A plea was made in the House of Commons this afternoon for Waveney to be firmly put on the road to economic growth so it can become a key player in creating jobs to help the country out of the financial downturn.

Waveney MP Peter Aldous described his constituency as being at the crossroads, with one road leading to economic success with the support of government while the other road led to limited aspirations.

Mr Aldous made his plea for more government support during an adjournment debate called Promotion of Economic Growth in Waveney.

The MP said 40 years ago Waveney's main town, Lowestoft, 'could be viewed as the model of how the economy in a seaside town should operate' but over the years its industry had declined leading to some people to 'feel forgotten and neglected by the government'.

However, he said Waveney was on the way up with the arrival of new businesses, especially in the emerging energy sector, and the support of the coalition government, through the New Anglia Local Economic Partnership, apprenticeship programmes and broadband funding.

But Mr Aldous said more needed to be done to secure the region's economic future.

He said Waveney's 'substandard' transport links needed improving, there should be better business support, the problem of 'Japanese knotweed' business red tape needed addressing and high fuel prices had to be tackled.

Mr Aldous said: 'In many respects Waveney is now at a crossroads. We can take the low road of limited aspirations, just trundling along, or we can take the high road, being ambitious and being a key player in working with the government to deliver the growth strategy, creating jobs and helping Britain emerge from what is the most savage economic downturn for a generation.'

Greg Clark, minister for communities and local government, said the government's policies would support Mr Aldous's aims.