Newhaven Port could be shut by its owners if residents win the right to use a popular beach.

Locals are fighting to have the town’s West Beach given village green status so the public will have the right to use it.

Newhaven Port and Properties (NPP), which owns the beach, shut it last year saying it was dangerous because the sea walls next to it were unstable.

It would be forced to allow people access to the site if East Sussex County Council approves the request.

But NPP has warned it would have to shut the port if the beach was reclassified, saying it could not afford to be liable if someone had an accident due to the unsafe wall.

Newhaven councillor Judith Ost said talks were needed in an attempt to resolve the problem.

She said: “It might mean National Lottery funding to pay for repairs to the sea wall and then having to find other ways to meet ongoing costs.”

Campaign groups have fought for more than a year for the beach to be reopened.

Village green status could be granted if residents can prove they have used the open area as a right for at least 20 years.

Councillor Ost said it was “unbelievable” that reopening the beach would mean the port would have to close to commerce and ferries.

She said: “What both Newhaven and NPP need is a solution that makes the beach safe for local people and protects NPP from liability. We are in the process of making a formal response to the port authority’s objections.”

Town councillors say West Beach is a unique facility for children and could provide an important boost to tourism in the town.