West Sussex County Council has been waiting for two years for National Highways to release data needed for its Historic Environment Record.
The issue was raised by Trevor Bence (Reform UK, Fontwell) during a meeting of the full council.
It is a requirement of the National Planning Policy Framework that the record – known as HER – is kept up-to-date.
It allows users to determine how the landscape has changed over the years by using archaeological evidence and historic information.
HER is administered by the county council and is needed by all planning authorities.
But data collected by National Highways regarding the grey route option for the now scrapped Arundel bypass has still not been released.
Mr Bence said the council was given access to draft chapters in 2022, when some of the archaeological reports were considered to be complete, except for the final sign-off.
But the council is still waiting.
Quoting the county archaeologist, Mr Bence said: “The fieldwork generated a vast quantity of information, with significant and, in most cases, previously unknown and irreplaceable archaeology.”
The archaeology was recovered from 600 trial trenches.
He asked what was being done to stop National Highways – who he said had been ‘resistant and difficult to the council’s requests for the last 12 months’ – from preventing access to the complete catalogue of information.
Deborah Urquhart, cabinet member for environment & climate change, said it was important for future generations that archaeological findings were preserved.
She added: “The duty for local authorities is to maintain an historic environment record with up-to-date, publicly accessible information and is a requirement of the National Planning Policy Framework and the Levelling Up & Regeneration Act 2023.
“National Highways’ refusal to release these reports prevents us from fulfilling these statutory duties.”
She told the meeting that National Highways had been in touch and agreed to a meeting towards the end of this month to discuss their proposals and associated time-scales.
While hopeful of a resolution shortly, she pledged to write to the Secretary of State or the Prime Minister about the issue, if the need arose.
