Parties clash over link road as minister visits Bexhill

Lord Adonis visited Glyne Gap on Tuesday to see the site of the Bexhill-Hastings Link Road.

"Labour has invested in transport and will continue to do so but all that would be put in jeopardy by a Tory government," he said.

Speaking to the Observer beside the gridlocked A268, Lord Adonis added: "It is absolutely critical to relieving one of the most acute bottle necks in the area and one of the key routes in and out of Hastings.

"Labour is committed to taking forward the link road and I believe there is overwhelming public support do so."

Local Labour candidate James Royston said: "Lord Adonis' visit to our town is a clear sign of Labour's commitment to improving our transport links.

"He pledged continued investment in our roads and rail networks '“ commitments which the Conservatives will not give."

Conservative MP for Bexhill and Battle Greg Barker, a long standing supporter of the scheme, hit back at the party's claims that a Tory Government would axe funding for the scheme, saying: "Local people will never forget that it was Labour that promised funding for the bypass in 2001 before the election and then dropped it immediately after. We won't be taken in again."

He added: "There is no doubt however, that our economy has been left in a terrible mess."

Lord Adonis went on to say the Thameslink scheme which joins Hastings to London was proof of the Government's commitment to improving train services in the local area but he admitted: "I would like to see the trains sped up, but that means more modern trains and that means investment, which we will provide."

Meanwhile anti-link road campaigners had a scare after East Sussex County Council's (ESCC) website mistakenly claimed the scheme's cost had risen by 4.8million.

An ESCC spokesman confirmed the figure was a mistake.