Arundel Bypass: West Sussex County Council leader reacts to route announcement

Yesterday (October 15) Highways England announced that the 'grey route' has been picked as the one it will be hoping to build on the A27, out of six options put to the public.

This route, shown in the video above, sweeps south of the South Downs National Park and includes a new dual carriageway between Crossbush in the east and a new junction near Tye Lane in the west. It is the longest and costliest of the six routes put forward, with the most benefits to drivers, and avoids the South Downs National Park entirely - but is the worst case scenario for the residents of Walberton, Binsted and Tortington. The last public estimate for the cost of the project was £455million. Click here for everything you need to know about the bypass.Paul Marshall, Leader of West Sussex County Council, said: “We welcome the much-needed investment in our road infrastructure in West Sussex. We have said for many years that improvements are vital on the A27 at Chichester, Arundel, Worthing and Lancing to reduce congestion and ensure our residents and businesses can move around our county reliably and safely.

“The County Council’s preferred scheme for Arundel was along a different route (the magenta route). However, we will carefully examine the rationale for this decision and look forward to receiving further detail and information about the much-needed mitigation package Highways England will put in place to, as much as possible, limit impacts on residents and the environment.

“I absolutely understand the concerns of the people of Tortington, Binsted and Walberton and the surrounding area and I want to reassure them that I will continue to lobby Government to make sure they get the support they need.”