See local news story:  http://www.hastingstoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=479&ArticleID=739266

A decision will be made in June. I don't like any of the proposals all of which will impact on some beautiful natural landscape. Is it really necessary? For £50m you could do so many other useful things to regenerate Hastings. Eg provide a safer, more reliable, faster, more regular train service. Hastings has got a lot of character, but developers are due to be building a gigantic modern montrosity of offices on the seafront (Pelham Square) - EVERYONE is against it!

BACKGROUND
The Western bypass was rejected by the Government in July 2001, together with proposals for the Hastings Eastern bypass, following the Access to Hastings Multi-Modal Study (MMS). The then Transport Secretary Stephen Byers concluded that any economic benefits would not outweigh the environmental damage caused by the roads.

The Bexhill to Hastings Link Road was proposed by the South Coast MMS in 2002, but the Government again did not grant permission, asking East Sussex County Council to develop the scheme further to minimise environmental impact. Despite this, four of the six routes proposed in the consultation document would still damage the Combe Haven Site of Special Scientific Interest, one of Britain's most important wildlife sites.

The `Access to Hastings' MMS concluded that `it is neither practicable nor desirable to construct the Western bypass in isolation'. Local people fear that construction of the Bexhill to Hastings Link Road will lead to pressure to also build the Eastern bypass. This road would cut through the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, one of Britain's most important landscapes.......F.O.E

Six possible routes for the proposed Hastings to Bexhill link road have now been revealed, and you have the opportunity to comment on the proposals. All the routes run from Queensway in St Leonards through to north east Bexhill where a new section of road would link to the A259 at the Belle Hill/London Road junction.

Two of the routes run to the north of the Combe Haven Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) - the most northerly and most expensive one through tunnels and deep cuttings.

The other four routes affect the SSSI to varying degrees, and one, which is closest to the built up area would also cut through the Filsham Reedbeds Local Nature Reserve.

The new road is intended to reduce congestion on the main A259 on Hastings Seafront, Bexhill Road and De La Warr Road in Bexhill. You can view the routes and download details and a questionnaire from the East Sussex County Council website at www.eastsussexcc.gov.uk/bexhillconsultation/default.asp

The Hastings Alliance is in opposition to the plans and is made up of the following groups with a combined membership of over 1,820,000. National Council for National Parks (CNP) Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) Friends of the Earth England, Wales &Northern Ireland Royal Society for the Protection of Birds(RSPB) The Wildlife Trusts Transport 2000 Worldwide Fund for Nature - UK Hastings, Kent & Sussex A27 Action Group Brighton & Hove & Mid-Sussex Friends of the Earth CPRE _ Sussex Branch East Sussex Transport 2000 Friends of the Brede Valley Hastings & Rother Childcare Campaign Hastings Friends of the Earth Hastings Open Technology Lewes Friends of the Earth RailFirst Rother Environment Group Sussex SERA Sussex Wildlife Trust Wishing Tree Residents Association

Hastings Bypass video with Hastings FOE (view with real player at)

 http://roadalert.org.uk/realmedia/hastings.ram