Noting various constraints along the corridor, the study recommended that a shared pedestrian/cycle path would meet the core design principles of safety, directness, coherence, comfort and attractiveness, and could be delivered using the land available within the highway boundary. Funding has been allocated to develop this solution further.

The differing rural/urban characteristics of the corridor and the provision of a consistent standard means Highways England cannot provide a segregated route without significant changes to the road layout or the purchase of additional land. Both of these constraints are currently outside of this project’s remit.

Highways England are currently procuring a delivery partner to take the project forward. This commission consists of further data gathering, early engagement with interested parties, a review of the recommended solution against the recently published design guidance and production of a preliminary design. We currently anticipate that this stage of the project will commence during Autumn 2020.

We have received significant interest on the proposals published to date. We will be engaging with interested parties at key stages throughout the project’s development.

Should you or your interest group wish to be included in the list of such parties, please let us know by emailing: A27DesignatedFunds@highwaysengland.co.uk.

Highways England

West Sussex County Council

Chichester District Council

August, 2020.