The meanders of the Cuckmere Valley are popular with tourists

The Environment Agency wants to return the valley to salt marshes and mud flats by allowing the sea to breach defences.

The aim is to restore the valley to its original state, as it was before the Victorians diverted the river in 1846, and create a better habitat for birds and wildlife.

But residents have expressed concerns over the impact this would have on their homes and on business.

The valley currently attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year - and firms fear they would be put off if the landscape changed.

Breaching the sea defences would allow salt marshes to form

The meanders of the Cuckmere River characterise the valley and are part of the proposed South Down National Park.

Alan Edgar, of the Golden Galleon pub, near Seaford, said: "At the moment the Seven Sisters Country Park people tell us we get 450,000 visitors a year.

"I cannot imagine that they are going to come to see mud flats rather than the rural idyll that we have at the moment."

But the Environment Agency said the plan would create a natural landscape which was far richer in wildlife than at present.

This would attract more tourists and also ensure the future of the meanders, because of the restored river flow.

The valley is already an area of outstanding natural beauty, a site of special scientific interest and part of a heritage coast.

Work on the Environment Agency project is due to begin in the autumn.