![\"Newhaven,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778499586_2_image.webp\")
\nPhotograph: Shutterstock <\/p>\n
Once a\u00a0popular\u00a0seaside spot full of sunbathers and swimmers, Newhaven West Beach in East Sussex has been inaccessible to the public since 2008. But last month, nearly two decades on, a new bill was introduced to parliament in the hopes of finally getting the\u00a0coastal spot reopened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
French owner Newhaven Port and Properties closed off Newhaven West Beach after deeming it \u2018too dangerous\u2019 \u2013 it said that the\u00a0high waves and crumbling walls were a risk to the public.\u00a0<\/p>\n
James MacCleary,\u00a0a Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, has penned the\u00a0Newhaven West Beach (Public Access) Bill to put the right of access to West Beach into law. If officially adopted by the government, the bill would force the beach to be reopened to locals and tourists. It would also mandate that\u00a0safe public walking routes onto the sand are provided.\u00a0<\/p>\n
MacCleary\u00a0said: \u2018West Beach is not just a strip of sand. It is part of\u00a0Newhaven\u2019s\u00a0history, its identity and its community life.\u00a0For 17 years, local families \u2013 including my own \u2013 have been denied access to a beach where generations once swam, played and made memories. That cannot be right.\u2019<\/p>\n
He added: \u2018Of course safety and harbour operations matter. But they cannot be used forever as a blanket excuse to keep people away from a much-loved public amenity.<\/p>\n
\u2018[The bill]\u00a0sends a clear message:\u00a0Newhaven\u00a0deserves its beach back. The government must now adopt this bill and make it law\u2019.<\/p>\n
\nPhotograph: Shutterstock
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The campaign to reopen Newhaven West Beach comes amid efforts to revive the town and transform it back into a coastal destination. Newhaven Fort, a museum and\u00a0Palmerston fort built in the\u00a0nineteenth century, reopened to visitors last year after a \u00a37.5million renovation that included a new escape room and adventure playground.\u00a0There are also big plans\u00a0for a splash park, children’s play area, restaurant and outdoor gym along the town\u2019s seafront.\u00a0<\/p>\n
ICYMI:\u00a0The \u00a35 billion project that will transform one of England\u2019s greatest cities<\/a>.<\/p>\n Plus:\u00a0The revival of a \u2018forgotten\u2019 railway line could transform this English region<\/a>.<\/p>\n