Road link: The environmental view

Top representatives from Friends of the Earth, the Campaign for the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the Woodland Trust and Transport 2000 marched along a stretch of the proposed route near Crowhurst to show their opposition to the scheme.

These same groups were the main opponents of the Hastings Western Bypass and convinced the government to reject the plan in 2001.

This week they said the same arguments still stand for the new road scheme. They will be putting huge pressure on the Secretary of State for Transport, Alastair Darling, to refuse the plan put forward by East Sussex County Council before he announces his decision on December 17.

Paul de Zylva, director of Friends of the Earth England, was at the protest at Adams Farm and said: "This is one of the top road schemes we are concerned about in the whole of the UK. It affects an incredibly beautiful, tranquil area which has important wildlife havens nearby."

All the different groups' arguments were variations on the same themes. They were:

* The road is unnecessary and, at an estimated 47.1m, expensive

* Public transport and car-sharing alternatives need to be fully investigated first

* Wildlife in the Combe Valley and particularly in the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) would be at risk with a road nearby

* Building roads is not a route to economic regeneration

* It will only take traffic from the A259 and displace it to The Ridge, creating a new problem rather than a solution.

Mr de Zylva added: "You might as well stick the SSSI in a roundabout if you have this road.

"You can regenerate Hastings in all sorts of ways without destroying the environment in places like this."

Paul Hamblin, head of transport policy at the CPRE, outlined how his organisation would fight the road scheme.

He said: "The arguments for the road were weak when the government made its decision last time and the environmental arguments were very strong.

"We are making representations to ministers to stress the importance of keeping to their word when they said they would give a strong presumption against damaging road building through special areas."