Study bypassed
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• Hauliers in Hastings say the future of a number of haulage businesses in the area is at risk because of the government's decision not to sanction the building of two new bypasses of the town.
The need for the bypasses had been recommended to the government by the area's Regional Planning Body as part of the government's first MultiModal Study examining some of the country's most severe transport problems. Transport secretary Stephen Byers says the government's decision was based on the environmental impact the bypasses would cause on local areas of "outstanding beauty".
Haulier Paul Saunters of Paul Saunters Recovery Services in Hastings says the town badly needs the bypasses: "You can queue forever in the roads in the town, especially in the summer. Without the bypasses businesses will begin to avoid Hastings." Phillip Baker of Hastings' Al Baker & Son agrees: "Transport volumes will get worse. The bypasses would have been a godsend. Now why would businesses invest here?'
The news raises fears about the outcomes of other MultiModal Studies. FTA regional director John Guttridge says: "What is the point of Multi-Modal Studies devised and accepted at regional level if their key recommendations are to be rejected by the Secretary of State?"