Residents have formed a campaign group to fight plans for a sewage treatment works.

They say the proposals by Southern Water will turn their neighbourhood into a dumping ground for waste from other areas.

East Brighton Unite! is opposing plans to build new sewage works on any one of three sites in the East Brighton area.

Southern Water has identified eight potential sites for the works, including three in East Brighton - Sheepcote Valley, East Brighton Park and Black Rock.

John Commons, a resident of Whitehawk, Brighton, is acting as co-ordinator of East Brighton Unite! which is holding its inaugural meeting tomorrow.

The meeting, at the Valley Social Centre, Whitehawk Way, Whitehawk, at 7.30pm, will formally elect a chair-person and other officers and then go on to discuss campaign tactics.

Mr Commons said: "The meeting is open to everyone who is interested in protecting what is ours.

"Individuals as well as groups are welcome, as everyone has something to contribute.

"For too long East Brighton has been a soft option, a dumping ground for the rest of Brighton."

Campaigners believe that even if East Brighton is not selected as the preferred site for the sewage works, Sheepcote Valley and East Brighton Park will always be under threat from other damaging developments.

Damon Elliott, Southern Water project manager, said: "We have very clear legal and environmental obligations to provide a modern wastewater treatment works to serve the 250,000 people of Brighton and Hove, Woodingdean, Ovingdean, Rottingdean, Saltdean, Telscombe Cliffs and Peacehaven, who generate 95 million litres of wastewater every day.

"This has to go somewhere and the question is, if not at Portobello, where? Faced with this challenge, we have gone through an exhaustive process looking at a large number of locations around Sussex to reach this crucial stage."

Wednesday March 12 2003