Campaigners against the A27 Arundel Bypass grey route gathered to sing carols in Walberton

Villagers and supporters of the ‘Say No to Grey’ campaign, from Walberton and Binsted, braved the extreme cold to gather outside Walberton Pavilion at 11am on Saturday December 10, singing carols that demonstrated the strength of their feelings, whilst residents were inside questioning the National Highways staff.

The huge wave of protest to the National Highways (NH) Consultation earlier this year forced NH to think again, in an attempt to address the increase in traffic through Walberton and Fontwell and the danger to bats and their roosts at Tye Lane and in Binsted Valley.

Glenn Stone, secretary for the trustees of Walberton Village Hall said: "Residents are very angry that the bypass will bring increased traffic and pollution to Walberton and Fontwell. The Village Hall is centrally located in a community whose peace will soon be disturbed by this deeply flawed bypass design."

Walberton is one of four villages that will be severely affected by the Arundel Bypass. Campaigners say the mitigations put forward by National Highways in their supplementary consultation documents are flawed because:

• The declared nine-minute saving should be strongly challenged because the congestion at Crossbush will simply move to Fontwell. Traffic will grind to a halt at two new sets of traffic lights at both Fontwell East and Fontwell West roundabouts forcing rat running through Fontwell, Walberton and Slindon.• National Highways admit that the scheme will still cause hugely increased traffic on many roads in Walberton village (estimated as an increase of 800 cars on some roads) - entirely contrary to the aims of the Scheme, stated in 2019, of "freeing Arundel town and neighbouring communities from congestion" and leading to the opposite of making it easier to get around on foot or by bike as claimed by NH (p7 of their documents).• The arrangements that they put forward for bat bridges and roosts are unproven, highly unsatisfactory and unacceptable. When questioned the bat ‘expert’ from NH could only cite one study from 2015 that showed these worked, whereas there are numerous studies that show they don’t work.• NH still won’t confirm the cost of this project, but most estimates put it at over £500 million. Cancelling expensive, low or no value new roads would put money back into the nation's budget.• Only seven per cent of people supported the Grey Route at the first consultation.• There is an alternative - www.arundelalternative.co.uk - unfairly dismissed by National Highways.

Campaigners said: “It is not too late to stop the Grey route. There is a viable, cheaper, less destructive alternative if government and planners could be persuaded to look at the plan again.”

James,9, said: “Binsted, Walberton and Tortington are lovely places and we want them to stay that way. Building new roads just means more and more cars will come.”

Nicko, 9, added: “The Arundel Bypass will make more greenhouse gases, it’s a bad idea.”

WAYS TO RESPONDOnline: www.nationalhighways.co.uk/a27arundel - look for Take Part in our Additional Consultation and scroll down until you find Online Survey and follow the instructions.Email: [email protected]: Pick Up a form from Walberton Parish Office (Tues & Thurs 9am to noon), Arundel Town Hall Mon-Fri 9am to 1pm, Fontwell Racecourse Mon to Fri 9am to 5pm, fill it in and post FREEPOST A27 ARUNDELAttend one of the consultation events, pick up a form and post as above.