The Hastings Alliance, which is supported by 11 national bodies including the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, the Council for National Parks and WWF-UK and also 16 local groups pointed to the Hastings Five Point Plan, commissioned by the South East Regional Assembly, which found that the key requirement for regeneration is to "improve the strategic accessibility of Hastings – that is Hastings' access to London, other major towns, and other parts of the South East" and says that improving rail links are fundamental to regenerating that area.