Anger over 'secrecy' surrounding A27 Chichester Bypass plans
Councillors claim they're not being given information about proposed improvements to the road
‘Secrecy’ surrounding plans to improve five junctions on the A27 around Chichester has been criticised by county councillors.
As part of its Local Plan Review 2035, Chichester District Council needs to ensure that the A27 and other roads can cope with the extra traffic generated by the hundreds of new homes due to be built each year.
During a West Sussex County Council scrutiny committee meeting last week, Pieter Montyn (Con, The Witterings) said work on the proposals was progressing ‘but no one is to be told what this is’.
Given that the work has involved county highways planning officers as well as county owned land, Mr Montyn called for the plans to be brought to the county council for scrutiny ‘in the interest of openness, transparency, and clarity’.
He told the committee: “Even many members of the district council are not told, and those that do know are very strictly sworn to secrecy and forbidden to divulge anything.”
He added: “In recent years, any dealings with the A27 at Chichester have been surrounded by secrecy and a lack of transparency, in which the views of those most affected have been disregarded. This has got to stop.”
Chairman Andrew Barrett-Miles said he would write to cabinet members Roger Elkins and Matt Davey, director of highways, about the issue.
The next meeting of the committee will be in January and the aim is to include scrutiny of the improvement plans on the agenda.
Jamie Fitzjohn (Ind, Chichester South) was not part of the meeting but thanked Mr Montyn for raising the matter.
He said: “For too long and on too many occasions, decisions which affect residents’ lives are made behind closed doors and this needs to stop.
“Parish councils and residents’ associations need to be involved from the start of a process not only at the end.”
A CDC spokesman said: “As a council, we are currently working on the next version of the Local Plan Review. As part of this process, we are working closely and openly with Highways England and West Sussex County Council to investigate options to mitigate the traffic impacts of housing and economic growth on the local and strategic road network necessary to meet the council’s identified development needs.
“Evidence studies, including on transport issues, are published on the Local Plan Review area of our website, which can be found at: www.chichester.gov.uk/chichesterlocalplan2035, as soon as they are finalised for publication.”