A27 plans: £20m proposals 'nowhere near good enough'

Their words of caution come days before a consultation on plans for the A27 between Lancing and Worthing comes to an end.

National Highways, which is responsible for England’s major A-roads and motorways, has earmarked £20million for improvements locally.

However, Adur and Worthing council leaders have told National Highways none of the options put forward will solve the road’s issues and have called for a rethink.

Adur District Council leader Neil Parkin said: “The A27 is a major route for residents, visitors and businesses, not just in the region but in the wider area, so it is critical that it receives sufficient investment. The current plans for the A27 and suggested funding are nowhere near good enough.

“This needs resolving as a matter of urgency so businesses can reach their full potential and residents and visitors have a better quality of life with less congestion.”

Worthing Borough Council leader Beccy Cooper said: “Problems with the A27 have been the bane of local residents’ lives for far too long. We have heard a lot of talk about how road improvements will benefit our communities, but this proposal once again falls far short of these aspirations.

“£20million is a drop in the ocean for road upgrades, but it could make a substantive difference to the development of a much-needed, affordable bus network, alongside making the road and surrounding area much safer for pedestrians and cyclists alike.

“Rather than close the road for a year to widen some roundabouts and, on a good day, give people a four-minute improvement on their journey, why not take the opportunity to give our local residents viable alternatives to car journeys? The benefit of this investment would massively outstrip a year of inconvenience for the sake of four minutes.

“Furthermore, the air quality issues that plague families living along the road are fast becoming a public health emergency and it is remiss of National Highways to propose road works for an additional 12 months that will only generate more traffic fumes and further exacerbate the situation.”

National Highways’ consultation runs until Sunday, March 19. The plans include three options: the first involves improvements to the Offington and Grove Lodge roundabouts; the second improvements to those two roundabouts, the Lyons Way junction and Upper Brighton Road and the third option involves improvements to Offington and Grove Lodge roundabouts, the Busticle Lane junction and Upper Brighton Road.

People can view the proposals in full and have their say at nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/south-east/a27-worthing-and-lancing-improvements

When the consultation was launched last month, MPs Sir Peter Bottomley and Tim Loughton said while the proposals would not provide the ‘big bang’ solutions to the long-term congestion on the A27, the individual plans offered the prospect of some localised improvements.