Beachy Head toll plan rejected by council

A coastal view of Beachy Head featuring white cliffs, green fields and a striped lighthouse by the sea.Image source, Getty Images
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The council said the idea to charge visitors was set out in a discussion paper

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An East Sussex council has said it has no plans to charge visitors £10 every time they want to drive to Beachy Head.

Eastbourne Borough Council has dismissed a proposal for a clean air zone for Seven Sisters, saying it was included in a discussion paper and was not something it supported.

The paper, seen by the BBC, suggested a year-round scheme monitored by cameras similar to London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez).

It proposed charging non-resident drivers for every visit, with people living in Eastbourne being allocated passes for a limited number of journeys.

Eastbourne Borough Council has ruled out such a scheme but said it was consulting on how to improve air quality, after high levels of pollution were recorded in the town.

Cabinet member Jim Murray said: "While research has been undertaken into ideas to hear local people's views, as part of this process the council has no plans to create a Ulez-style zone in Beachy Head and this is not a proposal that has council support."

The toll idea had earlier attracted criticism from the area's Liberal Democrat MP, Josh Babarinde, who said: "We definitely need to tackle air pollution and anti-social driving around Beachy Head but this is not the way."

Babarinde suggested traffic-calming measures, speed cameras, improving public transport and increasing electric car charging points as potential alternatives.

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