Archived press release

Controversial link road could be highly damaging to regeneration of hastings

24 November 2004

An independent report published today (Weds 24 Nov) says the proposed Bexhill to Hastings link road and associated business park could be "highly damaging" to the regeneration of the local area.[1]

The Government is deciding whether to give East Sussex County Council £47m to build the link road, which the county council claims is essential to the regeneration of Hastings and Bexhill. [2]

An independent report commissioned by the Hastings Alliance [3] has identified that the proposed link road and resulting business park would move business and employment out of the heart of the local area rather than creating new jobs. Instead of helping Hastings the link road would result in job losses and more traffic.

The report states:

"The regeneration argument for the link road rests primarily upon the opening up of land for a proposed high-quality business park in north Bexhill. However, this would require inward investment, for which there are many more attractive locations in the region: market demand in the Hastings area would be weak regardless of the link road. There is other land suitable for expansion of local businesses, and ample capacity for planned housing can be provided without the road."

The report describes what would actually happen with the link road:

"If the link road is provided and substantial (public) resources also expended on site assembly, preparation and enticement of investors, weak external demand will lead to pressure to develop piecemeal in response to more local demand. In this case the effect will be simply to displace to the business park demand which could have been met by the wide range of existing sites within the urban areas, with no net gain of jobs. The quality aspirations of the local development plan would be unlikely to be met, but the level of car-dependency would be increased."

While not supporting the link road and associated business park, the report does endorse the Hastings and Bexhill Task Force's general approach to regenerating the area, summarised as "growing the existing manufacturing base and building on potential strengths in knowledge-based industries and tourism". The real transport priorities to help deliver this approach are identified, including crucially "demand management to prevent future traffic growth from undermining essential attractions and to raise money towards transport and environmental improvements".

Commenting on the report, Brenda Pollack of Friends of the Earth said:

"The link road is very similar to the rejected western bypass, and suffers from the same basic defect - it would be bad for the environment while doing nothing for the local economy. This report confirms our view that the road would bring much pain for zero gain."

Derrick Coffee of East Sussex Transport 2000 said:

"The county council should give up its fantasy of inward investment saving Hastings, drop the link road, and devote all its energy to the sustainable regeneration of the area."

The Hastings Alliance has asked the Government to take the report into account in deciding whether to fund the link road.

Notes

1. "Bexhill to Hastings Link Road - Regeneration Issues", Urban and Regional Policy. August 2004. Urban & Regional Policy was commissioned by East Sussex Transport 2000 to examine the economic regeneration case for the Bexhill to Hastings Link Road (BHLR) and to consider alternatives. It is based upon a review of key reports on transport and regeneration over the last four years, since the emergence of the Access to Hastings Multi-modal Study, including East Sussex County Council's bid for funding from July 2004.

Urban & Regional Policy is the practice of Alan Wenban-Smith as an independent consultant. Established in 1996, it specialises in linking urban and regional economic, spatial and transport policies. Recent projects (independent and in collaboration with other firms) include a study of the integration of regional transport with spatial strategies for DfT, the establishment of a regional intelligence Observatory for the West Midlands Regional Development Agency and the production of Regional Planning Guidance and Transport Strategy for the Yorkshire & Humber Regional Assembly.

Alan Wenban-Smith was previously responsible for planning and transport policy for Birmingham City Council. In this capacity he led Birmingham's first Unitary Development Plan, its first Economic Strategy and the policy direction of the Inner City Partnership. He also chaired West Midlands planning, transport and economic development advisers groups at both regional and Metropolitan levels, leading the first Metropolitan Transport `Packages', Regional Planning Guidance and the first integrated Regional Transport Strategy. He writes and speaks on planning, housing and transport issues, has been a witness and an adviser to Commons Select Committees, Visiting Professor of Planning at Newcastle University and an External Research Adviser to the Transport Department.

2. The Government will announce its decision about the funding for this scheme in December. A briefing giving the background to the scheme is available here. (PDF format)

3. The Hastings Alliance was set up in 2000 in order to stop the proposals to build two bypasses around Hastings and to campaign for sustainable regeneration in the area. Its members are:

National: Council for National Parks, Campaign to Protect Rural England, Cyclists Touring Club, Friends of the Earth, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Wildlife Trusts, Transport 2000, Sustrans, UK Rivers Network, WWF - UK, Woodland Trust.

Hastings, Kent and Sussex: A27 Action Group, Brighton & Hove & Mid-Sussex FoE, CPRE - Sussex Branch, East Sussex Transport 2000, Friends of the Brede Valley, Hastings FoE, Hastings Open Technology, Hastings Urban Wildlife Group, Lewes District FoE, RailFuture Coastway Group, Rother Environmental Group, Sussex SERA , Sussex Wildlife Trust, Wishing Tree Residents Association

4. Bexhill to Hastings Link Road – regeneration issues (PDF† format) - Final Report to East Sussex Transport 2000 - August 2004

†To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust