The long-awaited public inquiry to decide the future of the cliffs at one of the best known beauty spots in Sussex is to open next week.

A Government planning inspector will consider the plan for a wall at the base of crumbling cliffs at Birling Gap, near Eastbourne, after the eight-day hearing.

The inquiry will focus on whether it is more important to preserve the natural environment or to protect the clifftop cottages and hotel.

An original planning application for a 185- metre rock barrier was refused by Wealden Council in January, 1999, but applicants Mrs Jean Fawbert and the Birling Gap Protection Association appealed against the decision.

When an application for a shorter barrier of 30 metres was given the go ahead, despite planning officers recommending rejection, ministers called in the plan because of the threat to the environment.

The National Trust, which owns much of the land on which the properties stand, has opposed the planning applications.

But Mrs Fawbert, who lives in one of the cottages, believes the trust has a moral and legal responsibility to save the properties.

With fellow residents, she believes the cliff protection scheme is vital Cliff wall inquiry to rescue homes from the eroding cliff edge.

One house is already the subject of possible legal proceedings by Wealden District Council, which says it is unsafe and should be demolished.

Last August, Wealden Council told 94-year-old Elizabeth Lazereno, who owns the cottage, it was possible her home would be demolished and she could face a £30,000 bill for the work.

The inquiry, at Deans Place Hotel, Alfriston, will hear from both residents and groups including the Birling Gap Cliff Protection Association, the National Trust, and the Sussex Downs Conservation Board, along with Wealden District Council.