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

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

With new online maps communities along the South Downs coast between Beachy Head and Selsey Bill can see how coastal erosion could affect their coastline in future.

Two pilot maps, for the South Downs and Northumberland, were published today by the Environment Agency. The maps were developed in conjunction with local councils and provide information for the public on how coastal erosion could affect where they live for the next 20 years. The maps also show how the coast is being managed and any defences that are in place.

Although few households are at risk from coastal erosion, its consequences can be serious. Better information on coastal erosion will help coastal communities to make more informed decisions about development and adapting to a changing coastline.

The information for the maps was developed in a partnership project between local authorities, the Environment Agency and Government. It provides the latest erosion information to help local authorities, planners and developers plan investment on the coast. The online maps enable the public to access this information.

The Environment Agency will gather feedback on how it might improve or add to the information provided in the pilot maps 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.”

Environment Agency chairman, Lord Chris Smith, said that it is important people living and working on the coast understand how their coastlines could change in the future, and that local authorities had access to the best available information.

“It is part of the Environment Agency’s role to help coastal communities make informed decisions about how best to manage the coast and plan development,” he said.

“The latest climate change impact data has been used to ensure the information is the best available on the risks of coastal erosion.”

Bryan Curtis, Chairman of the South East Coastal Group, said: “Adur and Worthing Councils are pleased to have been a part of this project and pilot scheme.”

Plans are already in place to manage and adapt to coastal erosion in England and Wales. Local authorities and the Environment Agency have produced Shoreline Management Plans that set out long term policies about how to manage the risk of coastal erosion.

The new maps complement these technical documents by providing this information in an easy to use format.

The first two pilot maps are available on the Environment Agency website here: www.environment-agency.gov.uk

From a press release on the Environment Agnecy website

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

SURVEYS to pave the way for a major overhaul of Scarborough’s crumbling sea defences, one of the most ambitious schemes of its kind in the country, are taking place this month.

The Geotechnical surveys are being undertaken in Scarborough’s South Bay to provide information for a proposed multi-million pound scheme to improve the sea defences around the town’s historic Spa complex.

The investigation is the latest stage in a three-year study being funded by a grant from the Environment Agency.

If given the final go-ahead, the project would herald the most significant change to the seafront in Scarborough since the massive development during the Victorian era, bringing with it the opportunity to attract a wave of new investment in the resort.

One option could see the protective barriers being built further off the coast, which has the potential to transform the resort’s South Bay.

Senior councillors involved with the project have told the Yorkshire Post the proposals could provoke controversy, but are vital to safeguard the future of Scarborough.

The investigations into the ground conditions will be carried out on the beach in front of the sea wall by the Spa Complex.

The work, which is expected to take around a week, will involve digging holes on the beach to determine the depth to the bedrock underneath the sand and to take samples.

The latest research is part of a coastal defence strategy which was adopted by the council in January 2000 amid growing concerns that existing structures could fail and were in need of major improvements.

The council insists it has learnt lessons from the High Point Rendel scandal between 2002 and 2005, where it illegally consulted the company over a scheme that eventually cost tens of millions of pounds more than the initial estimates on which the contract was awarded.

Story in the Yorkshire Post

The Environment Agency (EA) wants to hear residents’ views on major new plans to protect hundreds of homes between Emsworth and East Head in West Wittering from flooding.

The aim is to strengthen the coastline where needed at Thorney Island, Southbourne, Nutbourne, Chidham, Bosham, Fishbourne, Birdham and West Itchenor.

The EA is now looking in more detail at this generally low-lying area which includes substantial areas of farmland on reclaimed intertidal marshes.

Chairman of Emsworth Flood Action Group Chris Clode said: “Any money that can be provided is very welcome. Indeed it is bound to benefit those people in the properties affected, particularly around the East Head area.”

Andrew Gilham, area flood and coastal risk manager for the EA, said: “With our climate changing and sea levels rising, the risks and the number of people affected is likely to increase.

“We have to take a long term view of flood and erosion management for all our coastline, including this stretch.

“We cannot prevent all flooding and erosion but local knowledge and input from communities, as well as other organisations, is important in helping us investigate the best way to manage these risks.”

The Emsworth to East Head Flood and Coastal Risk Management Strategy forms the eastern frontage of Chichester Harbour from Emsworth Yacht Harbour to Ella Nore Lane, West Wittering.

During the summer, the EA will contact local parish councils and landowners to discuss the flood and erosion risks in the area.

Feedback received will be used to help identify what potential flood and coastal risk management options should be considered.

When the potential management options have been identified, public exhibitions will be held to present the draft options to the community and to invite further comments for consideration in defining draft strategy recommendations.

