Arundel by-pass is on - but not until 2016-2026!

West Sussex County Council has been told that the bypass will be recommended for inclusion in the national roads programme for 2016-2026 at a meeting of the regional transport board next Friday, October 27.

Lt Col Tex Pemberton, West Sussex cabinet member for highways and transport, said the council was making significant progress in its campaign to get a number of badly-needed road improvement schemes on the national agenda.

"There is still work to do to ensure these recommendations are accepted at the regional transport board meeting," he said, "and I will not let up the pressure to win funding for these badly-needed improvements."

Lt Col Pemberton said he had been promised a meeting with the transport minister Stephen Ladyman and vowed to press him to allow further work to take place so that the Arundel bypass and other schemes can be started sooner within the 2016-2026 programme.

"Our residents need no reminding of the problems that congestion and pollution are having in these areas or the rat-running that is taking place on unsuitable rural roads as drivers try to avoid the A27," he said.

The scheme was put on hold around two years ago while an assessment of the route was ordered by the government to look for alternative ways of making the new road less damaging to the environment.

Campaigners have pointed out that the bypass would have a major impact on the water meadows of the Arun valley at Arundel and the ancient Binsted Wood.

Arundel mayor, Colin Heriot, said: "We have been fighting for the bypass for a long time and on a number of occasions, the government has withdrawn it at the last minute.

"It has been a major problem for Arundel and looks as if it will continue to be for some time yet."