Improving transport options between Chichester and Bognor Regis

We are working to improve the transport network across West Sussex. By making it safer, easier and more convenient to walk, cycle and use public transport, we can help to create more pleasant places in which to live, work, travel to school and do business.

We are consulting on proposals for transport improvements between Chichester and Bognor Regis, which have been developed as part of our transport strategy for the area.

The route has been identified as it is well used by local communities for short trips to access education, jobs, and services. A high proportion of these journeys are currently made by private car leading to congestion especially during peak times, which makes bus journeys longer and services unreliable.

Facilities for walking and cycling are not joined-up, and the facilities that do exist do not meet the latest design guidance along many sections of the route.

These issues limit the attractiveness of public transport, cycling and walking, and there are opportunities for improvements that will benefit all road users. The proposals are part of a wider strategy that also includes improving the performance of the A27 and supporting the transition to electric vehicles.

You can comment on the proposals by completing our survey, which is available at the bottom of this webpage. The consultation is open until Monday 11th November 2024.

Developing the proposals

The West Sussex Transport Plan 2022 – 2036 (opens in new window) is the County Council's plan to improve the transport network in West Sussex. The plan aims to address a number of challenges, including climate change, congestion, public health and road safety. Its priorities for the Chichester and Arun areas include improvements to the A259, rail and bus services, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and facilities for walking and cycling.

Initial engagement

We undertook initial engagement in Spring 2024 when we presented our early ideas for this scheme. The feedback from this exercise showed that although the majority of respondents (61%) indicated that they supported the proposals for the A259 Chichester to Bognor Regis scheme, a smaller proportion (27%) of respondents indicated that they opposed the proposals and expressed a range of concerns. We have used this feedback to help develop our proposals for the scheme.

Please refer to the Stage 1 Engagement Report (opens in new window) for more detail.

Our aims

The scheme aims to improve road safety and reduce congestion. The scheme also aims to make local bus services more reliable and a more attractive transport choice, and make active travel a more realistic, attractive, and safe option for journeys along the corridor. This could lead to a reduction in short-distance car journeys, if more journeys are made by public transport, cycling and walking.

Our proposals have taken account of the needs of all road users, whether their journeys are for commuting, business or leisure.

The proposals

The scheme would provide improvements on the A259 corridor between its junctions with A27 at Chichester and Charles Purley Way (Felpham Relief Road) junction (and north to Shripney Lane).

The proposals include junction improvements to improve safety for all users and reduce congestion at the A259 Bognor Rd/Drayton Lane junction and the introduction of traffic signals to manage conflicting traffic flows at the A259 Chichester Rd/A259 Gladius Way junction.

The proposals include providing bus lanes on approaches to the A259/A27 Bognor Road, A259/B2144 Drayton Lane, A259/B2259 Chichester Road/Gladius Way, A259/A29 Oldlands Way and A259/A29 Shripney Road junctions and bus gates where buses receive their own signal to give them priority over other traffic, at the A259/A27 Bognor Road and A259/A29 Oldlands Way junctions.

The proposals include improvements to bus stops along the corridor such as new shelters, electronic real time information displays and better access paths and crossings.

The proposals also include two-way segregated cycle tracks alongside separate footways, new signal-controlled crossings, and safer side road crossing points for pedestrians and cyclists. Where space is limited, in order to provide a continuous route, some sections of shared use (i.e. walk/cycle) paths and some sections of on-carriageway route via less busy roads, are also proposed.

Please see the accompanying route maps (opens in new window) for more information about the scheme.

A scheme summary route description (opens in new window) is also available.

An artist impression showing two-way segregated footway/cycle way as well as bus and traffic lanes on the A259 westbound approach to the A259/B2144 Drayton Lane roundabout

An artist impression showing 'parallel' pedestrian and two-way cycleway priority crossing with yellow flashing beacons across the western arm of the A259 Rowan Way/Gladius Way roundabout

Funding & implementation

The scheme is not fully funded at this time, but we are preparing the proposals in readiness for future funding opportunities. The scheme is expected to be funded using developer contributions and central Government grants that can only be used for schemes such as this. The scheme is at an early stage of development, so it is expected to be several years before construction could commence. Your feedback will help us to develop the design and business case for the scheme.

If insufficient funding is available to construct the whole scheme, then it may be the case that a priority area needs to be identified for delivery. A question is included within the consultation survey about which areas of the scheme are considered to be most important, and this information will be used to inform next steps for the scheme.

Have your say

We are holding two drop-in events so that you can view our proposals for the scheme and speak to members of the project team:

• Wednesday 16 October: Bersted Park Community Centre, Lakeland Ave, Bognor Regis, PO21 5FF, from 2pm to 6pm
• Monday 21 October: North Mundham Village Hall, School Lane, Chichester, PO20 1LA, from 3:30pm to 7:30pm

We would love to hear what you think of our proposals to improve the transport network between Chichester and Bognor Regis, so please complete our survey (opens in new window). The consultation is open until 11:55pm on Monday 11 November 2024.

Next steps

Following the close of the consultation, all responses will be analysed and used to help us decide the next steps for the scheme. If the scheme is taken forward, it will be necessary to develop a business case and undertake design, further consultation and all relevant statutory processes. We will publish a consultation report in due course to present the results of the analysis and show how the feedback has been considered.

Alternative formats and accessibility

If you require any of this information in an alternative format, then please contact us via email at LTP@westsussex.gov.uk or by telephone on 01243 642105 and we will do our best to assist you. If you are deaf or hard of hearing and have an NGT texting app installed on your computer, laptop or smartphone, you can contact us on 18001 01243 642105.

Please note, you can use the Google Translate function to access this project in a range of different languages. The Google Translate widget can be found at the top left-hand side of the project page, where it sits just above the black West Sussex County Council ribbon.

For more information about the accessibility of this website, please see our Accessibility tab (opens in new window) at the foot of the page.

Non-accessible content

Public facing maps and technical drawings - additional text has been provided within the scheme summary document to aid understanding.