A27 Arundel Bypass Further Consultation

Overview

Investing in your roads

The A27 Arundel Bypass scheme is identified within the Government’s 2015-2020 Road Investment Strategy (RIS1), which states that England’s Strategic Road Network requires upgrading and improving to ensure it can deliver the performance needed to support the nation in the 21st century.

Over the next eight weeks between 30 August and 24 October 2019 we are consulting further on our options to improve the A27 at Arundel by reducing congestion in the area that aims to improve journeys between Brighton and Portsmouth, which would provide benefits for the local and regional economy.

On 13 September 2019, we made a small number of corrections to the consultation brochure. These corrections relate to data entry issues when the consultation brochure was produced from the underlying project documents. The corrections do not affect or change the assessments undertaken and reported in the consultation documents, but simply relate to the drafting of the consultation brochure. Because Highways England is committed to full and open consultation, and because we want people responding to the consultation to have all the facts available, we thought it important to share these changes straight away.  For details, see 'Update' section below.

On 16 September 2019 we published errata for the Environmental Assessment Report (EAR) and Interim Scheme Assessment Report (SAR). These errata documents can be found at the bottom of this page. The corrections in the underlying technical documents do not affect or change the assessments undertaken and reported in the consultation documents. 

We are keen to hear your views on our proposals, specifically on how our proposals may affect you, your organisation or those you represent. Key features of all options would include:

• A new viaduct spanning over the River Arun and a new bridge over the Arun Valley Railway.
• A junction at Crossbush with access to and from the A27 in both directions.
• A speed limit of 70 mph (in its current design, the Beige option - 1V9 - would need a 50 mph speed limit in some sections).
• An embankment across the River Arun floodplain, although all routes could alternatively be built with a viaduct. A decision on this will be taken once a preferred route is confirmed and more detailed design work is undertaken.

Public consultation exhibitions

One of the best ways to find out more about our proposals and have your say is to come to one of our public consultation exhibitions. You will be able to find out more about the scheme and speak to members of the project team who will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

We will also hold unstaffed exhibitions, where visitors can view some of our consultation materials and collect printed copies of the Consultation Response Form. These exhibitions will be held at the locations below, during normal opening hours. 

Deposit points

You can find copies of the Consultation Brochure and Consultation Response Form at the following deposit points throughout the consultation period (30 August to 24 October 2019), during the locations’ normal opening hours. Reference copies of supporting technical documents will also be available.

Links to the Consultation Brochure, the Consultation Response Form and the Approach to Public Consultation can be found below however paper copies are available upon request and supplied free of charge. Please call our Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000 or email A27ArundelBypass@highwaysengland.co.uk.

Paper copies of the Combined Modelling and Appraisal Report, Environmental Assessment Report and Interim Scheme Assessment Report will each incur a reasonable charge to cover printing, postage and VAT (at 20%), up to a maximum of £200. Please contact Highways England regarding payment methods – you can call our Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000 or email A27ArundelBypass@highwaysengland.co.uk.

UPDATE: Corrections

An additional quality assurance check identified a small number of corrections required to the consultation brochure. The corrected brochure was published on our web site on 13 September 2019. 

The corrections to the brochure are set out in the letter sent to residents on 13 September.

Hard copies of the amended brochure will be available at our consultation events and at deposit points around the area from 13 September.  You can find details of these deposit points on this page, or on pages 4 and 5 of the consultation brochure.

We have also identified a small number of corrections in the technical documents underpinning the consultation brochure: The Environmental Assessment Report (EAR), the Scheme Assessment Report (SAR) and the Combined Modelling and Appraisal Report (ComMA).  As with the consultation brochure, these corrections relate to data entry issues when the documents were drafted from the information on which the assessments were based. The corrections in the underlying technical documents do not affect or change the assessments undertaken and reported in the consultation documents.  

We published errata for the EAR and SAR on 16 September 2019. We published an updated ComMA on 6 September. These will be available on this web site and at convenient local locations from 16 September 2019.

On 6 September 2019, we also corrected a hyperlink to the Environmental Assessment Report Appendix 8-7: Bat Structures Survey Report. Previously this was not displaying properly. Appendix 8-7 can now be accessed by clicking here. 

