Supertrams and congestion charges in Brighton and Hove are the centrepiece of £1 billion blueprint for transport on the South Coast.

The 30-year draft proposals, drawn up after two years of consultation and leaked to us a week before their official publication, also suggest building a new railway station at Shoreham airport.

The report's key themes are:

A supertram or guided bus system to link the city centre with Shoreham, Brighton Marina, Falmer and Patcham to be running by 2020.

A £2 "cordon charge" for commuters entering the city to be introduced by 2017
A £5 increase for city centre parking by 2007
A park-and-ride scheme from the outskirts into the centre by 2012
More frequent trains along the coast. The Regional Express would run between Hastings and Portsmouth every 30 minutes with six new stations, including one at Shoreham by 2012
Levies on workers' parking spaces
Better links between bus and railway timetables with more frequent services at evenings and weekends.

Environmental groups have criticised the report for focusing too heavily on promoting car use in outlying areas.

Outside Brighton and Hove there are plans for a new bypass around Arundel, three proposed road tunnels on the A27 between Worthing and Lancing and a new Bexhill-to-Hastings link road.

The South Coast Corridor Multi-Modal Study takes in all forms of transport, from walking and cycling to motoring, rail, sea and air travel.

The strategy will guide planners and engineers as they try to ease congestion, cut pollution and improve safety.

It pulls together proposals which have been put forward in the past three decades into one over-arching strategy to dictate how transport will evolve throughout the region.

Halcrow, the consultants who put the report together, are aware it will need support from councils, businesses and the public if the scheme is to work properly.

In its final chapter, the 115-page report concludes: "The need for transport improvements has been highlighted through consultation work.

"There are some initiatives which can be introduced quickly. They will bring substantial benefits with little capital cost and should commence quickly."

Amanda Brace, spokeswoman for Friends of the Earth, said she hoped the proposed new regional assembly would throw out the plans.

Peter Mumford, of the Council for the Protection of Rural England, criticised major road building plans detailed in the study.

He said: "The report contains much that is good along these lines. But their approach in these areas to date has been timid."