Senior Tory Theresa May has made a scathing attack on the Government's transport policies in Sussex ahead of a visit tomorrow.

The shadow transport and environment secretary criticised the blight of homes near Gatwick and backed Brighton and Hove taxi drivers' protests against deregulation.

Ms May, who is to visit Sussex Arts Club in Brighton to address a Vote 2004 meeting, also criticised ministers' handling of the South Coast Multi-Modal Study.

The study proposed an Arundel bypass and road tunnels beneath traffic hotspots in Worthing and Lancing.

But Transport Secretary Alistair Darling put the plans on hold, largely on environmental grounds.

In an exclusive interview, Ms May said the study had been designed "not to have an outcome".

She said: "It was a way of kicking the issues into touch and delaying having to look at them properly.

"It is a difficult balance between the economy and the environment but the Government has not managed to make that balanced decision."

A Conservative administration would take a localised approach to transport schemes rather than drawing up regional studies costing millions of pounds, she said.

Ms May criticised the Government's Aviation White Paper for leaving the future of Gatwick shrouded in uncertainty.

Ministers controversially kept open the option of building a second runway after 2019 but only if plans for the further expansion of Heathrow failed.

Ms May said the Government had admitted the Heathrow project faced huge environmental obstacles but had not given any indication of how these would be overcome.

This had added to the anxiety of householders living close to Gatwick.

Ms May said: "The Government had said in advance the point of the White Paper was to clear up the situation. It is exactly the opposite.

"Gatwick and Heathrow are in limbo. Everybody is blighted and uncertain about the future."

She shared the concerns of city taxi drivers, who last week visited Westminster to protest at Office of Fair Trading proposals to scrap rules governing the trade.

The OFT wants to remove the limit on the number of licences handed out by Brighton and Hove City Council each year, arguing the increased competition will be good for customers and reduce prices.

The drivers, who have also staged a slow procession on the seafront, say they face working round-the-clock or bankruptcy.

They say safety could also suffer when drivers with less experience and older cars are allowed to pick up passengers.

Ms May said: "I do not believe the case for deregulation has been proved.

"One of our main concerns is about safety and that has not been addressed."

The MP, now in her second stint as transport spokesman after serving as party chairwoman under former leader Iain Duncan Smith, said she would not back congestion charging for the city.

She said: "There is no evidence it would produce the finances needed to make big improvements to public transport."

She believes the best way to tackle congestion is to improve school transport, getting youngsters out of cars and on to US-style yellow buses.

After attending the Vote 2004 meeting, which aims to boost turnout in the June Euro Election, Ms May will meet parliamentary and council candidates from across the city.