Planners will spend months investigating the site of a £200 million sewage works before it is presented to councillors.

The plant at Lower Hoddern Farm in Peacehaven was chosen by Southern Water last year from a shortlist of eight but it will not reach the planning committee stage until the autumn.

Now it is starting detailed investigation work at the site which will serve the Brighton and Hove area.

It needs to carry out surveys so it can collect accurate and up-to-date engineering and environmental data needed for the planning application.

Southern Water will be carrying out landscape, engineering and archaeological surveys at the farm. Engineers, using drilling rigs, will also dig a number of trial boreholes to confirm the exact ground conditions.

Major projects manager Damon Elliott said: "The survey work is vital before we submit the planning application because we need to determine the conditions at the Peacehaven site.

"We can then properly assess the potential impact a new wastewater treatment works may have and then, if necessary, include appropriate mitigation measures in our final detailed scheme proposal."

The works would deal with the 95 million litres of wastewater generated every day by residents of Brighton, Hove, Woodingdean, Ovingdean, Rottingdean, Saltdean, Telscombe Cliffs and Peacehaven.

Monday March 08, 2004