"AN important victory" has been claimed after regional transport advisors agreed that there should be no delay in the construction of the Hindhead tunnel.

The South East Regional Transport Board (RTB) is recommending to the government that work on the tunnel begin in 2008 instead of delaying it by a year which would add to the already spiralling costs.

The decision is a boost to the tunnel project, which already has a price tag of £320 million and increases the chances of work pushing ahead should the scheme be approved by the government.

At the RTB's meeting last Friday, members agreed that removing the bottleneck at the A3 is of great significance to the region and will reduce congestion in Surrey and improve access to south Hampshire ports.

It said that the new road and tunnel will also have major environmental benefits for the Devil's Punch Bowl, such as noise reduction and enhancing the habitat of the area.

The board's recommendations for the A3 will be submitted to government at the end of this month for a decision, as well as put to the South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) for support.

"Improving the A3 at Hindhead has our full commitment and our advice to government is that the scheme needs to be delivered as soon as possible, so infrastructure in the area will see positive change," board chairman Nick Skellett said.

"This is such an important project for the region; it will deliver major improvements for the immediate area in Surrey and remove the biggest bottleneck on the route to South Hampshire.

"On top of that it will have a positive effect on the environment."

South West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt expressed his delight at the news the RTB was pushing the scheme and dubbed the decision "an important victory".

"Campaigning for the A3 tunnel at Hindhead has been one of my top priorities," he said.

"To get such a positive outcome is an important victory in the battle to get the tunnel built.

"I hope that SEERA will now lend its weight to the regional transport board's proposal and that the department for transport will quickly accept the recommendation so work can start on the project as soon as possible."

However despite the decision, there is still disappointment and concern over the funding issues.

This is because the cost of the tunnel scheme has rocketed from the £107 million which was mooted in 1998 to the present figure of £320 million.

On top of this, the government has deemed it a regional scheme so funding will not come from a national, but a regional, pot of money.

Nick Skellett, who is the leader of Surrey County Council, expressed his sadness that this will mean that cash will not be available for schemes elsewhere in the region.

"I am disappointed the government has not recognised the A3 scheme as of national importance," he said.

"The A3 scheme has a high price label, which will have funding implications for other schemes in the region."

Meanwhile, the Highways Agency confirmed there was a huge increase in the cost, especially since the public inquiry in 2004 when the estimated costs were half the current projection.

"The Highways Agency can confirm that the overall scheme costs have increased compared with those reported at the time of the public inquiry," said

Highways Agency project manager Paul Arnold. "There have been two main causes of the cost increase. Recently introduced, more onerous requirements on Workplace Exposure Limits for silica dust arising from driving the tunnel through sandstone and for Oxides of Nitrogen emissions from plant used in the tunnel construction, require the use of different, more expensive machinery.

"Construction inflation since the contract was awarded in 2002 has exceeded the rate of inflation, assumed for budget purposes by a factor of two, and the imposed delay to the scheme has resulted in further inflation increases.

"The agency has yet to finalise its view on the new budget required, and this will be reported to ministers so that they can take it into account in their decision on the inspector's report."

A spokesman also added that the Highways Agency "is pleased to note the recommendation" of the RTB.