REGIONAL ASSEMBLY ASKS COUNTRYSIDE AGENCY TO DEFER CHANGES TO SOUTH DOWNS PLAN

THE SOUTH EAST ENGLAND REGIONAL ASSEMBLY’S PLANNING COMMITTEE HAS ASKED THE COUNTRYSIDE AGENCY to defer making premature amendments to the boundary of the proposed South Downs National Park. The Regional Assembly is gravely concerned that the Countryside Agency is considering including additional land around Arundel before the Secretary of State for Transport has considered alternative solutions to the traffic congestion on the A27.

The Committee recently wrote to Transport Minister Tony McNulty pressing him for a swift resolution of the bottleneck at Arundel following the rejection by the Secretary of State for Transport of the previous proposal for a bypass. The Committee strongly advises the Countryside Agency to postpone any consideration of an amendment to the proposed National Park boundary until the Highways Agency has completed its study and ministers haven taken a view.

The Highways Agency is carrying out research to review the options for addressing bottlenecks on the A27 at Chichester, Arundel, Worthing, Selmeston and Wilmington. This work is being undertaken in consultation with local authorities and the statutory environmental bodies. The Highways Agency is expecting to provide initial study results in spring 2004.

Councillor Keith Mitchell, Chairman of the Regional Planning Committee and Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: "It is premature for the Countryside Agency to consider amending its plans for the proposed South Downs National Park boundary when a study is being carried out to identify further options to address the congestion experienced by the residents of Arundel. Some means of removing this bottleneck is vital and the Agency is taking too narrow a view. We need to provide an efficient and sustainable infrastructure if the regeneration plans for the South Coast are to be successful."

Contact

Lesley van Dijk, PR Executive - 01483 555223

Alex Butlin, PR Executive - 01483 555221

Notes to editors:

1. The Regional Assembly is the “voluntary regional chamber” for the South East. It was established in January 1999 to give a representative voice to the South East region which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, and Surrey.
2. The Assembly is made up of 111 members including elected councillors nominated by the region’s local authorities and 37 representatives from other sectors of the community (including business, trades unions, education, housing, health, sports, culture, tourism, faith groups, environmental, community and voluntary organisations).
3. The Assembly has three areas of core business:
1. It is the representative voice of the South East, engaging and representing its member organisations and, through them, the wider public.
2. The Assembly has a specific role under the Regional Development Agencies' Act 1998 to ensure the accountability of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to the region.
3. The Assembly has been the Regional Planning Body for the South East since April 2001. It has responsibility for proposing strategic planning and transport policies to Government.

Last updated: 21 August 2007