Traffic-choked road is strangling our economy

The warning comes from Cllr Louise Goldsmith, county council cabinet member for environment and economy and Arundel and South Downs MP Nick Herbert who have written to transport minister Stephen Ladyman.

In her letter Cllr Goldsmith outlined the severity of the county's transport problems for the business community and said that improvements to the A27 were vital in assisting the economic regeneration of the community south of the A27.

Cllr Goldsmith is chairman of the Coastal West Sussex Area Investment Framework Partnership which was established to address the regeneration priorities of the coastal area, which includes Selsey, Bognor Regis, Littlehampton, Worthing and Shoreham.

Arundel and South Downs MP Nick Herbert has also added weight to the argument after he wrote to Mr Ladyman in August asking when consultation on the Arundel bypass would be announced.

The government has said a decision on the Arundel bypass and further improvements to the A27 at Chichester and Worthing is imminent. In March it said the Highways Agency expected to go to consultation towards the end of the year, but Mr Herbert believes the timetable may have been delayed because of the General Election.

Full story in West Sussex Gazette, September 8