Dual carriageway A27 plan is ‘madness’ campaigners claim

A campaign group has called for all candidates in the upcoming local elections to ‘stand up and be counted’ in voicing their views on an A27 upgrade.

The challenge was issued by the East Sussex members of the South Coast Alliance for Transport and the Environment (SCATE).

Liam Russell, chairman of the group, said: “We sent them our new information leaflet and asked them to stand up and be counted in our fight against this contentious proposal.

“We want local democracy to work – there is no need for the dual carriageway and the untold damage it would cause, and constituents need to know that no other solutions have been looked at or investigated – the road lobby are blinkered and seem not to have taken into consideration the destruction to our countryside that will inevitably be caused by merely shaving off eight minutes from a journey between two traffic jams.

“We want our candidates to be clear on their views on the most important local issue facing all those who live and work in the area.”

Party organisations operating in the district councils of Wealden, Eastbourne and Lewes will also be asked to declare their position by the campaign group.

Mr Russell said: “We’re providing a way for our supporters across East Sussex to tell politicians that our treasured landscape, rich in heritage and biodiversity, must be protected from this madness”.