It was with great disappointment that I recently received a letter from Baroness Vere of Norbiton, Transport Minister for Roads Buses and Places, advising me that the proposed M23/A23 Hooley Interchange Project (known as project Dj) had not been selected as one of the road infrastructure projects that were given the go-ahead in the Government’s Road Investment Strategy 2 (RIS2) which covers the period from 2020-2025.
I have been working with Highways England, The Department for Transport DfT, and local community groups in Hooley to get this project funded since I became the MP for Reigate in 1997, and it has been in the pipeline since 1988.
There is an urgent need to address the unsatisfactory traffic flow solution that was left when the M23 extension further into London was abandoned in the 1980s, leaving a congested intersection where the A23 and M23 merge just south of Hooley. Furthermore, the existing road layout means that traffic travelling south along the A23, wishing to enter the motorway system is either obliged to make a dangerous, but legal, U-Turn at Dean Lane which causes congestion and risk to southbound traffic, or drive west on already congested urban roads to M25 Junction 8, north of Reigate.
The failure to include this project is an extreme disappointment in view of the fact that the project was shortlisted for RIS2 and much lobbying was done to press for its inclusion in view of the length of time it has taken for the DfT to make any attempt to address this key failing in the major southerly radial roadway from London to Gatwick Airport and the south coast.
This blow falls only months after Highways England decided to postpone a road improvement project on the A23 through Hooley, a village that already suffers from some of the highest road traffic pollution levels in Surrey.
Needless to say, I will be making my concerns about this omission in our strategic road strategy to the Department for Transport, and also calling a meeting with Highways England to discuss how we can find other roads-funding to implement alternative and cheaper ways of addressing the congestion, pollution, and road safety problems in Hooley Village. Unfortunately, the capacity for significant improvement is now compromised by the absence of any plans for a fit-for-purpose roundabout interchange, so any improvements will be a compromise solution.
This decision, re-affirms my ongoing concerns that Gatwick Airport’s expansion plans are completely incompatible with local ground transport infrastructure.