Court hearing to be held over crisis-hit major West Sussex road

The A29 at Church Hill in Pulborough was originally shut in December 2022 following a landslide which led to chaos in the village with traffic snarl-ups, safety fears and a loss of trade for local businesses.

The road remained shut for months before finally reopening to single-lane traffic – controlled by traffic lights – in April 2023. But frustrations remain over the on-going disruption.

But West Sussex County Council in a statement today (December 19) said: “Over this period, our focus has remained on reaching a resolution for the benefit of residents, businesses and visitors across Pulborough.

“The landslide occurred at the narrowest part of the A29, where both sides are flanked by steep embankments. Shortly after the landslide, geo-technical experts assessed the embankments and advised it is not safe to fully reopen the road to vehicles and pedestrians due to the established instability of the land on both sides.

“The embankments are in private ownership and the council does not have legal rights to enter or carry out work required on this private land without the permission of the owners. We have engaged in lengthy discussions with the landowners, but we have been unable to agree a way forward that would allow us to solve the situation.

“The council agreed to meet all costs and carry any liabilities associated with the work required to fully re-open the road, however an agreement could not be reached that was acceptable to all parties on the practicalities of such works and the investigations required to design the solution.

“As a result of not being able to reach an agreement as quickly as we had hoped, we installed traffic lights and concrete blocks to allow safe single-file traffic in April 2023. This has provided a workable but temporary solution.

“The challenge the council faces in achieving a long-term solution remains the private ownership of the embankments. Legal options to address the lack of an agree solution are limited and the statutory notices served on the landowners to allow work on the embankments have been referred by them to the magistrates’ court system which has been beset by delay.

"There is now however a prospect of some progress as an initial court hearing has been set for early January.

“The county council will however leave other legal routes under active consideration if this route to have the planned works approved through the courts does not provides the much needed solution in a timely way.

“In the meantime, the single lane signal-controlled arrangement is regularly reviewed to ensure it provides a safe and workable temporary solution.

“The council remains committed to exploring all options to resolve the situation, including continuing to engage with the landowners if they are open to further discussion. We are also liaising with the parish council regarding next steps once we are in a position to make progress.”