WORKS to protect 65 homes in West Wittering from flooding in the future are going ‘full steam ahead’, the Environment Agency has said.

Residents and the community in the Witterings managed to raise an incredible £150,000 to help pay for the defence works.

The homes will be protected by raising the current embankment on the shore with clay. Preparation construction works have started but will not be implemented on the beach until April when birds stop nesting there.

Andrew Gilham of the Environment Agency (EA) said: “We imported 10,000 tonnes of clay at the end of last year. We got it in early so we were ready to start works as soon as possible, once the birds have finished nesting. We expect them to leave the site in early April.

“It’s full steam ahead for the main construction works. Over the last couple of months we held public exhibitions showing the designs. Feedback has been used to help shape the final decision.”

Plans to improve the sea defences at West Wittering is part of the Pagham to East Head Coastal Defence Strategy. It was decided that 65 homes in West Wittering were at risk from flooding unless they were strengthened and improved. The works had to get permission from Chichester District Council and were supported by West Wittering Parish Council.

Story in the Chichester Observer

The Environment Agency is calling on Newhaven, Seaford and Lewes residents to take part in an innovative project that will identify the best ways of adapting to the long term threats of coastal climate change.

As part of the Coastal Communities 2150 (CC2150) project, the Environment Agency is calling for community representatives including residents, businesses and local authorities, to get involved in setting up a group to plan ahead and decide how best to tackle these issues.

The coast around South East England is changing. With this in mind, the European funded CC2150 project aims to help communities get better prepared for the future effects of rising sea levels, increased flood risk and sinking land levels.

The Environment Agency will be hosting an open information evening for all those interested in getting involved at the Hillcrest Community Centre in Newhaven on Monday 16 January between 6pm and 8pm.

Together with the Environment Agency, the group will share views and influence how we can all best prepare for climate change along our coastline. New ways of adapting to these risks can provide new opportunities to build a better future for all.

By 2150, it is estimated that around 3,000 properties within Newhaven, Seaford and Lewes will be at risk of river and coastal flooding. We need to ensure future development does not compromise our ability to manage increasing flood risk by building homes too close to defences, and that the water quality of our rivers and the environment in general is protected.

John Gower, Environment Agency Project Manager, said: “Decisions taken today will have a significant and lasting impact on our coastline and the communities who will live and work along it in 2150, just as Victorian decision making has influenced how we manage our coastline today.

“The existing flood defence structures in these East Sussex communities are ageing. This will eventually have an impact on services such as rail and road networks, and will mean the electricity substation and properties are at greater risk of flooding. This means communities need to plan ahead now for how they will contribute to managing their flood risk and their local environment in the future.

“That’s why I urge everyone with an interest in safeguarding the future of these East Sussex towns to get involved and have their say on how we all can shape the future of these communities for generations to come.”

For further information on CC2150 or to register your interest in being part of the group, contact John Gower, CC2150 Project Manager, by email at: john.gower@environment-agency.gov.uk or visit the website at: www.cc2150.eu

Over five million people in England and Wales are at risk from flooding from rivers and the sea. Those in flood risk areas should sign up to the Environment Agency’s free flood warning system – the most immediate and localised source of information on flooding – by calling 0845 9881188 or visiting www.environment-agency.gov.uk/flood
1. Coastal communities across Europe face the prospect of significant change as rising sea levels and higher storms surges increase the risk of coastal erosion, flooding and salinisation.

2. CC2150 is a three year €2.9 million European communications project part-funded by the European 2 Seas programme between the Environment Agency, Kent County Council, Hampshire County Council in the UK, and Alterra in the Netherlands, and the Province of West-Flanders and Agency for MCS – Coastal Division in Belgium. Its aim is to develop community centred communications to enable communities to actively engage in long term coastal change adaptation strategies.

3. CC2150 is supported by the following funders:

- INTERREG 2 SEAS programme: Cross border cooperation programme
- In the UK: Defra; Environment Agency; Kent County Council; Hampshire County Council; Natural England.

From a press rlease on the Environment Agency website.

RESIDENTS can view information on how the coastline of the Lewes District is set to change during the next 20 years.

The district is part of a pioneering national pilot scheme to give the public online information on how the coast is changing.

A new set of web pages will provide information on how coastal erosion is expected to change the coastline in the next two decades.

The pages will also detail how the coast is being managed by the Environment Agency and the local authorities, as well as what coastal defences are in place.

The new system went live in November and reveals how the coastline area from Saltdean through Telscombe, Peacehaven, Newhaven, Seaford and along to Cuckmere Haven will alter over time.

