Changes to road closures for Velo South Sussex are being considered

'˜Negotiations' are underway to examine whether roads on the Velo South route could be closed for a shorter period of time, the county council has confirmed.
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It follows ongoing strong objections from residents about the impact of road closures of up to nine hours on the 100-mile circuit around the Midhurst and Petworth area, with some now planning a protest.

In a tweet last week, the council published a map of the route for the event on September 23 stating it was ‘still negotiating to see if we can reopen certain sections earlier’.

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A West Sussex County Council spokesman added: “We continue to have discussions with CSM regarding options for closing some roads later and reopening roads sooner, as well as adding additional crossing points.

The route of Velo South SUS-180622-120207001The route of Velo South SUS-180622-120207001
The route of Velo South SUS-180622-120207001

“Local access plans are being sent out to parishes shortly and will be shared with the wider public at the end of the week to coincide with the next leaflet drop.”

A third leaflet drop from event organisers CSM Active was promised at an engagement meeting with parish representatives last month after complaints residents and businesses had not been adequately notified of the event.

At present, CSM Active has said the only vehicle crossing point in the circuit will be a manually controlled traffic light crossing on the A272 at Rogate.

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It comes as the Stop Velo South campaign launched a sign-up for a protest via its website www.stopvelo.com.

The website claims ‘a safe and legal walking protest’ is planned on the day.

At last month’s engagement meeting, parish representatives heard a temporary traffic regulation order from the county council would legally prevent motorised and equine traffic but allow cycle and pesdestrian use, with a caution to treat the road with the same due care as a normal open carriageway.

Cyclists would not be able to ‘join’ the event, which is sign-up only.

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