THE "heart and spirit" will be torn out of Telscombe and Peacehaven if Southern Water is allowed to build its giant sewage works at Telscombe Cliffs, the Portobello inquiry heard yesterday.

Paul Cosham, a councillor on both Peacehaven and Telcombe councils, warned property prices would decrease, jobs would be lost and the rugged scenery damaged if the proposal went ahead.

The councillor and former mayor of Peacehaven was speaking as members of the Campaign for Residents Against

Portobello began two days of giving evidence to the inquiry currently taking place at the Meridian Centre, Peacehaven.

Southern Water is appealing against East Sussex County Council's decision to refuse planning permission for the sewage treatment works on a giant platform on the beach at Telscombe.

The campaigners showed their own video, narrated by former EastEnders actor Paul Moriarty, who lives in Saltdean, near the proposed works.

Mr Cosham said the plan would mean the entire Telscombe Cliff beach disappearing under concrete.

It would dramatically reduce the numbers visiting the area and would damage the tourism business, especially at the nearby Badgers Watch pub.

"If this massive sewage plant goes ahead the first thing people will see approaching Brighton from the English Channel will not be white cliffs or Kemp Town's Regency terraces," he said.

"I believe if this project goes ahead it will devastate the local area and there will be a loss of jobs, loss of an area of outstanding natural beauty, loss of visitors, loss of leisure space and loss of tourist income and finally a loss of the heart and spirit of Peacehaven and Telscombe."

The inquiry continues.

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