All the information can be seen at the Environment Agency website.

Councillor Andy Smith, Cabinet Member for the Environment at Lewes District Council, said, “We are pleased that Sussex is a pilot for the national coastal erosion mapping project.

“This will give people living along the coast much better information on how the area is changing and on what we and our partners are doing to manage it.

“Having up-to date information also helps us in bidding for national funds to keep our coast defences in good condition.

“Where property and infrastructure might be at risk from erosion, it can help in getting work done to assess the options available for future management of the coast.

“We will then want to look at getting funds for implementing the preferred options.”

Story in the Eastbourne Herald

Steps leading down to the beaches around the Seven Sisters cliffs will be relocated because of coastal erosion.

Planning permission has been granted to allow Wealden District Council to build the new steps in the Birling Gap.

The Seven Sisters cliffs, from Seaford to Beachy Head, are a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and part of the South Downs National Park.

The new staircase will be built 3m (9.8ft) inland from its current position.

Johanna Howell, who is the cabinet member for community and the voluntary sector at the council, said: “The staircase, which provides the only access down to one of the most photographed locations in England, becomes more vulnerable as the cliff behind it is continually eroded.

“The staircase is designed to be periodically moved back to the cliff side as the rock face is washed away by the sea.

“With another season of winter storms on its way, we felt it was best to be prepared so that any necessary re-siting can be carried out as quickly as possible.”

The staircase was last moved in 2002.

Story on the BBC News website

PARTS of the Sussex coastline will disappear within the next 20 years, according to a map produced by the Environment Agency.

The new online map, which is accessible to the public, shows how the coast, including Newhaven, Seaford and Peacehaven, will be affected.

It reveals how the coast is being managed and any defences in place.

Leader of Newhaven Town Council Judith Ost said: “Both coastline erosion and flooding are inevitable as sea levels rise.

“Of the two, the threat to Newhaven is far greater from flooding than from erosion.

“More than 100 homes and many businesses are in the area of high flood risk as is the rail station and the main road. Much of the built up area near the river to the east is below sea level and at risk.

“Protecting Newhaven from flooding is a higher priority than protecting the land between Newhaven and Seaford that might erode.”

For example along some of Newhaven’s shoreline, the sea could reclaim up to 20 metres inland by 2025, according to the study.

The Environment Agency hopes better information on coastal erosion will help communities to make more informed decisions about development and adapting to a changing coastline.

The information for the map was developed with local authorities, the Environment Agency and Government.

It provides the latest erosion information to help plan investment on the coast.

The Sussex map is one of two, developed as part of a pilot project.

The Environment Agency will gather feedback on how it might improve it before publishing maps for the rest of England and Wales in 2012.

Environment Minister Richard Benyon said: “Coastal erosion is a natural process and while we can’t defend every single section of cliff or beach, there are some practical steps that will help people plan ahead and adapt for the future. Making this information available now will help communities and councils decide what action they need to take to adapt to coastal erosion.

“Over the next four years we’ll be spending at least £2.1 billion on tackling erosion and flooding, and we’ve made reforms to give people more say in how this money is spent locally to defend our coastline in the most sensible and robust way.”

The map is available at www.environment-agency.gov.uk

Story in the Sussex Express

A NEW online mapping facility shows how at risk Worthing, Shoreham and Littlehampton’s coastlines are from erosion and flooding.

The coastal erosion map was made live on the Environment Agency’s website last week, and allows users to see what changes, if any, there might be to the coastline where they live in the next 15 years.

The map for the South Downs area is one of just two unveiled last week as pilots for this project. It charts the coastline from Beachy Head in the east to Selsey Bill in the west, and predicts any changes to the coastline in our area by 2025 are likely to be “negligible”.

Andrew Gilham, flood and coastal risk manager for the Environment Agency, said: “This is not new information, as the Shoreline Management Plan for this area came into effect two years ago, but previously the information about coastal erosion was harder for people to access and the government asked us to look at making it more available.

“We have good defences on the Sussex coastline, but there is always a risk we could have a significant storm that could exceed those defences. This is why part of the work we do is to maintain those defences, but we also want to make sure people know there is that risk, even though it is a small.”

The information for the maps was developed in a partnership project between local authorities, the Environment Agency and the government.

Visitors to the Environment Agency website can enter their postcode and the coastline relevant to them will appear on screen. They can then click on points along the coast to reveal what shoreline management strategy is employed in that particular area and see predictions for the amount of coastal erosion in the future.

From Arun to Adur, the management strategy largely employed is Hold the Line, which is one of four statuses for shoreline management.

