Speaking about the letter he received from the Transport Department, Andrew Tyrie MP, has said:
“This is a disappointing response from the Minister for thousands of my constituents, for whom the A27 is at best a bugbear, and at worst a nightmare.”
“I will keep at it. People should be able to get to work on time. Those who live in the Manhood Peninsula should not be cut off two times a day by congestion. Hundreds of local businesses need these improvements to thrive.”
On the 8th May 2012, Mike Penning, the Roads Minister, announced that development work will start on six major road schemes across the country. The A27 at Chichester was not one of those roads schemes selected. This means that the necessary development work may not be carried out in time for delivery after 2015.
Having raised the issue with Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for Transport, Andrew Tyrie received a written response from the Department.
The letter said that the Government considered a range of factors when making a decision about which road schemes would be developed further, including value for money, the wider contribution it would make to the local economy, and the ability to be delivered in the early years of the spending review period.
Despite the strong belief that the A27 proposals satisfied these criteria, the Minister said it was not possible at this time to give the go ahead to the development.
The Minister did not rule out the development of further proposals for the A27 altogether, and said that it was still a good scheme which would address problems on the strategic road network.