MP's call to action over flood risk homes

HOMES and jobs in Littlehampton could be affected by abandoning sea defences to the west of the town, the town's MP warned this week.
By The Newsroom
Published 11th Jun 2009, 15:56 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 01:06 BST

Nick Gibb said it would be a "huge mistake" if the Environment Agency stopped taking shingle from the beach near the harbour entrance to shore up the sea defences at Climping.

As reported in last week's Gazette, the agency has proposed ending maintenance of the defences, in a draft strategy to manage flood risk along the coast between the River Arun and Pagham.

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But Mr Gibb said the move would be a false economy, and would put at risk homes on the west bank of the Arun, together with jobs in the town's tourism industry, for the sake of the 30-40,000 spent each year on recycling the shingle.

"Moving that shingle westwards stops shingle blocking the mouth of the river. If it does become blocked, we have lost our plan for the harbour's future with leisure craft, and that will be detrimental to tourism in Littlehampton.

"It will also mean parts of Rope Walk could be flooded, we might lose the golf course and access to Bailiffscourt Hotel would be affected. I don't think they have taken all these things into account."

Mr Gibb said he would be contacting Arun and West Sussex County councils to see if they could help to meet the cost of maintaining the sea defences, should the Environment Agency's proposal go ahead.

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"We have to fight this. We may have to form a campaign with the golf club, marina and home owners," added the MP.

The agency's suggestion of abandoning the sea defences after a two-year scaling down period came as a surprise for many people living and working in the affected area, as it went against the previous policy of continuing maintenance.

Consultation on the strategy continues until the end of August. A public exhibition at Climping Village Hall on Friday next week, from 1-8pm, will set out the strategy in detail.

* For the full story, see this week's Littlehampton Gazette on sale today (Thursday, June 11)

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Related topics:Environment Agency