Let Climping flood

Philippa Bower said it was pointless trying to hold back the sea for ever.

It would be more honest to the village's residents living near the coast to tell them their properties would be claimed by the waves and to compensate them for their loss.

Mrs Bower (Rustington East) told Arun District Council's policy development scrutiny committee: "People have to be very clear that, with rising sea levels and the state of the country's finances,

sea defences are not going to be maintained indefinitely.

"There should be a way of compensating people who are going to lose their houses.

"And we have to recognise that people are going to lose their houses and they are going to lose their land.

"We have to come to a sensible decision about how much longer we are going to spend fighting the sea.

"With the best will in the world, it will not be long before houses are being lost."

She described the recommended action for the committee to express the council's concern about the Environment Agency's plans to do nothing to Climping's coastline after two years as worthy though unrealistic.

"The recommendation is very sensible, but I think we are fooling

ourselves if we think it's going to be a long-term solution.

"We should be helping the residents to find out where they can go '“ like Europe '“ to get compensation," she explained.

The committee, however, disagreed with her.

Its members backed the recommendation. It also supported MP Nick Gibb in urging the agency and the government to provide enough money to continue maintaining Climping's frontage.

Committee chairman Jacqueline Maconachie said the meeting was the wrong place to start debating matters such as compensation for homeowners.

The council should instead be focused on getting the best deal for Climping's residents faced with the Environment Agency's unacceptable proposal to abandon their coastline.

"I am quite sure we all feel we owe a duty of care to all our

residents, irrespective of exactly where they live relative to the shoreline.

"We should concentrate on doing our utmost to make sure the agency pressures the government for better funding," she said.

"We, as an authority, have made it quite clear to people we have finite resources.

"That's why we are so grateful to Mr Gibb. I know he will do his best to press the case on our behalf."

The committee also urged the government to provide adequate funding nationally for coast protection. Its members welcomed the agency's proposals to hold the line for the rest of the shoreline between Pagham and the River Arun.

But they noted the policy of maintaining sea defences for the next century rather than sustaining them put the area at increasing risk of flooding over time.

The Environment Agency believes about six properties and some access routes will suffer from an increased risk of flooding if it abandons Climping's shoreline.

It puts the annual cost of recycling shingle from the River Arun's mouth to maintain Climping's shoreline at 40,000.

The committee's views will be sent to the agency before its

consultation on its proposals ends on August 28.

A public exhibition about the strategy is being held between 1pm-8pm on August 21 at the Arun Leisure Centre in Felpham.

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