FAQs

The A24 between Worthing, Horsham and Dorking is an important route for access to jobs, education and services. It not only supports short-distance journeys near to the main settlements along the corridor but also longer-distance journeys across the area. The A24 also acts as an important alternative route to the M23/A23 and A3 corridors connecting south coast communities and rural parts of West Sussex and Surrey towards Gatwick Airport, the M25 and London.

The majority of journeys along the corridor are currently made by private cars and public transport use is low. This results in congestion, especially during peak times, which makes bus journeys longer and services unreliable. It also encourages rat running on rural and residential roads away from the A24. 

Congestion along the corridor is expected to worsen as new developments in the area come forward which may be exacerbated by an expansion of Gatwick Airport.

There are limited pedestrian and cycle facilities along the A24 corridor, including a lack of suitable crossings for different types of users. The facilities that do exist do not meet the latest design guidance along many sections of the route.

Road safety is also a problem, with some parts of the corridor having a high number and rate of collisions. Some of these have involved pedestrians and cyclists.

These issues limit the attractiveness of using public transport, cycling and walking, while also restricting access across the A24 for different user groups. These issues could be addressed by improvements along the corridor.

There are also environmental impacts associated with the A24 corridor including traffic emissions, noise, and wildlife disruption, while the A24 passes through protected landscapes including the South Downs National Park and the Surrey Hills National Landscape, and this needs to be taken into account as we develop any improvements.

The West Sussex Transport Plan (opens in new window) and Surrey Transport Plan (opens in new window) set out how the councils intend to address a number of challenges, including climate change, congestion, public health and road safety through improvements to the transport network.

Improvements to the A24 between Worthing, Horsham and Dorking would support the aims of both plans so we have been considering what potential measures could be put in place along the corridor.

The proposals aim to improve road safety and reduce congestion. The proposals also aim to make bus services more reliable and a more attractive transport choice, and provide improvements to make active travel a more comfortable, attractive, and safe option for journeys along and across the corridor. This could help reduce the number of car journeys, if more short distance trips are made by public transport, cycling and walking instead.

At this early stage a detailed cost estimate has not yet been produced. However, we expect costs to be in line with similar improvements being delivered around the country. Cost estimates will be prepared as part of the design process and shared during future consultations.

It is currently expected that the improvements would be funded largely using developer contributions and central Government grants that are intended for transport improvement schemes. In order to access central Government grants, it will be necessary to demonstrate in a business case that the proposals are deliverable and would provide good value for money.

Widening roads without also providing improvements to public transport, walking and cycling facilities has previously been shown to encourage more people to drive leading to congestion in the long-term. The West Sussex Transport Plan (opens in new window) and Surrey Transport Plan (opens in new window) both identify the need for improvements to highways, public transport and active travel facilities to tackle congestion in a way that is sustainable over the long-term. 

The potential improvements could include a range of measures to tackle congestion such as increasing the capacity of some junctions through traffic signals and/or additional approach lanes. However, we are also proposing improvements for other transport modes to provide alternative public transport, walking and cycling options for journeys where this is a realistic option.

Potential measures to support public transport could include implementing bus lanes, providing improved information and upgrading bus stop infrastructure, and these would aim to make bus journey times more competitive and bus services more reliable.

By providing improved facilities for walking and cycling, we aim to make active travel a more comfortable, attractive, and safe option for journeys along and across the A24.

To ease vehicle congestion along sections of the road we have considered building new stretches of road parallel to the existing A24. Initial work has indicated that the high cost and significant environmental impacts of these options means they are not currently deliverable.

Aside from the measures to improve the attractiveness of public transport, walking and cycling, the scheme could also include targeted measures to increase junction capacities, for example increasing the number of approach lanes and the introduction of traffic signals at key junctions to improve traffic flows at peak times.

Improvements to the A27/A24 Offington Roundabout are outside the scope of this engagement exercise as the A27 is part of the Strategic Road Network managed by National Highways.

The designs will be developed in accordance with the latest cycle design guidance (LTN 1/20) (opens in new window).

The proposals could include new bus lanes and traffic signals that prioritise buses at key junctions. This may support an increased frequency of bus services in the future.

The proposals will be expected to link to existing facilities, such as cycle lanes, footways and public rights of way along the corridor, including by considering potential new crossing improvements that can benefit pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders by providing a more joined-up network.

Information about both county council’s approaches to road maintenance is available at the following links: 

Better Roads - West Sussex County Council (opens in new window)

How we manage pothole repairs - Surrey County Council (opens in new window)

It is currently expected that any measures that form part of the scheme will be largely funded using central Government grants and developer funding that cannot be used for road maintenance.

Following the end of the engagement period, all responses will be analysed and used to help us decide the next steps for the proposals. If the proposals are taken forward, it will be necessary to undertake design, consultation on specific interventions and all relevant statutory processes, and develop business cases. We will publish an engagement report in due course to present the results of the analysis and show how the feedback has been considered.

The next steps for the proposals will be informed by the outcomes of this engagement period. Further design and consultation would be needed before any improvements could be constructed.  

Construction would be subject to a business case, all relevant statutory processes (e.g. planning) and securing central Government funding and developer contributions for delivery. Therefore, it is not possible to confirm a delivery timescale at this stage. The timescales are likely to vary depending on the scale of any measures that are brought forward, however, for larger scale measures it is likely to be several years before any construction could commence.

While specific proposals are not known at this stage, we are mindful that transport corridor improvements can sometimes have localised impacts on grass verges, vegetation and wildlife, as a result of any highway widening and lighting proposals. These impacts will be assessed in further detail as the designs develop, through detailed environmental assessment, including ecological impact assessments.

This is unknown at this early stage of the project. Before any construction on the proposals could start, Construction Management Plans would be developed to minimise the impact on the local community as much as possible. This will detail any necessary road closures or changes to access for public rights of way or footway and cycle path users, as well as diversion routes during construction. Further details of construction impacts will be made available during future consultations.

This public engagement is building on targeted engagement that we previously undertook with representatives of organisations along the A24 corridor which helped to understand some of the local issues, develop objectives and begin to flesh out the potential types of measures that could be brought forward. This is summarised in the A24 corridor stakeholder engagement summary (opens in new window). Through this public engagement exercise we hope to understand the views of the wider communities on some of the work completed to date, as well as understand any further comments from representatives of organisations.

You can either email any comments or questions to the team at LTP@westsussex.gov.uk or you can telephone 01243 642105. If you are deaf or hard of hearing hard and have a BT Relay UK app (opens in new window) installed on your PC, laptop or smartphone, you can contact us on 18001 01243 642105.

West Sussex County Council is coordinating this joint engagement covering the A24 from Worthing to Horsham and Dorking with Surrey County Council. Any queries specifically related to the section of the A24 in Surrey can be shared with colleagues at Surrey County Council to provide a response.