Save Our Selsey

Why SOS?

• New proposals on how to manage our coastline could have a devastating financial impact for all Selsey residents. In brief, the published suggestions could mean that:
  • Selsey Bill (Hillfield Road to Lifeboat Way) is left to erode
  • Medmerry Beach is left to fail - a huge area would flood
  • We pay £17m to maintain the sea walls at East & West Beach
  • We pay £10m to protect Earnley, Bracklesham, Selsey’s main road and the Peninsula’s sewage works

• Under these suggestions…
  • 128 homes would be lost (no compensation to owners)
  • 1150 homes would be at risk, unless local people pay the £17m for coast defence - this could cost us thousands
  • The Oasis and half the campsites could be lost - they employ nearly 300 people, and our town’s shops rely on the visitors
  • Each household in Selsey could pay £1,700 simply to keep the main road connection to Chichester

• SOS (Save our Selsey) has been formed to:
  • Alert residents and businesses to the proposals
  • Inform them about the issues
  • Campaign for a fair solution to our coast defence, that considers the people who live and work here

• What does SOS want for Selsey?
  • A guarantee of national funds to protect the town’s main road/services
  • A guarantee to maintain the existing defences until the new “strategy” is agreed (including emergency work to stop West Beach sea wall collapsing)
  • “Hold the line” at Selsey Bill frontage - don’t let the Bill go
  • “Hold the line” at Medmerry (unless this is proven unviable) - scrap “option 2″, which destroys 28 homes, jobs & leisure facilities
  • In the absence of government help, Regional, County and District funding, support and encouragement (through planning and other measures) for private investment in coast defence.
  • A clear statement of who would have to pay for the current proposals if there is no government money & how much & when they’d have to pay

• The wider aims of S.O.S.
  • A sustainable solution to coast defence: some bits of coast may have to be realigned, but plans must take full account of the economic & social costs
  • A fair deal: we are all responsible for global warming, coastal residents shouldn’t be left alone to pay the price. Give us a slice of environmental taxes!
  • Proper information & representation: the actual people who will be affected deserve proper information and a real say in the decisions. It’s their homes, jobs & futures at stake
  • Compensation: for people whose property, jobs or businesses are lost or devalued

For more information please visit the Save Our Selsey website