Sewage works plan sparks protest

Water quality must improve to meet European laws

Residents of a Sussex village have protested against plans to build a new sewage treatment works for Brighton and Hove.

Residents of Ovingdean, East Brighton, held a public demonstration on Saturday against proposals to build the plant on a greenfield site near their homes.

Southern Water, which must improve the area's water treatment to meet European standards on seawater quality, is considering eight sites for the plant, five of them on greenfield land.

But Ovingdean is thought to be the favourite because it would be the cheapest option.

Natural beauty

The protesters, who met at St Dunstan's roundabout, argue that the plant should not be built in Ovingdean because it is an area of outstanding natural beauty.

The proposal is for a compact underground works and an above-ground centre, built in an artificial hollow.

A three-kilometre pipeline would be needed to take Brighton's waste water to the site.

Other options include Shoreham Harbour, Peacehaven, Newhaven, Black Rock and the Upper and Lower Sheepcote Valleys.