Rail bosses are being urged to press ahead with redeveloping Haywards Heath station despite missing out on a 20-year franchise.

Govia was told by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) it will only be allowed to run South Central up to 2009 or 2010. It said it was "delighted" at the decision.

But supporters of the Haywards Heath proposals believe the seven-year franchise is a strong enough commitment to get work started.

Gladys Bunn, chair of the Haywards Heath Society, said: "Ideally we'd have liked to see a longer franchise but you don't seem to get them these days.

"Seven years is better than nothing. Any sign of progress will have me shouting from the rooftops, because the station is in a terrible state at the moment."

Discussions on the proposed redevelopment have been going on since 1995.

The scheme would involve new buildings and a multi-storey car park. Users of the station have complained about its leaking roof, pigeon excrement and lack of toilets.

The terms of the new franchise shifts the main responsibility for station upgrades to the SRA, rather than Govia.

Govia spokesman Martin Walter said: "We'll now be free to concentrate on running train services and passengers will benefit all-round."

More details on which projects will be prioritised will be finalised by the New Year.

Despite losing the deal, Mr Walter said it was good news for the company, which is the holding company for both Thameslink and South Central and operates services connecting London to stations across Sussex.

He said: "We are delighted at this outcome as we now know where we are going.

"It means we will be able to plan for the future knowing the finance from the SRA is available.

"A 20-year contract left things up in the air as we were going a bit into the unknown. We originally said we wanted a 20-year franchise because of the time we thought it would take to get the infrastructure sorted out.

"When we said we wanted a 20-year contract the SRA was operating under a different system.

"We can now say to staff, 'This is what we are doing for the next seven years', rather than things being left up in the air."

But passenger and rail user groups fear they may be denied improvements promised by the company.

But SRA chairman Richard Bowker assured passengers that all the planned improvements, including major track upgrades on the main line to Brighton and the Arun Valley line in Sussex, would go ahead.