Lancing taxi driver devises bypass route for '˜nightmare' A27

Simon Cassidy, who lives in Orchard Avenue, Lancing, and runs a taxi business called Shoreham Airport Cabs with his wife, hopes to build support for his ‘common sense’ design among residents and councillors.

The 41-year-old said: “The whole stretch in Adur and Worthing is a nightmare.

“It’s quite a touchy subject for people in Adur and Worthing, especially with the proposed New Monks Farm development with 600 homes and an IKEA, and more development at the Ropetackle in Shoreham.”

His scheme starts at the Shoreham flyover, from which he would widen and straighten the A283 Steyning bypass through Steyning to Washington. From there, a new road would run parallel with the A24 towards Findon.

At Findon, a flyover would reach over the existing A24.

Long Furlong – which Simon said is one of the most dangerous roads in Sussex – would be widened and straightened, and vehicles would rejoin the existing A27 at Patching.

The new east and west route would add seven and a half miles to journeys and save half an hour, Mr Cassidy said, adding that only local residents would continue to use the existing A27. He said: “Everybody I have spoken to says what a great idea it is.”

He said he had ‘no idea’ how much his bypass would cost – but that it would ‘absolutely’ be worth it. “Invest some money to start with and in the long term it will be better for everyone,” he said.

But Mr Cassidy said his design had been dismissed by Tim Loughton MP, who said it would cut through the South Downs National Park.

However, Mr Cassidy insisted it would only cut into a piece of farmland by a maximum of 40 feet.

He said the A27 improvement solution put forward for consultation by Highways England was ‘not going to work’. “What you are doing is just covering up the situation temporarily and hoping for the best,” he said.

Highways England is currently analysing responses to the consultation, which it will publish in a report later this year or in early 2018.