Here is an update on what is know about the current situation:
Proposed major trunk road 'improvements' have come out of what is happening
at a national level with the Government’s 2013 spending review and its focus on
increasing the amount of funding for road building. There has already been a meeting in Brighton
in January 2014 and a presentation on the A27 FEASIBILITY STUDY given by the DfT and
the Highways Agency. Very broadly, the Study is to build on previous analysis
including the Arundel By-pass studies, Worthing transport studies and previous
Lewes to Polegate studies.
Amongst other things, my concern is that the study is a road
transport study only and is not multimodal. I believe that any solutions
should be devised within a context of a more co-ordinated approach to
transport with an appropriate emphasis on measures with low environmental
impact.
It is important to remember that business
groups, especially in the Eastbourne area, and the MP for Eastbourne are very
keen on duelling the A27 from Polegate to Beddingham. They are influencing the
policy as set down by our local LEP:
Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs)
Key LEP proposals include: Promote national
investment in major arterial routes including the M25, the M23/A23, the A27,
and the Brighton mainline, North Downs and Coastway railways.
It appears that there are Local Transport Bodies (LTBs) as well - see the following:
LTBs: – report by the Campaign for Better Transport
The most critical thing for the public is
to catch up with the current feasibility study and make comments on it. See:
Feasibility study for the A27 – due to be
completed this summer
