1. It would ruin a beautiful area of the South Downs National Park where Binsted Woods (250 acres, ancient, broadleaved, huge, wonderful and mysterious) meet many tranquil footpaths leading through the rural landscape from coastal villages and towns.
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2. It would severely impact the very rich wildlife of Binsted Woods by separating the area's woodland from its wetland mosaic of habitats. Wildlife such as bats, of which there are 14 species in the area, regularly travel and forage across the route.
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3. It would destroy the area's historic cultural heritage, both archaeological as in bronze and iron age features, ancient as in the 12th-century Binsted Church over which it lowers on a viaduct that's just a few metres away among 10 other listed buildings, and bringing an end to traditional village life in this farming landscape.
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4. It would cause the present good recreation and learning activities in the area to cease, such as the Binsted Arts Festival, and the Binsted Strawberry Fair (an event that has raised £100,000 over 30 years for charities and the fabric of the church).
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5. It would put an end to the present wildlife surveys and education/volunteering activities provided in this area by the Mid Arun Valley Environmental Survey group, Arun Countryside Trust CIO.
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6. It would destroy a much-needed ‘green lung’ near the crowded Sussex Coastal Plain which is rapidly changing with more and more housing development so will need it more than ever.
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7. It is the wrong solution to Arundel’s traffic problems which need a holistic approach with improved public transport and better facilities for non-motorised users.
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8. It is money thrown away at great environmental cost, as reports have shown that new roads soon become congested.
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9. It would attract more traffic to this section of the A27 which would cause even greater traffic jams at Chichester to the west and Worthing to the east. Chichester recently lost its bypass improvement scheme due to lack of agreement and Worthing has a scheme simply to improve junctions and add traffic lights.
10. It was promoted by Highways England with a biased consultation full of errors, which nowhere made clear the damage to Binsted Village or the environment.
11. The carbon footprint of construction alone should be unacceptable in its impacts on the climate and ecological emergency, let alone the ongoing climate impact from facilitating and encouraging drivers to commute and shop regularly across longer distances.
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For more info see:
www.arundelbypass.co.uk
www.binsted.org
www.maves.org.uk
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Make your views known to Highways England on www.highwaysengland.citizenspace.com/he/a27-arundel-bypass or email them on a27arundelbypass@highwaysengland.co.uk