Enhancement of Midhurst under threat if town doen't unite

More than 50 people turned out to show their concerns about the West Sussex County Council scheme at the North Chichester County Local Committee in Petworth.

And chairman Nola Hendon told them, after hearing all the concerns, the committee was deferring a decision on whether to go ahead and advertise the scheme until their next meeting on March 23.

The Town Trust has been granted £200,000 towards the scheme from the Monument Trust, and WSCC agreed to match the funding so it could proceed. But there is a ‘use it or lose it’ concern over the grant and both chairman of Midhurst Town Council John Etherington and clerk to the Town Trust Tim Rudwick wanted assurances WSCC funding was still on the table.

Chief highways officer Steve Johnson told them: “We are proposing finance in next year’s (2011 to 2012) capital works programme, but as we have heard tonight there is a great deal of debate and differing views and if they cannot be pulled together into a composite plan it will be very difficult to deliver a scheme that addresses the wishes of everyone.”

He said it was a comprehensive scheme which included signing, surfacing and traffic regulation orders: “But if the public and the residents in the area cannot settle on a scheme I don’t know if we will be able to deliver it.”

The enhancement scheme was born out of a report commissioned by the town council and the town trust several years ago.

It includes a ban on heavy lorries with width restrictions in Chichester Road, West Street, Knockhundred Row and Selham Road except for access.

It also includes a short one-way system in West Street between the Spread Eagle Hotel delivery access and Red Lion Street and a contra-flow cycle lane.

There is a ‘no left’ proposal from West Street into Red Lion Street to protect historic buildings from being damaged by vehicles.

Speaking for MOTRA, the Midhurst Old Town Residents and Business Association, David Duncan said members believed a ban on all vehicles to the area, except for access, should be considered.

He said they did not think the one-way would protect historic buildings, but rather, it would cause unnecessary congestion in other parts of Midhurst.

He also asked for long-term parking for residents in the Edinburgh Square and Sheep Street area.

Mike Thomas, chairman of West Lavington parish council said the one-way system in West Street impacted on several villages where it was used as the main access to Midhurst and would cause longer journeys.

He was also worried about the loss of parking space which would impact on what was ‘already a very fragile economy’.

West Street retailer Geoff Allnutt thought the one-way system would be a ‘disaster’ and church warden Paul Legrave asked officers to look again at the car parking space in the scheme.