The man who helped bring Harry Potter to the nation is fighting plans to flood a Sussex beauty spot.

Nigel Newton, chairman of Bloomsbury, which publishes the young Wizard's adventures, says Cuckmere Valley will be wrecked if the plans go ahead.

The picturesque site, between Seaford and Newhaven, has a river which slowly meanders through lush green meadows out to sea, sheltered by white cliffs.

But the picture postcard view could soon be vastly different if the Cuckmere river is allowed to take its course and flood much of the valley.

Environmental, conservation and nature groups are fully behind the plans, saying it will cost less to maintain, lead to a more natural landscape and encourage wading birds. But they have a fight on their hands.

Mr Newton owns one of the clifftop coastguard cottages overlooking the valley.

He said: "I wake up in morning, throw back the curtains and have a grandstand view of both sides of the valley. The light on the water is magical, the air exhilarating and inland the windows overlook the stunning grassland valley, where the meanders of the river loop majestically to the sea. I don't want it to become a mudflat reminiscent of a First Word War battlefield"

Other opponents fear public rights of way and footpaths will be lost and, as mudflats replace meadows, visitors will decline and threaten the economy of the valley, which is totally dependent on tourism.

Businesses, such as the Golden Galleon pub, fear many of the 450,000 annual visitors would be put off.

MPs Norman Baker, who represents Lewes, and Nigel Waterson, Eastbourne, are jointly campaigning for a public inquiry after opposition was voiced at a public meeting.

Mr Baker said: "The Environment Agency's plans would dramatically affect a landscape widely loved by my constituents. In these circumstances, and given the technical uncertainty of the outcome of the scheme, it is vital there is an independent inquiry which gives all sides the chance to speak and for a decision to be taken on that basis."

Mr Waterson said: "Whatever the formal legal position, it would be madness to proceed with an irreversible change to this distinctive landscape without all viewpoints being fully taken into account. Only a full public inquiry can achieve this."

Last week, the Environment Agency confirmed it will be submitting plans to flood the Cuckmere Valley to East Sussex County Council either at the end of this year or early next.

It wants to return the man-made valley to its natural state because it claims tidal banks are eroding. To renew them would involve raising and widening the banks, using steel sheets or concrete, which the agency says would damage the beauty of the valley.

Allowing a natural landscape rich in wildlife to develop was likely to attract even more tourists.

Phil Belden, countryside manager for the Sussex Downs Conservation Board, said: "Bird life will increase and we will get more wading birds, such as red shanks and godwits. "