Parish demands A29 crossings

They said routes for pedestrians and cyclists should be created to enable as many people as possible to use the intended outlet at Oldlands Farm.

The call for a bridge or an underpass on the A29 was one of the three matters which Bersted Parish Council said should be included in any planning permission for the development.

They also wanted to see a crossing along Rowan Way, in the Bersted Brooks area opposite Halfords, to make conditions as safe as possible.

The benefits to nearby residents were also backed by an insistence that any money to be provided by Asda for community benefits should be spent only within Bersted.

These conditions were backed by all 12 members of Bersted Parish Council who took part in the vote at Tuesday's meeting.

Asda's proposed store off the A29 north of Oldlands Way falls within the parish of Bersted.

The company wants to build the store as well as begin work on a much-anticipated building park next door. The location of the store next to one of the main traffic routes into Bognor caused councillors to worry that a large section of their population would be cut off from shopping there on foot or on bike.

Cllr Patrick Hastings said the dangerous conditions for pedestrians on the A29 would become even worse once the traffic to Asda and 650 nearby houses began to use the road.

"I wouldn't cross the A29 on my bike at the moment. There has to be a safe crossing on the A29 if Asda are serious about green transport. There's nothing there at the moment. I don't think there's any future for green access if they don't do that," he stated.

Cllr Gez Watson said Rowan Way would also get busier if the store opened. She said: "That will become absolutely horrendous. We need to ensure that someone, somewhere, somehow puts up a bridge or makes some safer crossing."

Cllr Martin Lury said any community benefits from Asda, known as section 106 payments in planning terms, should only be used in Bersted.

"We must have this money for Bersted. Otherwise, we will get the rough end of the deal," he argued. He also commented about the necessity of the business park being created alongside the Asda store. This was vital to enable jobs to be created locally rather than adding to the mass of commuters heading out of the Bognor area each day.

Earlier in the meeting, Asda's representatives gave a talk about their plans.

Town planning manager Sue Smales told them the company was considering diverting an existing bus route into the store rather than setting up a specific shuttle bus service.

"There's a danger that, with an out of town store, people think the only way of getting there is by car. It's essential that we stress the benefits of other ways of accessing it.

"We think that using an existing bus route, and creating a better service with that, is the best way forward. Shuttle buses may not last beyond two or three years," she said.

She stressed the 500 jobs at the store would all be offered to local people. It was not Asda's policy to bus in workers. The store's 48,000sq ft would be split two-thirds for selling food and one-third for non-food goods. It could open in 2010 if the initial plans were backed.