Further Arundel bypass consultation planned following changes

Further consultation is due to take place on a divisive £320 million road scheme along the A27.

The Arundel Bypass scheme has been the subject of several consultations and now further events are planned due to design changes.

National Highways intends to submit a ‘development consent order’ – the equivalent of a planning application for major infrastructure projects – by Spring 2023.

But a potential construction start date has been pushed back to Summer 2024 to account for the proposed design changes.

Exact details of the changes are due to be released soon with National Highways claiming they will ‘further mitigate traffic levels through Walberton’.

A ‘supplementary consultation’ is due to take place between November 16 and December 16 with timings and locations to be confirmed.

National Highways said it received 3,500 responses to its Spring 2022 consultation – a regional record.

According to the government owned company, the proposed bypass will improve the ‘severely congested’ A27 as it passes through Arundel.

The road currently operates ‘well over capacity’.

National Highways announced the Grey Route as the preferred option in 2020, despite gaining only seven per cent of public support.

The Grey would run from the existing Crossbush Junction, in the east, over the railway line, before crossing the River Arun and its flood plain on a viaduct.

It would then pass to the south of Binsted Wood, through Avisford Golf Course, before crossing Tye Lane to reconnect with the existing A27 around Copse Lane, Walberton.

A number of local groups are opposed to the current bypass which they say could see villages turned into ‘rat runs’; could cause safety issues; and passes too close to the South Downs.

Campaigners have also put forward an alternative route known as the ‘Arundel Alternative’.

Earlier this year, Arun District Council reluctantly and conditionally backed the Grey Route despite previously supporting the Magenta Route.

Although ADC is the local planning authority, the scheme is considered to be a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) and the final decision will therefore lie with the secretary of state.

More details can be found at National Highways’ website via this link: https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/south-east/a27-arundel-bypass/