Works on flood defences in West Wittering were given the go ahead by the EA in May this year as part of the Pagham to East Head coastal defence strategy.

Communities are encouraged to find out more about the strategy by visiting www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/129683.aspx and further information about the North Solent SMP can be found at www.northsolentsmp.co.uk.

To submit comments and to be kept informed of progress with the strategy, please email the project team at ems2eh@environment-agency.gov.uk or contact 0370 8506506.

For more general information on how to prepare for flooding and the latest flood warnings in force visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk or ring Floodline on 08459 881188.

A flood fair is taking place on July 25 at the Mountford Rooms at the Emsworth Community Association building behind the Emsworth Museum in North Street. The free exhibition takes place between 3pm and 7pm.

Story in the Chichester Observer

FLOOD-HIT farmer Rob Keene has questioned a consultation which appears to ignore the high ground of Gloucester’s massive rubbish dump.

The Environment Agency has released details of its plan to manage flood risk around the River Severn.

But Over farmer Rob, whose land flooded in 2007, says no account has been taken of the huge Hempsted tip site which dominates the landscape south of the Lower Parting.

The tip site grows ever higher, and is well above the level of the river and surrounding land – so it would not be able to take floodwater.

But the Environment Agency has marked out an area which could flood, and that area includes the tip.

“The whole thing kind of makes sense if the tip wasn’t there,” said Rob. “I know people are concerned about it and its been brought up with the EA. The repercussions for this area are really serious.”

Swamped

The EA said the tip site had been taken in to account, and the map used in the consultation document was for illustration purposes only.

But Rob said the Hempsted tip would cause a flood bottleneck as well, and its potential effect on worsening the flood risk should not be underestimated.

“There isn’t much chance of moving the tip but it seems unfair that farmers’ land is being used as a flood storage area to reduce the flooding possibility in Gloucester.

“If we are taking water on our land to save people’s homes, I accept that, but they are not taking notice of the problems the tip causes.”

He added that a plan to raise a new stadium for the Gloucester City football ground would cause further problems.

During the floods of 2007, which saw more than 5,000 homes under water, and 135,000 without drinking water, Mr Keen’s farm lost many crops.

“It was devastating,” he said. “We had 350 acres submerged. It was just a nightmare in terms of the crops we lost and the retail trading we didn’t have.”

The EA’s Managing Flood Risk on the Severn Estuary brochure ties in with the recently published Shoreline Management Plan (SMP), which provides a framework for managing issues around the Severn Estuary including flood risk.

“It is important for us to be able to plan ahead for the challenge that climate change presents of rising sea levels,” said Anthony Perry, area flood risk manager.

The SMP and the Severn Estuary Strategy are intended to help councils, landowners and others to work with the EA to adapt to climate change in the coming decades.

Consultation closed on April 4.

An EA spokeswoman said: “The modelling and assessment for the Severn estuary strategy did take into account the raised ground of Hempsted landfill site.

“The map shown in the brochure was for illustration purposes only.”

Story on the This is Gloucestershire website

AN OPPONENT of plans to create a wetland habitat and flood scheme at Donna Nook claims the community has been “stabbed in the back” after a local authority announced it could not rely on its original grounds for refusal.

East Lindsey District Council has been preparing to be represented at an appeal lodged by the Environment Agency after its plan to create a wetland habitat and flood scheme at Donna Nook was refused last year.

The wetland would see acres of farmland flooded and would compensate for the loss of habitat around the Humber estuary due to coastal squeeze.

But in a U-turn, ELDC said things have since changed which meant its reasons for refusal could not be relied upon to win the appeal.

Farmworker Alwyn Drewery said: “The community has been stabbed in the back and East Lindsey has yet again failed to support local people. We have letters from the chief executive Nigel Howells saying this will be defended rigorously.

“I am very disappointed and I feel they have let local taxpayers down, local parish councils and our ward councillor Robert Palmer who has greatly supported the community.

“We will continue to fight this as an interested party, but I think the appeal will make ELDC look silly, especially as the Environment Agency has spent a lot of public money with the appeal process.”

However, a council spokesman said: “The district council refused the planning application for two reasons – the Shoreline Management Plan hadn’t been adopted and the proposal by the Environment Agency was contrary to the Regional Spatial Strategy.

“Since the district council’s decision to refuse the planning application, which was based on solid and relevant planning policy at the time, the Shoreline Management Plan has been endorsed and the Government’s intention to revoke the Regional Strategy has been confirmed as a material planning consideration.

“Any appeal would be decided on the law and policy as it will stand when the appeal is heard later this year.”

The application had received almost 400 letters of objection from the public, who were concerned about flood water being brought closer to their homes in North Somercotes and the loss of top-quality land.

Story in the Grimsby Telegraph