'˜Grayling is public enemy number one after cancelling A27 scheme'

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has been branded '˜public enemy number one in West Sussex' due to his decision to cancel the A27 Chichester scheme and his handling of the Southern rail crisis.

The decision earlier this month to pull funding was blamed on ‘the withdrawal of support by local councils for the shortlisted options and significant local campaigns’.

Since then a community-led campaign to Build a Better A27 has been launched, bringing together elected representatives, campaigners, and business leaders to discuss a positive way forward.

Labour county councillors suggested Prime Minister Theresa May should sack Mr Grayling as he had ‘walked away and washed his hands of the whole situation leaving us all in limbo’, according to Labour group leader Sue Mullins (Lab, Gossops Green and Ifield East) at last Friday’s Full Council meeting.

Michael Jones (Lab, Southgate and Crawley Central) called Mr Grayling a ‘terrible’ transport secretary and labelled him ‘West Sussex public enemy number one’.

Meanwhile on the Tory benches Bill Acraman (Con, Worth Forest) said: “I do not think Chris Grayling has come out of this very well.”

Two amended motions were approved by West Sussex county councillors supporting the county council leader’s decision to lobby Mr Grayling to reinstate the funding for the A27 Chichester scheme and to initiate the Build a Better A27 workshops to unite communities and assess the correct options.

But a UKIP call to commission an independent review to assess the correct options for the A27 at Chichester was defeated.

One of the motions also asked leader Louise Goldsmith to seek reassurance from the transport secretary that projects for the A27 improvements at Arundel and Worthing/Lancing were not affected and there would not be a repetition ‘of the flawed consultation that happened in 2016’.

Bob Lanzer (Con, Maidenbower), cabinet member for highways and transport, said there was a strong public perception that he two northern options had been withdrawn from the consultation by Highways England ‘without adequate justification’.

He argued the way forward was to seek unity and present a compelling case to invest in the A27 around Chichester, adding: “I do not believe we have done anything wrong here. I think we have reflected the views locallly for the people who said ‘none of the above’.”