transport measures for the area, including some road and junction improvements, describing major dual carriageway proposals as ‘outdated, counter-productive and poor value for money’.

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