Business, Innovation and Skills Minister, Greg Clark MP to visit Torbay in bid to improve poor transport links to the English Riviera

Business, Innovation and Skills Minister, Greg Clark MP to visit Torbay in bid to improve poor transport links to the English Riviera.

Adrian Sanders, Member of Parliament for Torbay, recently questioned the Business, Innovation and Skills Minister, Greg Clark MP, about the pressing issue of support for seaside economies.

Mr Sanders questioned the Minister about his discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on support for seaside town economies. The Minister stated that he has regular discussions with the Treasury and that support could be available from April 2012 onwards under the recently announced Coastal Communities Fund.

Mr Sanders pressed the Minister further, highlighting the findings of two Select Committee Reports which show that one of the most significant difficulties facing seaside economies is poor transport links.  Mr Sanders then invited the Minister to visit the "warm and welcoming" English Riviera to see for himself the challenges and opportunities that could be corrected by better transport links.

The Minister replied that the invitation was enticing and that he would be delighted to accept.  He also accepted that connectivity is a concern facing all coastal communities. The Minister drew attention to the fact that a decision is awaited in relation to the South Devon Link Road and that he could not pre-empt that decision. He then quipped that he would come by train to avoid delays.

Flickr image from the Department for Communities and Local Government's photostream.