It is categorised as “an aspiration to build or maintain artificial defences so that the position of the shoreline remains. Sometimes, the type or method of defence may change to achieve this result”.

Mr Gilham said: “Hold the Line doesn’t mean that we will keep the coastline exactly the same, as there will always be things like shingle movement, but what it does say is that we will essentially keep things where they are by looking at what we have to do to maintain the defences.

“A few years ago, we came up with the Arun to Adur coastline strategy, and that has identified what we need to do over the next 100 years or so to stop flooding in these areas. We have already carried out work at Shoreham and Lancing, and I know Worthing wants to look at some of its groynes.

“But, if anybody has any queries or concerns, I would urge them to contact us through our website.”

The Environment Agency will gather feedback on how it might improve or add to the information provided in the pilot maps before publishing them for the rest of England and Wales next year.

For more information, and to view the map, visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk

Story in the Worthing Herald

Large parts of the Sussex coastline will disappear into the sea within 15 years, a Government report has revealed.

A study by the Environment Agency into coastal defences across Sussex highlights more than ten miles of the shoreline which will be lost to erosion.

Newhaven, Seaford and beauty spots such as Birling Gap are all listed as being affected by damage caused by the sea because of a lack of protection.

And the report warns as much as 20 metres of land could be lost in some places by 2025.

The study has been drawn up to show communities how erosion could affect where they live.

Newhaven’s coastline from Newhaven Heights to the harbour is predicted to have been eroded by up to 20 metres by 2025.

The report is grim reading for those parts of Sussex which currently have defences, too.

Properties along the coast through Brighton and Hove, Shoreham, Worthing and Littlehampton are assessed as being at “significant” risk of flooding, along with homes and businesses near the banks of the Arun, Adur and Ouse.

Lewes MP Norman Baker yesterday (November 20) vowed to take the Newhaven’s shoreline policy up with the Environment Agency.

He said: “The climate change chickens are coming home to roost.

“We have already seen cottage after cottage in Birling Gap go into the sea.

“There has always been erosion but it has now accelerated.”

Judith Ost, the leader of Newhaven Town Council, said: “While I would like the area protected from erosion, currently industrial sites in Newhaven are at very real risk of flooding and this needs to be addressed.”

Environment Minister Richard Benyon said: “Coastal erosion is a natural process and while we can’t defend every single section of cliff or beach.”

The Government is spending £2.1 billion tackling erosion and flooding.

See the Environment Agency maps showing coastal erosion areas, here.

Story in The Argus

A holiday park in Selsey has put forward plans to make changes to its sea defence works.

Bunn Leisure is privately funding a £15m scheme at West Sands Caravan Park to protect its business and the west side of Selsey.

The original plans were granted planning permission in 2009 but Bunn wants to change the type of rock, profiling and footprint of the breakwaters, as well as change the source of shingle for a beach recharge.

It also will make minor changes to construction and programme for the planned works.

It has done this to match the works that will be carried out by the Environment Agency (EA) for the nearby Medmerry realignment scheme.

Mike Caven, operations director at Bunn Leisure, said: “We are working very closely with the EA and tweaking our plans to make sure both our schemes go together. It is joined-up thinking.”

It is believed Bunn’s scheme is the first privately-funded sea defence scheme in the UK.

Mr Caven added: “We’ve been working with the EA for the last two years to protect the business and protect the jobs.”

Construction of the sea defences at West Sands has been delayed to ensure it is parallel with the permitted Medmerry realignment scheme.

This scheme involves moving the sea coast boundaries further inland to create a unique marsh land space for habitats while at the same time protecting homes from being flooded in the future. It forms part of the EA’s Pagham to East Head coastal defence strategy.

Selsey councillor and sea defence campaigner Roland O’Brien said: “Thank goodness Bunn Leisure can and will invest in this new coastal defence.

“Apart from protecting the caravan park, the works also protect a large section of the western part of the town from coastal flooding.

“And from what I’ve seen of the plans, the new defence will enhance Selsey’s coastline, for visitors and residents alike.”

To view the plans quote the planning application reference number SY/09/01894/FUL

Story in the Chichester Observer

Seaside residents risk losing their homes to flooding and coastal erosion – for the sake of 20 tiny sea snails.

The owners of 1,350 properties at Pagham Harbour, West Sussex, have been told there is a one in 200 chance their homes will flood every year for the next century.

The warning came after a submerged shingle bank in the harbour was displaced changing the direction of the current towards the shore and eroding the beach.

