Campaigners fail in bid to stall Hastings-Bexhill link road (From The Argus)
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Campaigners fail in bid to stall Hastings-Bexhill link road
4:04pm Friday 5th October 2012 in News
Campaigners have failed in attempts to block a new £94 million road.
Groups have been fighting for 17 years to protect Combe Haven valley from the planned Hastings to Bexhill link road.
However, an application to the High Court for a judicial review of the decision to approve the scheme was rejected yesterday.
Nick Bingham, chairman of the Hastings Alliance, said: “We remain convinced that this costly, unsustainable and damaging scheme, to be funded by taxpayers, is not the answer to the problems in Bexhill and Hastings, and that alternatives have not been fully and properly examined
“We will now consider our position and examine very carefully further options.”
Government funding of £56 million was allocated to the scheme earlier this year with East Sussex County Council contributing the rest.
Last month the local authority was given Whitehall permission to start buying up land under compulsory purchase orders.
Council leader Peter Jones said it would bring economic benefits valued at £1 billion, including up to 2,000 homes, 3,000 new jobs and 50,000 square metres of business park space.
He said: “We're delighted by today's decision and that the High Court has recognised there was no basis for this legal challenge.
“It means we can now get on and really make a positive difference to the most deprived local economy in the South East.
“This road is absolutely crucial to the regeneration of Hastings and Bexhill for people and businesses.
“It'll bring better access to jobs; opportunities for housing and business development; and fewer cars using roads that aren't suitable for them.”
Comments(8)
Jimmy Stewart's Imaginary Rabbit
says...
4:27pm Fri 5 Oct 12
PETE OF QUEENS PARK wrote:Agreed. New investment for East Sussex (which is sorely needed) and people complain: "Yes we want investment and jobs - but not that investment or those jobs." There was a similar view on here earlier in the week about the potential wind farm at Newhaven harbour.
About time to,this argument has been going on for years and the cost rising 10 fold because a few loonies do not want a new road,had the same problem with the Brighton bypass but it all died a natual death and I expect the ones who did not want it use it every day
BrightonArchitect
says...
8:17pm Fri 5 Oct 12
BrightonArchitect
says...
8:17pm Fri 5 Oct 12
HJarrs
says...
8:37pm Fri 5 Oct 12
PETE OF QUEENS PARK wrote:The Hastings Bypass is typical one dimensional thinking. The original £200 million scheme was knocked back but that money was not given to alternatives, rather Hastings has been purposely left to rot until resurecting another similar scheme.
About time to,this argument has been going on for years and the cost rising 10 fold because a few loonies do not want a new road,had the same problem with the Brighton bypass but it all died a natual death and I expect the ones who did not want it use it every day
Like the Brighton Bypass mentioned above, it cut a gash across a stunning landscape doing little but to encourage even more traffic onto the roads.
Alternatives such as the electrification of the railway to Ashford and a more intensive railway service have not been seriously explored. £90 million could also have been used to create a lot of infrastructure other than roads for private vehicles.
Once this road is build there will be a clamour for more. In 20 years we will be building the Hastings Bypass Bypass!
spencer1973
says...
7:33am Sat 6 Oct 12
Jimmy Stewart's Imaginary Rabbit
says...
8:19am Sat 6 Oct 12
HJarrs wrote:No the Brighton bypass did not cut a gash across stunning landscape'! It was largely built through industrial farmland and the only section that may have been worth preserving, the Beech wood at Stanmer, was flattened by the Great Gale in 1987. And, to link this with another Argus story, what do you think the Vogue gyratory would be like now if all the east/west traffic was still being funnled through the centre of Brighton?
PETE OF QUEENS PARK wrote:The Hastings Bypass is typical one dimensional thinking. The original £200 million scheme was knocked back but that money was not given to alternatives, rather Hastings has been purposely left to rot until resurecting another similar scheme.
About time to,this argument has been going on for years and the cost rising 10 fold because a few loonies do not want a new road,had the same problem with the Brighton bypass but it all died a natual death and I expect the ones who did not want it use it every day
Like the Brighton Bypass mentioned above, it cut a gash across a stunning landscape doing little but to encourage even more traffic onto the roads.
Alternatives such as the electrification of the railway to Ashford and a more intensive railway service have not been seriously explored. £90 million could also have been used to create a lot of infrastructure other than roads for private vehicles.
Once this road is build there will be a clamour for more. In 20 years we will be building the Hastings Bypass Bypass!
Rail and road investment are not mutually exclusive (they're different budgets for one thing), so your view on the Ashford line is correct, but modern, overcrowded south east England needs all the transport infrastructure it can get.
F in L
says...
7:57am Mon 8 Oct 12
Jimmy Stewart's Imaginary Rabbit wrote:I could not agree with you more. Sussex has appalling roads and infrastructure and needs dozens of more schemes like this NOW. The A27 is farcical and has wasted millions in failed schemes through Worthing and Arundel and costs more in delays to commerce each year., the a272 needs improving and widening, A22 the list goes on and on.
HJarrs wrote:No the Brighton bypass did not cut a gash across stunning landscape'! It was largely built through industrial farmland and the only section that may have been worth preserving, the Beech wood at Stanmer, was flattened by the Great Gale in 1987. And, to link this with another Argus story, what do you think the Vogue gyratory would be like now if all the east/west traffic was still being funnled through the centre of Brighton?
PETE OF QUEENS PARK wrote:The Hastings Bypass is typical one dimensional thinking. The original £200 million scheme was knocked back but that money was not given to alternatives, rather Hastings has been purposely left to rot until resurecting another similar scheme.
About time to,this argument has been going on for years and the cost rising 10 fold because a few loonies do not want a new road,had the same problem with the Brighton bypass but it all died a natual death and I expect the ones who did not want it use it every day
Like the Brighton Bypass mentioned above, it cut a gash across a stunning landscape doing little but to encourage even more traffic onto the roads.
Alternatives such as the electrification of the railway to Ashford and a more intensive railway service have not been seriously explored. £90 million could also have been used to create a lot of infrastructure other than roads for private vehicles.
Once this road is build there will be a clamour for more. In 20 years we will be building the Hastings Bypass Bypass!
Rail and road investment are not mutually exclusive (they're different budgets for one thing), so your view on the Ashford line is correct, but modern, overcrowded south east England needs all the transport infrastructure it can get.
PETE OF QUEENS PARK says...
4:18pm Fri 5 Oct 12