Environmental Sensitivity Testing Technical Note

The Scheme Assessment Report references work undertaken to explore the environmental impacts of not including the A27 Worthing and Lancing improvement as a committed development in the analysis of the A27 Arundel Bypass. On the 13 September 2019, we published this work as set out in the Environmental Sensitivity Testing Technical Note.

If you have already responded

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience that these updates may cause. If you have already responded to the consultation and would like to make any alterations to your submission as a result, then we will be happy to help you do so. Please either call 0300 123 5000 (local call rate) and ask for the Arundel Bypass project team, or email A27ArundelBypass@highwaysengland.co.uk. If you submitted your response online, we would need to have your unique response ID and the date you submitted it.

Western Tie-in Local Roads Study

In addition to the information presented in the Interim Scheme Assessment Report (SAR) and Combined Modelling and Appraisal Report (ComMA) some of our stakeholders were interested in further detail on the movements of local traffic. As referenced in the Interim SAR and ComMA we have released this further detail within the Western tie-in: local roads study report Part 1, Part 2 and Appendices.

Share your views

We would like to hear your views about the options presented. The consultation runs for eight weeks from 30 August to 24 October 2019. Please note that responses received after this time may not be considered. 

Have your say on our proposals using one of the following methods:

• Online - complete the response form online below
• Write - to us at: FREEPOST A27 ARUNDEL
• Complete a paper copy of the Consultation Response Formand return it using the freepost address provided above or hand it to a member of staff at a public exhibition
• Email - your response to: A27ArundelBypass@highwaysengland.co.uk

Data Protection and You 

General Data Protection Regulations

Why your views matter

Background to the further consultation

In May 2018, we published our Preferred Route Announcement for the proposed A27 Arundel Bypass, known as Option 5AV3, following our previous Options Consultation in autumn 2017. We then began developing the design as part of our work towards submitting an application for consent from the Secretary of State for Transport. This included looking at how to minimise impacts on protected ancient woodland and biodiversity at the western end of the route.

We discovered new information during the course of this work. We therefore want to understand your views on our revised options based on the latest available information, which we are presenting through this further consultation.

The need for the scheme

As the main route serving the south coast, the A27 corridor is crucial to the region’s success. A population of more than 1 million people rely on the A27, and growth plans for the region mean this number is only set to increase.

Currently the stretch of the road through Arundel is a single carriageway, which causes a daily build-up of traffic that costs commuters, businesses, communities and visitors valuable time and money. At peak times, it often operates at over 100% capacity, causing disruption, congestion and hazards on the road. This cuts off communities from neighbouring areas, making everyday trips longer and more difficult, and costing businesses millions of pounds a year. Watch our short animation below to find out more:

Scheme objectives

Our scheme objectives have been developed while working with the local authorities, the South Downs National Park Authority, other environmental bodies, the emergency services and the Department for Transport (DfT).

The scheme objectives are to:

1. Improve the safety of travellers along the A27 and consequently the wider local road network.
2. Ensure that customers and communities are fully considered throughout the design and delivery stages.
3. Improve capacity of the A27 whilst supporting local planning authorities to manage the impact of planned economic growth.
4. Reduce congestion, reduce travel time and improve journey time reliability along the A27.
5. Improve accessibility for all users to local services and facilities.
6. Deliver a scheme that minimises environmental impact and seeks to protect and enhance the quality of the surrounding environment through its high-quality design.
7. Respect the South Downs National Park and its special qualities in our decision-making.

Route option development

After announcing in October 2018 our intention to carry out further consultation, we took a fresh look at the full range of possible route alignments. These were grouped by corridor (or similar route alignments) and then sifted according to compliance with the scheme objectives and legal and national planning policy tests, including consideration of environmental impacts.

Our technical work concluded that six options should be put forward for consideration as part of this further consultation. These are shown below and can also be found in Figure 2 on page 12 of the Consultation Brochure. For ease of reference, we have assigned a colour to each option.

