MP welcomes Government support for A27 upgrades

Arundel and South Downs MP Nick Herbert has welcomed a Government announcement of a feasibility study into the A27 corridor, including the problems at Arundel and Worthing, and funding to upgrade the Chichester by-pass.

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander MP, today (27 June) published plans for infrastructure investment that included a £69 million to upgrade the Chichester by-pass and a feasibility study to look at problems on the A27 on the south coast, including Arundel and Worthing.

Responding to the announcement, Nick Herbert said: "After years under the previous Government in which much-needed and previously agreed upgrades to the A27 were dropped from the roads programme, this is good news.

"One key section, at Chichester, will now be upgraded, and this was always going to the first.  But we will also now have a proper Government study into what's needed at Arundel and Worthing, where schemes could be even more expensive.  This is welcome progress.

"I will continue to make the case that Arundel requires a full, off-line by-pass, as previously agreed.  However, our local authorities and partners, especially West Sussex County Council and the Local Enterprise Partnership, must now step up to the plate with a concerted and proactive push to ensure that we do not lose this new opportunity to secure the A27 upgrades which the community needs."

ENDS

Notes

1.     The Government document Investing in Britain's Future states:

p.6 "identifying and funding solutions to tackle some of the most notorious and longstanding road hot spots in the country, including feasibility studies to look at problems on the A303 to the South West, the A27 on the south coast, the A1 north of Newcastle, the A1 Newcastle-Gateshead Western by-pass, connectivity to Leeds airport and trans-Pennine routes between Sheffield and Manchester"

p.74  Table A.3: Feasibility studies this Government will undertake A27 Corridor (inc. Arundel and Worthing)
Table A.4: Pipeline of HA road schemes which the Government is committed to funding apart of this Spending Round, subject to value for money and deliverability A27 Chichester Bypass Upgrading 6 junctions on the existing 3.5m bypass
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/209279/PU1524_IUK_new_template.pdf
 

2.    In March, Nick Herbert MP called for "a concerted push" for a major strategic upgrade of the whole of the A27 in West Sussex - see: 
http://www.nickherbert.com/news.php/437/MP%20calls%20for%20%22concerted%20push%22%20on%20A27%20upgrade