§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he has received from East Sussex county council a map detailing a possible route for the A27 dual carriageway from Lewes to Polegate; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he will make it his policy that any scheme brought forward to dual the A27 from Lewes to Polegate will take into full account the landmark of Mount Caburn, and the views therefrom, and from Firle Beacon;
(3) if he will make it his policy that any scheme brought forward to dual the A27 from Lewes to Polegate will bypass Wilmington rather than dualling the present road.
§ Mr. AtkinsThis scheme was admitted to the trunk road programme in May 1989 following a confidential scheme identification study undertaken for the Department by East Sussex county council. This study recommended the improvements to dual carriageway standards of the A27 between Lewes and Polegate, and identified one possible option.
Design agents are to be appointed very shortly to investigate and prepare proposals for the improvement. They will identify and evaluate all feasible route options for the scheme, including combinations of on-line and off-line solutions, on which to consult the public. Their brief will include a requirement for environmental and landscape assessments of the alternatives identified. It is too soon, therefore, to predict what route the improvement might follow or how villages along the existing A27 might be placed in relation to it.