A27 Arundel Bypass: Protest could be held over decision to scrap project

Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the scheme will not go ahead.

​A retired Arundel postman – who has made a name for himself with his books and historic walking tours – is unhappy with the decision.

He said the bypass should have been built 40 years ago and the decision by the government to scrap the project is unjustified.

Martin Alderton, who lives with his wife, Karen, in Walberton, said: “When the Labour bus was in town a couple of weeks ago, I questioned them – asking if they would be supporting a bypass. They said no.

"I said that meant three quarters of the town would not be supporting them, then.

"They said nobody here wants the bypass – but they do.

"If you talk to 90 per cent of the people in Arundel – as I do and have done for 30 years – we want the bypass. It's just, as usual, the campaigners have the biggest voices.”

Campaigners claimed that the grey route – which would have passed through the villages of Binsted and Tortington – would have ‘massively increased’ rat-running through the village of Walberton.

The Stop the Arundel Bypass group added: “The scheme would have destroyed a large swathe of countryside renowned for its wildlife, especially its bats.”

Mr Alderton said he now plans to rally fellow bypass supporters for a protest against the decision.

“I am going to do my utmost to get a campaign group up and running again,” he said. “I'm going to protest.

"I will get people standing on the street saying we want a bypass. Will try to get as many people as I can and we will walk the relief road.

"If I could do it tomorrow, I would. We've got to show Labour that they are taking advice from the wrong people.”

Mr Alderton said Arundel’s relief road is often mistaken for a bypass – but he said it was only meant to be a temporary solution to get traffic out of the town.

“Once you get a hold up, it kills Arundel,” he said. “You can't get around it.

“The bridge will also become a problem in a year or two time. If it collapses, Arundel will shut and it will take five years to rebuild.

"If the A27 stays at is, it will not survive without the amount of traffic coming through.

"The town is cut in half by the A27. It needs a bypass to go around, whether it's on South Downs National Park land or not, otherwise you are making that division bigger.

“It needs to go in and now – not in ten years time when someone feels like it. It should have gone in 40 years ago.”

The cancellation of the Arundel bypass project was widely expected, with Labour having announced its plans before the July 4 general election.

In June, a spokesperson for the party described the scheme as offering ‘poor value for money’ and said the funding would instead be used to repair the country’s pothole-ridden roads.

But now it appears to have become part of a programme of savings after the Labour Party said it had inherited a projected overspend of £22billion from the Conservatives.