Link Road: Public debate is essential

A trip in the East Sussex County Council TARDIS shows grand plans for Bexhill via the new link road - particularly those areas in most need of regeneration.

The derelict buildings alongside London Road and the unkempt path of the old railway line look set to be replaced by neatly trimmed greenery if the artists impressions are to be believed.

But that is all they are at the moment: impressions.

And we must remember that greenery exists to mask a large road thundering through the landscape - however badly needed it may be.

It is for the public to make sure what the county says it will deliver and what is actually delivered is one and the same thing.

The exhibition touring Bexhill and the district is more than just an opportunity to see what the link road will look like, it is a chance for the most important people of all to have their say - the residents who will be using the road and living alongside it.

We are entering a six-week period of public consultation.

Visitors should make sure it is exactly that.

Concerns should be raised if something worries them. Probing questions should be asked in order to make sure we get the best transport link we can have.

The link road presents something of a compromise anyway - the ideal solution in many people's eyes would have been the bypass denied the area by government several years ago.

There is a sense of 'making do' with this proposal, but it is crucial the road does what it is intended to do, create more jobs and new homes.

But it is just as important that it integrates well with the Bexhill of the present day.

By the time those views of 15 years into the future become a reality it will be too late to do anything about it.

The county council assure us they want a full and frank debate on the plans.

Whichever side of the fence you sit on, make sure they get one.