Roads: East Sussex

Gregory Barker
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what assessment he has made of the future costs of building the Hastings to Bexhill Link Road;

(2) what assessment he has made of the potential environmental impact of the proposed Bexhill to Hastings Link Road.

Gillian Merron
The promoters of the scheme, East Sussex county council, have reported that the total cost of the scheme is now estimated to be £89.3 million. It is for the South East region to decide whether it still wishes to prioritise funding for this scheme at its higher cost within its regional funding allocation for major transport schemes. Should the region formally advise that it continues to be a funding priority, the scheme will then be subject to a re-appraisal and value for money assessment in accordance with the Department’s guidance before a final decision on whether to provide additional funding to the scheme is taken. The environmental impact of the Link Road was assessed in accordance with our appraisal methodology, when the scheme was originally approved in December 2004.