WILL motorists one day pay a congestion charge to enter Lyme Regis? Will the public ever see inside the Three Cups Hotel again? Will young people ever be able to buy a home here? Is the town already just a seaside retirement home? And what exactly is the current £24 million coast protection scheme in Lyme Regis protecting?

These are some of the questions about Lyme Regis being asked by an ambitious new project called Lyme Looking Forward.

Encompassing groups and individuals from all walks of town life, the project is a unique opportunity to discover what residents love about the town - and decide how best to preserve those things for future generations.

Whether it's the town's bohemian mix of artists and musicians, its rich heritage or its diverse and independent high street, the project hopes to pin down what makes Lyme Regis tick and nip any threats to its future prosperity in the bud.

Co-ordinating the project is Marcus Dixon from the Lyme Regis Development Trust.

He said: "In Lyme Regis we are the stewards of a very rich heritage and we walk in the footsteps of some remarkable people. Unless we take a stand and do something to shape the town's future, we are at risk of losing the Lyme Regis we know and love."

Mr Dixon said the town was already facing major challenges to its vitality as hotels closed and affordable homes for young people became the stuff of legend.

He said it wasn't scaremongering, but a call to arms for all residents -whether they were born here or simply because they loved it here - to take a pro-active role in writing its future.

The Lyme Looking Forward project is part of a government initiative that gives market and coastal towns the chance to write their own plans for the next 25 years.

From how the town's council tax is spent to whether skateboards should be allowed on Marine Parade, it is an all-encompassing manual for how the town should be run, written by the people who live there.

Unlike other planning initiatives such as the district council's Local Plan, it is written by the residents, focussed entirely on Lyme Regis and the surrounding parishes, and is about much more than building control.

The scheme aims to ask everyone - group or individual, young or old, indigent or incomer, rich or poor - what they like about Lyme and how they think its future should be mapped out.

The process will take over a year to complete and will involve existing town groups like the Action Forum or the Majorettes, as well as individuals from all walks of town life.

Mr Dixon said: "This isn't about the usual suspects creating another meaningless document, it really is a one off chance to shape our own destiny."

The project will be based at the community learning centre LymeNET and over the year will involve schools, homes, retirement homes, work places, restaurants, even boats, as it takes the town's temperature. Local government bodies including the town council and the district council will also take part in the process.

Said Mr Dixon: "The finished document will be an official source of information and reference that will allow Lyme Regis to hold organisations like the district council to account. If it says in our plan we don't want any more luxury homes, then we won't have any."

Mr Dixon would like to hear from anyone who wants to get involved in the project. Contact LymeNET on 01297 444 570 or email Marcus@lrdt.co.uk