A27 Arundel bypass scheme scrapped as part of government spending cuts
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The long-awaited A27 Arundel bypass project has been scrapped by the new Labour government as part of spending cuts. Chancellor Rachel Reeves[2] has confirmed the scheme will not go ahead after cancelling a GBP150million investment fund announced by the previous government, leading it as one of the major traffic bottlenecks of the south coast road. The chancellor has said ‘not a single project’ had been supported by the fund and it was being scrapped because ‘if we cannot afford it, we cannot do it’ – with the A303 Stonehenge tunnel and Restoring Our Railways scheme other casualties of the cuts.
The cancellation of the Arundel bypass project was widely expected, with Labour[3] having announced its plans before the July 4 general election.
In June, a spokesperson for the party described the scheme as offering ‘poor value for money’ and said the funding would instead be used to repair the country’s pothole-ridden roads. The A27 runs from Portsmouth to Prevensey in East Sussex, with Chichester and Arundel the main bottlenecks as works are ongoing to tackle the traffic issues around Worthing and Lancing. Conservative MP Andrew Griffith[4], who retained his Arundel & South Downs seat in the general election, reacted to the news with anger.
He said the bypass had been an ongoing project for National Highways[5] – which is responsible for England’s motorways and trunk roads – following years of consultation work, and that while it had been delayed for a year ‘for further important surveys’ it had always been fully costed and had an anticipated start date of next year.
Chichester is another A27 bottleneck
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.” The bypass scheme was not without its critics with some local residents in the area opposed to the route close to other nearby villages.
Other spending cuts announced today also include the only those receiving pension credit or certain other means-tested benefits will be eligible for the winter fuel payment. Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said: “The Chancellor has provided proof today that the Conservatives left a GBP22 billion black hole in the country’s finances and ran away from the problem. “Today the Chancellor showed that Labour will always be honest with Portsmouth people about the state of the public finances and the tough choices ahead.
“While difficult decisions have to be made, we will not backtrack on our manifesto commitments including our fiscal rules; the triple lock on pensions; and our commitment to not increase taxes on working people.”
References
- ^ Visit Shots! now (www.shotstv.com)
- ^ Rachel Reeves (www.portsmouth.co.uk)
- ^ Labour (www.portsmouth.co.uk)
- ^ Andrew Griffith (www.portsmouth.co.uk)
- ^ National Highways (www.portsmouth.co.uk)