‘Get on and build the thing’ - majority of Horsham councillors back Arundel bypass

Such was the response of one councillor as Horsham District Council voiced its support for the proposed Arundel bypass scheme.

National Highways – formerly Highways England – has launched an eight-week consultation into updated plans.

For years the various plans have divided opinion among residents, and they prompted a lengthy debate during a meeting of the full council on Wednesday (February 9).

Here are some of the arguments for and against.

A notice of motion tabled by Paul Clarke (Con, Pulborough, Coldwaltham & Amberley) asked for the council to support the ‘grey’ route – an 8km stretch of dual carriageway which will be created to the south of the existing A27, from Crossbush to Fontwell roundabout. 

The idea of a bypass has been knocking around for decades, and Mr Clarke’s motion hoped National Highways would ‘be able to move quickly ahead on early implementation of its proposal’.

Brian Donnelly (Con, Pulborough, Coldwaltham & Amberley) was not quite so tactful.

He said: “I think somebody needs a big kick up the arse on this bloody project.”

Describing the lack of progress as ‘an absolute nonsense’, he added: “Everybody wants it basically.

“It’s got nothing to do with green or non-green or whatever – the reality is the infrastructure has not been attended to over the past years.

“This is a classic example of a total mess up.”

While agreeing that the growing population, extra housing and many more cars had placed a huge strain on the A27, not everyone agreed that the ‘grey’ route was the way to go.

Bob Platt (Green, Steyning & Ashurst) said: “Although I accept that there are congestion issues around Arundel, spending a massive £445million on – as the Sussex Wildlife Trust described it – a nature destroying, traffic inducing, carbon producing scheme to knock nine minutes off the time taken to get from the traffic jams in Worthing to the traffic jams on the Chichester bypass is not a good solution.”

Jon Olson (Lib Dem, Forest) pointed out that the ‘grey’ route was the longest of the options which had been tabled.

He said: “An enormous amount of carbon and emissions will be released on just the other side of the South Downs from our residents.

“[It will be] a more polluting road with faster and louder traffic, negatively impacting the local communities, villages and school catchments which it slices in half.”

Explaining his reasons for tabling the motion, Mr Clarke said it would cut down on traffic using villages such as Steyning, Washington and Storrington as a rat-run, as they tend to do when the A27 gets congested.

Parts of Storrington are classed as Air Quality Management Areas due to the high levels of nitrogen oxide pollution.

Mr Clarke said: “Storrington has a right to clean air and the number one item on the list to make this happen is this bypass.”

He added that fewer cars on local roads might gives locals the confidence to get on their bikes.

Raising the possibility of the county council working with National Highways to improve cycleways, footways and bridleways, he added: “I don’t envisage roller skating on the A29 but at least we might see some bicycles.”

The motion was carried by 25 votes to six with eight abstentions.