Work to complete the "missing link" of a £350,000 cycle route could begin as soon as April.

But, astonishingly, the scheme has already taken longer to complete than the Channel Tunnel.

How it can come a poor second to an engineering feat of that scale defies belief.

Building a cycle lane is not rocket science.

Yet planners, cyclists and politicians have been deadlocked over a 200-yard stretch linking Lewes Road and the Elm Grove Junction, Brighton, since 1994.

Interested parties must now come together to agree plans without petty bickering as soon as possible.

A huge amount of money and time have already been wasted.

The sooner this unfortunate episode is behind us, the better.