Chichester A27 improvement scheme is cancelled

In a letter cancelling the whole scheme, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling blamed his decision on ‘the withdrawal of support by local councils for the shortlisted options and significant local campaigns’.

The extraordinary news comes just days before Highways England was due to announce its preferred route option.

Responding to the news, Chichester MP Andrew Tyrie said: ‘We have to try to persuade the Government eventually to return to this.

‘And before we do so, we have to find a solution that can unite the whole community.

‘None of Highways England’s schemes could achieve this. So they lost the confidence of the community.’

Mr Grayling added in his letter, dated yesterday, February 28, that the ‘delivery of the Arundel A27 bypass should proceed as planned’.