Store footed bill

The entire cost of the traffic lights and new junction were paid for by Sainsbury’s and the developer, and not by the county council or taxpayer.

With regard to the proposed Mill Lane/A259 Chandlers car complex and shops, the situation is quite different. The original proposal for an earlier development had the entrance ludicrously and dangerously placed on Mill Lane, between the railway bridge and the roundabout on the A259. The Joint East Arun Area Committee (JEAAC) strongly opposed that, and the highway group that I chair has welcomed the new proposals, which allow for a safer left turn in, and a left turn out on the A259 in the westward lane only.

The problem with the earlier Sainsbury’s exit was that traffic exited onto the dual carriageway just before the roundabout, and drivers wishing to return to Angmering or East Preston had to veer across two lanes of fast-moving traffic to get into the correct lane to make their journey. That will not be the case at the new development, as the next roundabout is a mile to the west at The Body Shop.

There is no requirement for lights, which we would resist, and no public subsidy. It is not a precedent for further development south of the A259, as most of the remainder is Brookfield Park, a public open space and park, and also a private smallholding. In any case, JEAAC is consulted only on the highway aspects, and does not give planning approvals. That decision is for Arun District Council’s development control committee.

Dr James Walsh, Liberal Democrat town, district and county councillor for Littlehampton East and Beach

The Street

Rustington