Hastings presents the Government with a classic dilemma of employment against the environment which is hard to solve.

Here is one of the poorest towns in the South-East, hampered from being able to expand by rotten road and rail communications.

It's easy and uncontroversial to improve rail links and this is being suggested in the Access To Hastings study.

But if the eastern bypass is built, it will pass through an area of outstanding natural beauty of the kind the Government says should be preserved. The western bypass would be no good without the eastern one as well.

The report doesn't recommend whether or not this controversial road should be built, leaving it up to the Department of the Environment.

Business leaders say it's vital to boost Hastings' prospects. Green campaigners say it will ruin the countryside and draw in more traffic. The answer may be to take heed of what many European towns have done in similar circumstances and put the road through a toll tunnel.

Most of the countryside can then be saved while access to Hastings by road will also be considerably improved.

Tunnels are also the only possible solution at Worthing where there's a similar dilemma. Running roads through beautiful downland is not acceptable these days but neither is allowing economies to stagnate through poor road access.