Options

Views received during this consultation will be important in helping us to ensure that we find the best long-term solution for the area.

Inside the Consultation Brochure, you will find details of the six proposed improvement options for the A27 around Arundel. You’ll also find information explaining how we have developed the options, along with a summary of key benefits and impacts. An overview of options and accompanying videos can be found below.

Cyan (Option 1V5)

Cyan (Option 1V5) would feature 4.5km (approx.) of new dual two-lane carriageway between Crossbush and the existing transition between single and dual carriageway to the west of Arundel. The viaduct extends over the Ford Road junction with no direct access to the local road network. View our Cyan (Option 1V5) Fly-though below. Key features can be found on pages 14 and 15 in our Consultation Brochure. 

Beige (Option 1V9)

Beige (Option 1V9) would feature 4.5km (approx.) of new dual two-lane carriageway between Crossbush and the existing transition between single and dual carriageway to the west of Arundel. The junction at Ford Road
would be a traffic signal controlled 'through about'. View our Beige (Option 1V9) Fly-though below. Key features can be found on pages 14 and 15 in our Consultation Brochure. 

Crimson (Option 3V1)

Crimson (Option 3V1) would feature 6km (approx.) of new dual two-lane carriageway bypass located to the south of the existing A27. Starting in the east at Crossbush and ending just west of Havenwood Park. View our Crimson (Option 3V1) Fly-though below. Key features can be found on pages 14 and 15 in our Consultation Brochure. 

Magenta (Option 4/5AV1)

Magenta (Option 4/5AV1) would feature 7.2km (approx.) of new dual two-lane carriageway bypass located to the south of the existing A27. Starting in the east at Crossbush and ending just west of the existing B2132 Yapton Lane and Shellbridge Road junction. View our Magenta (Option 4/5AV1) Fly-though below. Key features can be found on pages 14 and 15 in our Consultation Brochure. 

Amber (Option 4/5AV2)

Amber (Option 4/5AV2) would feature 6.9km (approx.) of new dual two-lane carriageway located to the south of the existing A27. The proposed route would start in the east at Crossbush and would end just west of existing
B2132 at Yapton Lane and Shellbridge Road junction.  View our Amber (Option 4/5AV2) Fly-though below. Key features can be found on pages 14 and 15 in our Consultation Brochure. 

Grey (Option 5BV1)

Grey (Option 5BV1) would feature 8km (approx.) of new dual two-lane carriageway located to the south of the existing A27. The proposed route would start in the east at Crossbush and end east of the A27/ A29 Fontwell
(east) roundabout. View our Grey (Option 5BV1) Fly-though below. Key features can be found on pages 14 and 15 in our Consultation Brochure. 

Ford Road junction

We received feedback from our 2017 Options Consultation expressing interest in having a new junction with Ford Road. The options put forward in this further consultation do not feature such a junction, but we have not discounted this idea. The scheme design is flexible enough that each of the offline options could include a junction at Ford Road. As a result, this will be considered further during the next design stage, once we have identified a new preferred route. Please refer to our Interim Scheme Assessment Report (Interim SAR) for more information.

Walking, cycling and horse riding

Access would be maintained for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders across all six options, although some existing routes would need to be diverted. More detail can be found in the Interim Scheme Assessment Report (Interim SAR).

All options would support the local housing and employment growth strategies of the local authorities and cater for traffic growth until at least 2041. However, there are significant environmental constraints and national planning policy risks that affect all six options.

For further details on the process we followed to identify our options, please see the Interim Scheme Assessment Report (Interim SAR). More information on the longer history of the scheme dating back to the 1980s is also available in the Interim Scheme Assessment Report (Interim SAR) which is available below.

What happens next

All responses and comments received during the public consultation will be considered and summarised in our Public Consultation Report, which will be published on our scheme website. We will carefully consider the responses alongside several factors to determine our preferred route for the scheme.

Another opportunity to have your say

Following a Preferred Route Announcement, we will develop detailed proposals. This will include further surveys and investigations to allow us to design the scheme in more detail. There will be a further opportunity to have your say on the design of this preferred route during further public consultation prior to any application for consent.