Calls for 'immediate action' to fix major road

Calls have been made for a council to immediately fix a major A road in West Sussex following flooding.

The A264 at Colgate, between Bewbush Manor and the Kilnwood Vale roundabout, was partially shut on Thursday after it was hit by flooding, and single-lane closures and speed reductions were later implemented amid bad weather.

A petition had been signed by nearly 800 people calling for "immediate action" to fix the road and Horsham District Councillor Sam Raby said the disruption was having "huge knock-on consequences".

West Sussex County Council (WSCC) said it was working closely with landowners to identify the cause of the flooding and to resolve it as quickly as possible.

The council added: "If water levels rise, or circumstances change in a way that could compromise public safety, there may be the need to reinstate a full road closure."

Raby told the BBC residents of Kilnwood Vale were particularly affected as five-minute car journeys would potentially take up to an hour due to heavy traffic.

He said a short-term solution was to try and keep one lane open, however, the Liberal Democrat councillor added that a longer-term fix would be to prevent water getting onto the carriageway.

"That means there's probably going to need to be some engineering work, but that's obviously not a quick fix," he said.

Although the councilor added that work was not likely to be needed on the carriageway itself.

The A264 Crawley Road was also closed westbound because of flooding earlier in January.

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