A plan to redirect the flow of water away from land – which most local people are in favour of – has been thrown into jeopardy after the discovery of a rare snail colony.

The two millimetre-long Defolin’s lagoon snail is already a protected marine species. Conservationists are hoping to protect it further by using new legislation to make Pagham Harbour a Marine Conservation Zone.

The zones are being introduced to keep Britain in line with international conservation targets.

The move has infuriated local residents who are accusing conservation authorities of putting the snails ahead of millions of pounds of property,  land that can be used for crops and businesses.

There is further outrage as conservationists can’t even be certain the snail is still there – and to try to find it isn’t possible as it is too delicate to survive the digging.

Ed Blackburn, vice-chairman of Pagham Parish Council, said: ‘Basically, the conservationists are saying “I’m sorry you are all going to drown and lose your homes but there might be 20 snails under here on holiday.”

‘This is not about protecting a snail – it’s about protecting us. They can’t even prove it’s [the snail] still there.

‘To do that, they’d have to dig into the shingle and it’s too small and delicate to survive it.’

The plans to bore a channel to change the current came from an engineer at Arun District Council in 2007 but were later scrapped.

Mr Blackburn said: ‘We feel that cutting this channel will secure the future of Pagham.

‘About 350 houses are on the precipice of flooding, along with quite literally hundreds and hundreds of acres of arable farmland and a campsite with 1,000 caravans.

‘It’s not a case of a few houses on the beach that could get wet, it’s a whole infrastructure and we need to protect these properties and businesses.

‘A lot of people are very angry. There’s nothing really more stupid than setting up a boundary for a snail which might not even be there.’

Ray Radmore, chairman of the parish council, added: ‘Pagham Harbour is hugely covered by a whole range of conservation status and the snail is very well-protected already. It isn’t necessary to have more protection on top of it.’

Coastal defences at Pagham were shored up last April when 10,000 cubic metres of shingle were dumped on the beach.

The Environmental Agency for the region said the area’s new status as a marine zone will not stop them adding more shingle to the beach.

Locals claim that since last year’s work, half of the shingle has already been washed away and to replace it costs £600,000 a time.

Andrew Gilham, flood and coastal risk manager at the Environment Agency, said: ‘The fundamental reason we would not support the cutting of a channel is that we do not believe it is necessary.

‘We don’t want to start work at great public cost which may be deemed unnecessary in the very near future because nature has dealt with the problem on its own.

‘We are proposing, through an adaptive management plan, to work very closely with the community to monitor how the harbour evolves naturally, and will have plans in place to take action if and when necessary.

‘At the moment, there is a very wide shingle beach in front of the properties at Pagham, which provide very good protection.

‘If it erodes further, the district council will take action to put more shingle there.

‘Far from doing nothing, this is one of the mostly closely monitored parts of the south coast and we are committed to ensuring that the residents of Pagham get the protection they need.’

Story by Louise Boyle in the Daily Mail

A government minister has been invited to Pagham to see why residents are concerned about the loss of their beach.

The invitation to fisheries minister Richard Benyon was sent this week by Bognor Regis and Littlehampton MP Nick Gibb.

It followed Mr Gibb’s chairing of a public meeting in which nearly 200 residents made clear their opposition to plans for a marine conservation zone around Pagham Harbour local nature reserve which they fear could halt coast protection methods.

Mr Gibb said: “I have pointed out to Mr Benyon the concerns there are in Pagham about coastal erosion. I have referred to the marine conservation zone and the reference area within it which could affect any potential solutions to the coastal erosion problems.

“Coming down to Pagham will enable him to see for himself the problems we are facing and the dangers which might be posed by the marine conservation zone.

“Seeing things first hand always raises the understanding of an issue.

“The minister will realise the situation better if I can persuade him to come down and spend an hour-and-a-half talking to Pagham Parish Council chairman Ray Radmall and officers from Arun District Council than by looking at some papers on his desk.”

Mr Benyon will be heavily involved in the decision about whether or not to set up a marine conservation zone around Pagham Harbour.

The zone, one of many around the coast, is intended to protect marine wildlife and habitats. At its heart will be a reference area where all activity will be heavily restricted.

Those proposing the zone say it will not have any effect on work to protect Pagham from the sea which is eroding its beach.

Cllr Radmall told Pagham Parish Council’s meeting on Tuesday: “Things are moving in the right direction. It’s good news that Nick Gibb has invited the minister to come down.

“A lot of people have said to me in the past week or two Nick’s incisive questioning and examination at the public meeting has given them a lot of confidence in him.”

Story in the Bognor Regis Observer