Herbrand Walk beach decision is put back

An application was made at County Hall in Lewes on Wednesday morning to register the land as a Town Green with the aim of protecting it from any future development.

This follows months of fighting plans to put up temporary beach huts, public toilets and facilities in support of kayaking on this stretch of beach.

The request was put to a panel of three East Sussex County Council members, who decided to defer making a decision because they wanted further clarification – for instance, that there was proof that the public enjoyed “as of right use” for the past 20 years, and the issue that parking bays put in by owner Steve Hall in 2010 might amount to permission for people to use the site.

The application will now be reconsidered by a panel of different members at the next meeting in spring 2011.

Chairman of Herbrand Walk Beach Preservation Society John Hodson said: “It is somewhat disappointing, but what can you do?”

He added: “We don’t feel discouraged, but we feel disappointed that the decision was not made because we supplied them with every piece of information needed to made a decision, but they didn’t make it. We came away feeling somewhat frustrated. These small items will be clarified and that will be the end of it. But we feel the decision could have been made on the day.”