The party says it believes East Sussex County Council will press ahead with formal consultations on the scheme, which will see motorists having to pay to park in the town centre and the seafront, when its cabinet committee meets on Tuesday.

Senior members together with business people have all signed a letter to county council leader Peter Jones requesting a referendum across the town on whether a pay to park scheme should be introduced.

Simon Richardson from a Seaide Road antiques shop, said, "We've already seen in Lewes what has happened to trade in the town centre with independent shops facing a terrible time since a pay to park scheme was introduced a few years ago. Do we really want the same to happen to Eastbourne?"

Guest house owner Helen Lister said, "I think it's outrageous the county council has just ploughed ahead with its parking scheme irrespective of the fact it's obvious the vast majority of people in Eastbourne don't want it.

"Its all right for the big hotels as they'll be given free tickets to hand out to their customers but the guest houses won't. If this parking proposal does go ahead, I fear many guest house owners like myself will suffer."

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary campaigner Stephen Lloyd said, "Local Lib Dems are supporting the Peoples' Campaign for a referendum. We would also like to know why it is that in Bexhill and Rother the police community support officers are instructed to ticket illegally parked cars while in Eastbourne they are not.

"Could it be the county council has been so desperate to force its expensive and unwanted pay to park scheme on Eastbourne that they have chosen behind the scenes not to persuade the police to use their PCSOs in Eastbourne? We all know it would go a long way toward solving the problem of illegal parking in Eastbourne."

Leader of Eastbourne Borough Council David Tutt said, "We agree that something must be done to free up the traffic flow in the town centre but a £1million pay to park scheme that has proved disastrous in Lewes is not the way forward.

"It would also strike a real blow against democracy. People may not be aware of the fact that if the county council persists in forcing its scheme on Eastbourne, it will be the only authority in the UK to have gone ahead expressly against the wishes of a borough council. Can this really be right?"

Councillor Tutt said Eastbourne Police should be persuaded to use PCSOs to carry out occasional blitzes on illegally parked cars, double yellow lines should be removed where they are not justified to increase parking space, the amount of waiting time in the town centre should be limited to ensure commuters use designated car parks and the county council should reverse the changes it made to road markings and signage in 2007 and introduce a park and ride scheme on the outskirts of town.

A spokesman for East Sussex County Council said, "The proposal to extend on street parking charges will go before cabinet next week.
"If it is agreed to continue to proceed towards implementation, anyone who wishes to have their say will be able to do so as part of the formal consultation that would follow."