Campaigners welcome scrapping of A27 Arundel Bypass plans

Chancellor Rachel Reeves made the announcement as she set out a raft of public spending cuts yesterday.

The axing of the scheme, which would have seen around 4.9 miles of new dual carriageway created through the countryside to the south of the existing A27, from the Crossbush to Fontwell roundabouts, was part of a review of projects which the Chancellor said was launched in response to £1 billion of unfunded commitments to transport schemes next year.

National Highways previously said the bypass proposals, which were estimated to cost at least £320 million and have been years in the works, would reduce congestion and travel time and improve safety.

Ms Reeves said the government “would not move forwards” with projects which also included works on the A303, where a dual carriageway tunnel was set to be built in the World Heritage Site surrounding the ancient stone circle and plans to reopen closed railway lines.

The government labelled the road schemes as “low value, unaffordable commitments” which would have cost £587 million next year.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “These budget cuts have created more questions than answers about exactly when we’ll start to see the government improve the condition of Britain’s broken roads.”

He warned the cancellation of the A27 Arundel bypass, from which Labour had promised to allocate £320 million for potholes, “doesn’t scratch the surface of the problem”.

And he said it was not yet clear whether £8.3 billion from the cancelled northern leg of HS2 would be spent on local road maintenance over the next 11 years as promised by the previous government.

The A27 bypass has attracted fierce opposition over the years and has been delayed several times.

It had been put on hold by the previous government to 2025.

Arundel Bypass Neighbourhood Committee Secretary Dr Emma Tristram welcomed the news.

"The grey route would have gone through two villages and badly affected another and would have ruined a huge area of countryside bursting with wildlife,” she said.

“There is a smaller-scale scheme suggested by local people, the Arundel Alternative, which National Highways has never taken seriously, which could be looked at again. 

“But any solution which makes more space for cars is the wrong way forward, because of climate change."

The group said the cancellation “marks a return of sanity” and that a different approach to tackling congestion on the busy road is needed.

Countryside charity CPRE Sussex described the news as a “win for Sussex”.

Director Paul Steedman said: “This is a huge win for Sussex and all those who have fought so hard to fight this inappropriate scheme. Huge congratulations to the Arundel Bypass Neighbourhood Committee, Arundel SCATE, Transport Action Network and so many others on this victory.

“Now, Arundel should get the investment in transport it deserves – lower-impact, congestion-smoothing measures. These measures must be part of a low-emission, co-ordinated transport plan, including public transport, walking and cycling.”

CPRE Sussex has long opposed the A27 Arundel bypass over concerns about its impact on the surrounding landscape and villages.

The charity argued that the construction of the bypass would have a “huge” carbon footprint and that, when completed, the road would encourage more car journeys.

But Andrew Griffith, MP for Arundel and South Downs, slammed the decision.

Speaking before Ms Reeves’s announcement to Parliament, Mr Griffith said: “I have previously warned that rural communities will pay the price for Labour’s ‘command and control’ approach to planning. Now we see them attacking the local communities by cancelling the much-needed dualling of the A27 at Arundel whilst offering no funding or ideas for alternatives.

“Residents of West Sussex are getting the worst of all worlds, continued congestion, rat running and pollution on our roads, whilst taxes go up and the money is diverted elsewhere.”