Disruption ahead on A27 with no long-term upgrade funding in sight for Chichester

Overnight closures between Warblington and Fishbourne are due to begin on April 24, marking the start of a series of works that will affect both carriageways and surrounding routes.

At the same time, a separate scheme to improve the Temple Bar Interchange near Chichester is expected to last around 12 months, bringing further delays to one of the South Coast’s busiest roads. The works are due to begin on or after Monday, May 4.

The works, being carried out by National Highways, are intended to improve safety and traffic flow at key junctions. However, they come against the backdrop of a significant setback for the region: the Department for Transport has confirmed that major A27 upgrade schemes have been removed entirely from its Road Investment Strategy.

Plans for a more comprehensive solution, including a potential bypass around Chichester, had already been shelved for years following disagreements over routes. Their full removal from the government’s infrastructure pipeline has now extinguished hopes of a large-scale intervention in the foreseeable future.

The result is a growing sense of frustration among residents and businesses, who face the prospect of prolonged disruption without a clear long-term fix.

Chichester MP Jess Brown-Fuller – in her weekly column for the Observer – wrote: "I am furious that even with the well documented issues surrounding the A27, the government has chosen to remove any major upgrades to the arterial road strangling Chichester, from their recently published Road Investment Strategy.

"The plans to upgrade the A27 were shelved a decade ago, after a local consensus was not reached over potential bypass routes. Since my election, I have been campaigning for upgrade plans to be reinstated back into the delivery pipeline, after watching the situation worsen over years.

"Far from providing a solution, the government have chosen to remove the A27 bypass proposals from ‘shelved’ to removed entirely.

"They stated in their correspondence to me: ‘we inherited from the previous government a long and unaffordable list of schemes and have had to review the programme to determine which are still viable and which offer the best value for money for taxpayers’.

"They also said: ‘while I appreciate that this may come as a disappointment to your constituents, they will feel the impact of the wider regional benefits from the investment in the South East’.”

According to the government, the A27 through Chichester is ‘geographically constrained’ between the South Downs National Park to the North and the sea to the south, ‘making any options to improve the route very challenging’.

A Department for Transport (DfT) spokesperson said: “We know congestion on the A27 is a real problem for people in Chichester, which is why National Highways considered a range of options to improve the route.

"However, the high cost and difficulty of making major changes in such a built-up area meant plans could not be progressed further.

“National Highways will keep working with local partners to find alternative solutions.”

In East Sussex, a package of improvements is planned for the A259 between Brighton and Eastbourne – ‘including enhanced access to public transport, cycling & walking improvements’. There will also be ‘localised road and junction capacity improvements’, according to an interactive map.

The government’s map also states that funding is 'continuing' for the A259 in Arun, including the Comet Corner junction and Bridge Road (Tesco) junction.

The investment is part of the third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3), a £27 billion national plan aimed at renewing ageing roads, fixing potholes, and upgrading major junctions. More than £4 billion is earmarked for the South East over five years, including Sussex.

The DfT said RIS3 has a ‘strong focus on renewals rather than enhancements’. The department plans to invest a ‘record £8.4 billion’ over the next five years to’ renew ageing assets across the network’.

This is intended to ‘improve the resilience and performance of the network’ through ‘better road surfaces, clearer signs and modernised roadside technology’.

The DfT added: “We have reviewed the schemes to focus on those that are practically deliverable in the short term and affordable in the long term.”

With no funding in sight for Chichester, Mrs Brown-Fuller said this decision has ‘not been evidence based’.

The MP added: “Recent data has laid bare the scale of the problem, with the A27 westbound between the B2144 and the A259 near Chichester being one of the most congested A roads in England.

"Time and time again, residents and businesses across Chichester have told me the same thing: the A27 is holding our community back. A road that should be a vital artery for our region has instead become a daily source of frustration, with congestion choking growth, delaying journeys, and undermining quality of life.

"It is the reality facing commuters trying to get to work on time, parents navigating the school run, and local businesses struggling to operate efficiently. Journeys that should take minutes are constantly stretched far longer, with real consequences for productivity and our local economy.

"This decision continues to leave Chichester in an unacceptable position. While investment is being directed elsewhere, our community is being asked to put up with worsening congestion and no clear plan for improvement."

The MP will be meeting with the Under Secretary for Local Transport to ‘express my anger at this decision’ and ‘again present the case for investment’.

"I will also continue to call for urgent, practical solutions to address congestion on the A27 with National Highways,” Mrs Brown-Fuller said.

"This must include an infrastructure-first approach to development, which means putting all necessary infrastructure in place before any new homes are built in the area.

"Our economy depends on reliable transport links, and our residents deserve to spend less time stuck in traffic and more time with their families. The A27 should be supporting our community, not holding it back."