A POPULAR beach could be reopened to the public for the first time in eight years after positive negotiations between the English and French.

Newhaven’s sandy West Beach was closed to the public in 2008 after its French owners, Newhaven Port and Properties Ltd, (NPP) cited safety concerns and refused to accept liability for any accidents which might occur there.

But as relations between the town and the Normandy company have thawed in recent months, with better news on the future of the ferry line, officials on both sides of the channel have indicated that a positive resolution may be in sight.

Newhaven Port and Properties Ltd is a publicly owned company whose director is Jean-Pierre Lucas, the chief executive of the French Department of Seine-Maritime in Normandy.

The Argus spoke to M Lucas at a meeting on the future of the Newhaven ferry which took place in Dieppe on Monday evening.

M Lucas said: “We are confronting a major difficulty, the administrator of NPP refuses to assume the responsibility for accidents on the beach.

“We have always said that if the town of Newhaven accepted all the responsibility for the beach, then discussions would be possible.”

In response Newhaven mayor Steve Saunders said: “We are in principle happy to take on the responsibility for insurance cover in that area, we’re actively looking to sort out an agreement between us whereby that beach can be opened.”

Long-suffering campaigners may wish to keep champagne on ice for now though, since council officials have briefed that the complication in this case may be legal technicalities prohibiting someone who does not own a piece of land from being able to take on any insurance liability for the area.

But Newhaven’s beach-goers will be used to that having had their patience tested many times over recent years, with courts ruling first for and then against the beach's designation as a village green and then a planning inspection ruling the steps down to the sand out of bounds.

Lewes MP Maria Caulfield said: “There are positive discussions going on about the west beach but we can’t make any announcements yet.”

The discussions took place amid the positive announcement from the president of the French department of Seine-Maritime, Pascal Martin, that they will continue to subsidise the Newhaven to Dieppe ferry to the tune of 20 million euros each year and current operator DFDS is hoping to tie up a new four year contract.