I had a very busy constituency Friday dealing with everything from Lancing sewage spills to restrictions on catching Sea Bass and the UK Youth Parliament’s anti-racism campaign. That’s just the way I like it.
Yet again North Lancing just south of the A27 has been hit by over spilling drains causing flooding on and around Grinstead Lane disrupting traffic and residents for 3 weeks. Despite all the work we did on clearing out drainage ditches and my flooding ‘summit’ bringing all the relevant agencies together 3 years ago it still needed Southern Water tankers to pump away surface water around the clock. Looks like I need to be back on the case again to bring everyone together for a more sustainable solution.
I then paid a very useful visit to the Sussex Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authority (IFCA) which is based at Shoreham with my Lewes parliamentary colleague Maria Caulfield. With all the problems affecting fishermen I was keen to find out how new proposals to require permits for lobster, whelk and cuttlefish will effect local boat operators as well as the Draconian EU measures banning all Sea Bass fishing with nets or line. Maria and I have posted a podcast account of our visit on my website and Facebook page.
On Thursday evening I attended a really helpful meeting of the local A27 Action Group ably chaired as always by Major Tom Wye with a presentation from local Highways England boss Peter Philipps. We now have a useful timeline of likely action and as anticipated the next news will not be until the end of the year when the ‘Options Identification’ phase is complete and the various proposals can be consulted on. That is when the local Action Group can really click into action and try to form a consensus around the most practical solution.
Peter reiterated that they have been tasked with coming up with a full dualling option and they are 80% the way there. There were some 24 people at the meeting representing local councils, businesses and residents group who should be disseminating information about the project. Minutes will be available soon and I have posted an account together with the useful timeline chart on my website again.