Council backs Pagham flood protection plan

The coast defence strategy says that the section of low-lying frontage from Pagham to Church Norton will be subject to 'adaptive management'.

The aim of that approach is to preserve the social, economic, environmental and amenity value of the community around Pagham Harbour.

The immediate emphasis will be on effectively managing the sensitive coastline up to 2028.

The impact of any active intervention to manage the shingle spits alongside the harbour's national and global importance as a nature reserve will also be taken into account.

The same approach is likely to be applied for the rest of the next century unless research shows that a more definitive approach can be taken to managing the risk of erosion.

Arun District Council's cabinet members backed the strategy at their meeting on Monday. It has been prepared by the Environment Agency in line with the government's flood and coastal defence policy.

James Humphrys, the agency's area manager, said he believed the final version of the strategy benefited the maximum number of residents as well as the environment.

"We must plan now for how we can manage flood and erosion risks along this coastline well into the future.

"Within 100 years, we predict that more than 2,200 houses and businesses in the low-lying areas could flood here each year as sea levels rise.

"At the same time, erosion could cause almost 1,500 properties to be lost to the sea."

The strategy's current version follows extensive consultation by the agency during last summer.

More than 1,000 people attended exhibitions at Pagham, Selsey and West Wittering. Some 200-plus residents also took the chance to comment on the recommendations.

Their views have helped to shape the outcome. Among their concerns has been how the ultimate multi-million pound cost of the work will be funded.

David Green, Arun's head of infrastructure, works and engineering, told councillors in a report that the strategy would provide a framework against which funding can be explored.

The Environment Agency was developing a policy for contributions towards schemes and how the money from other bodies would accelerate their implementation.

But this needed to be balanced against the need to ensure schemes with a higher priority were still carried out within a suitable time.

Chichester District Council is to review the final strategy on November 25 before the agency adopts the document.

Short term solution

A separate report into how to protect Pagham's frontage for the next few years is due to be finished next month.

Arun District Council hired consultants to investigate short-term options and a formal proposal to protect residents from the eroding coastline along West and East Front Roads.

"It would appear that it is potentially viable to undertake a scheme for the short-term protection of this frontage," Mr Green told councillors.

A bid for less than 1m to pay for the work has been included in the council's submission to the Environment Agency for funding.

The consultants' final report into the matter will also include a longer-term sustainable solution for the vulnerable frontage.

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