I READ with interest the article on the proposed housing developments from Ferring to Littlehampton (Gazette, February 9).
I have been aware of these for some time, and while we are told we are powerless to stop the destruction of our rural communities, it is imperative we use our voices to make the powers-that-be aware of the devastation that will be wreaked on our villages and hamlets with the huge increase in traffic that will come with these vast developments.
I live in Lyminster, a hamlet between Arundel and Littlehampton. Our small community is already battling with the never-ending traffic that uses Lyminster Road to get from Littlehampton and the surrounding area to Arundel, and beyond to Portsmouth.
If I leave my house between 8am and 9am to get to the doctor’s in Arundel, for example, then I must prepare myself for at least a 40-minute trek. This is about a two-mile journey that would normally take around 10 minutes at most.
If the level crossing at Lyminster is closed, then the traffic can tail back as far as our road, Church Lane, and when the gates open it is impossible to get out of our road for the continuing trail of traffic.
If these developments have to be built, then please, please build the bypass first, so we can divert the juggernauts, lorries, delivery trucks, cars, etc., plus the extra domestic traffic these developments will certainly bring with them.
Lyminster, Crossbush and Wick seem to be non-existent as far as the politicians are concerned; and we certainly don’t seem to warrant any consideration regarding our quality of life.
I know for a fact that elsewhere in Sussex there have been bypasses promised that will ease traffic with new housing developments, and they have never materialised. People have just been left to cope with it.
Look how long Arundel has been waiting for its bypass – shelved time after time.
We are overcrowded as it is. If you must cram even more houses into our small area, please consider the infrastructure first, and the quality of life that the folk who have lived there for years have to endure.
Carol Hatton
Church Lane
Lyminster
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