New bid for funding of Bexhill-Hastings link road

The link road is considered vital for the economies of Hastings and Bexhill

Council chiefs in East Sussex have submitted a fresh bid for £56m of government money to build a new road linking Hastings and Bexhill.

An initial bid for the project was deferred last year, and a decision on the latest application will not be known until the end of this year.

East Sussex County Council has said the road is "absolutely essential" to the area's future economic development.

If its bid for funding is successful, construction will begin in 2013.

Planning permission was granted in 2009 following a public inquiry, which looked at the land needed for the road and for new environmental habitats.

Following the change in government in May 2010, it was announced that there would be changes to the funding of major transport schemes.

The original timetable for construction of the link road, which was initially costed at £89m, was then put on hold.