There will be a twinge of sadness from MP Norman Baker when these old cottages are demolished.

For the Lewes MP used to live in one of the historic homes, which will be knocked down to make way for a new railway bridge.

The Highways Agency is consulting on a £20 million scheme to replace a level crossing over the Lewes to Eastbourne railway with a bridge at Beddingham.

And the cottages, which date back to the 1840s and are currently owned by the Department of Transport, will have to go.

Mr Baker lived at number 2 for 15 years but moved out in 2000.

Despite his nostalgia, he is supporting the scheme.

Mr Baker said: "I support the bridge being built because it will improve safety. If there were an accident and a car or lorry ended up on the tracks, it could lead to the deaths of hundreds of people.

"But obviously there is a slight twinge of sadness at the thought of the house being knocked down.

Mr Baker said when he first moved into the cottage, traffic stopped late in the evening and started again in the early morning but by the time he moved out it was much heavier and carried on through the night.

The road is used by 30,000 vehicles every day and suffers long tailbacks at the level crossing.

Some businesses have complained the delays cost them thousands of pounds every year.

Christine Purkess, of the Eastbourne Chamber of Commerce, said the crossing effectively cut the town off and was damaging its potential.

She said: "It takes a tremendous amount of time to get from Eastbourne to Lewes. You have to leave an extra 15 minutes or half an hour at peak times.

"It deters people from coming to the town, which has a knock-on effect on investment. The chamber would prefer a dual carriageway as it would significantly improve the flow of traffic."

Liz Mandeville, of the A27 Action Group, said she supported the bridge being built but the design put forward by the Highways Agency was too wide and left the way open for the road to be made into a dual carriageway in the future.

The Highways Agency is calling for people to comment on the plans by the end of the month.

Construction is expected to start late in the summer.