Southwick will become the Buxton of the South if moves to set up a spring water bottling plant are approved.

A natural spring runs beneath the town and there are plans to extract water, bottle it and sell it as a rival to well-known mineral waters.

An existing well will be used to draw the water off. Some will be sold as natural spring water and flavourings will be added to the rest.

The new venture will spring up on the site of a former dairy in Southview Road.

The site's owners, SD Holdings, want permission from Adur District Council to change the site's use to a spring water business.

Some local residents fear the new business will create extra traffic and that noise from the bottling plant could affect the value of their homes.

The council has received 27 objections from residents and organisations but others support the change of use.

John Martin, who has lived in Southview Road for 46 years said: "We had a lot of problems with traffic and noise from the old dairy.

"This has become a quiet residential area since it closed and we are worried that those problems will return if this goes ahead."

But Norman Turner, a Southview Road resident since 1971, said: "The site has not been used for ten years and I think it is excellent news that something useful is going to happen there.

"Some people are worried about noise from the bottling plant and extra traffic but I don't think it will have any effect on us at all."

The council's planning committee is being recommended to approve the application at a meeting on December 2.

Malcolm Carey of SD Holdings said the company planned to invest up to £500,000 in the new bottling plant. He said it would cause little disturbance to nearby homes.

Mr Carey said: "I fully understand residents' concerns, but the new plant will be nothing like the old dairy.

"Southview Road is now completely unsuitable for today's heavy goods lorries because it is simply too narrow and there are many more cars parked there.

"The lorries will use the main entrance on the Old Shoreham Road and we will be happy to show residents a video of the new bottling plant we will use.

"It runs off compressed air, uses mainly plastic bottles and will be much quieter than the machinery used by the dairy."