A27 speed limit reduction rejected

The stretch of the A27 on the western edge of Worthing which is currently national speed limit, but councillors recommended should be 40mph

The Worthing County Local Committee recommended to extend the 40mph zone on the A27 from west of Hollyacres to Castle Goring at a meeting on November 30.

It came after the North Durrington Residents’ Group urged councillors to make the change following a series of accidents on the stretch of road this year.

But Paul High, chairman of the committee, said that Highways England dismissed the recommendation.

He wrote a letter to the company expressing residents’ views, but it replied saying there was insufficient evidence to support a speed limit change on the road.

He said: “With the amount of houses that will be built nearby and the hotel that will be built on the Coach and Horses pub site, it will extend the amount of people coming out of that junction onto the A27 and the inevitable will happen; there will be more accidents.”

John Hughes is a member of the residents’ group and said the decision was ‘outrageous’.

“All they have been doing is a desktop study – they need to come down here and actually take a look.

“I was speaking to one of the residents who lives near the Coach and Horses and all she hears is the screeching of brakes. She is terrified there will be a major catastrophe.

“If someone gets killed there, I will go to the inquest and tell the coroner what we did to try to prevent a death.”

Mr Hughes also complained about pollution caused by the fast traffic.

“As soon as they put their feet on the gas pedal, you can see the smoke coming out of their engines,” he said.

A Highways England spokesperson said: “Safety is our top priority. We receive and consider representations on safety from a range of organisations and we will continue to engage with the council about proposals to improve safety.”

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