Speak up if you support the By-Pass

Clogged A27 Arundel the current situation.

There is now a real prospect that the Chancellor will include an Arundel by-pass in his autumn statement in early December.  I understand that it is down to two options, either the pink blue route which goes south of Arundel from Crossbush crossing the railway line and river and going through the gap between Tortington Manor and priory lane   and then crossing through the recently planted conifer on Tortington common joining up to where the dual carriageway currently ends. The other route would avoid Tortington Common, but cut through Binstead and Walberton  (I don’t support this).

Since being elected as a Councillor in 2003 I have campaigned for a by-pass using the pink blue route, in fact in each of my election manifests I have included campaigning for an Arundel By-pass using the pink blue route, so I believe I have a mandate to campaign for this and I have community support.

The meeting organised by SCATE at the Arundel Town Hall was packed with many people not being able to gain access, there were supporters and opponents.   I have an issue with SCATE as I believe they are a Trojan horse for a wider anti road agenda by green groups.  This can be evidenced by the fact that they had Chris Todd who wrote the report about their meeting on their web a well-known Sussex green supporter, Chair of the Brighton & Hove and Lewes Downs Biosphere Partnership and Tony Whitbread from the Sussex Wildlife Trust who also was involved.

I believe there has to be a debate about the by-pass, I also believe across the Arundel & Walberton ward that there is a large majority for the by-pass, but I think the green groups are mostly not local and not representative and they should allow locals to come to their own conclusions without scaring residents with half-truths.

Tortington Common is not ancient woodland, 80% of the traffic using Arundel is not local, the design of the by-pass has not been decided and there will be a full public enquiry and full public consultation on any final decision to build.

We have the Lyminster by-pass being started in 2017 and 1750 houses being built in north Littlehampton, all this will feed into Crossbush increasing road pressure, also there is going to be built an A29 relief road from Bognor to Fontwell which will feed from the other end.  Standing still is not an option, I support new cycleways, The Arundel Chord rail link to the east, and I have campaigned for a free car park at Ford Station and a cycle way from Arundel to Ford.

But we need the By-Pass and if you support this as I think the silent majority do, then please make your views known, write to the Department of Transport, write to the press and attend meetings.

To next month

Paul Dendle is Arundel Ward & Cabinet member for Leisure Services on Arun District Council  email: pauldendle@aol.com  web site: www.pauldendle.org