Roadshow at 'wrong venue'

The public exhibition into a dual-carriageway between Southerham and Beddingham is being held at Ringmer Primary School between 3.30pm and 9pm today (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday) between 10am and 4pm.

Lewes MP Norman Baker this week said: 'It is wholly irresponsible of the Agency to hold the exhibition in a village primary school. There must better locations.

'It is typical that they should hold it in a place without railway connections. It must be held again this time in Lewes.'

A spokesman for the Friends of the Earth said: 'We are disappointed that this hugely damaging road scheme has been brought back again despite the Government cancelling previous proposals.

'As for the plans being on display in Ringmer, it just goes to show that the Highways Agency doesn't really want a public consultation on this scheme.

'It just wants to push it through without local people really knowing about it.'

It is far from obvious that the new road will achieve any useful purpose, says the A27 Action Group.

The Highways Agency claims that building a flyover across the railway crossing between Southerham and Beddingham will cut congestion and improve safety, but important questions remain unanswered about how they have reached their conclusions.

'We are apparently not the only ones to find these conclusions less than persuasive. The Highways Agency seems most reluctant to let the people of Lewes, who are most affected, know about these proposals, let alone make any contribution to the debate,' said Action Group spokesman Alan Chapman.

'The real interests of the Highways Agency is to move this project forward with undue haste while pretending that the people of Lewes, who will be most severely affected, have been fully involved in the decision-making process.

'The truth is that they are doing as little as possible while seeking to promote their pet project.'

A Highways Agency spokesman this week said it had been unable to find a suitable booking in Lewes.

l A Press preview of the project was being held yesterday (Thursday) at Anne of Cleves, Lewes.