Frequent flooding in Pagham 'will only get worse if more houses are built on greenfields'

Nigel Mundy, who also runs horse sanctuary Pagham Ponies, said plans to build on and around the land he has used for years would make flooding worse.

Mr Mundy shared pictures of the area near Church Barton House, Horns Lane, last month following periods of heavy rainfall.

They show the fields flooded with water which Mr Mundy says will have ‘nowhere to go’ if built on – something known as urban or surface water run-off.

There was 244.8mm of rain in the South East region in November 2022, according to Southern Water, compared to 15.1 mm in November 2021.

October was the wettest month since February with eight river flood alerts in place in the South East, which saw 120 per cent of the long-term average rainfall.

“My trade for most of my working life was civil engineering and groundwork and I know more about drainage than most,” said Mr Mundy, “The planners and developers are not reading the assessment from the Environment Agency correctly. They are only emphasising that the area is low risk.

“It is low risk while the fields remain as is because they are acting as a large soakaway. But in the assessment, the Environment Agency state that areas with hard surfaces i.e. concrete make the risk more widespread.”

Mr Mundy said Pagham was ‘underwater for the most part’ last month with some homes experiencing flooding ‘for the first time’.

“I’ve been here for 18 years and I can honestly say that this situation has worsened year after year,” he said, “This is by far the worst it has ever been.

Forget climate change, this is Pagham change.”

Sites in Pagham are supposed to deliver 1,200 new houses by 2031 under Arun District Council’s ‘Local Plan’. Mr Mundy has since written to the Planning Inspectorate, ADC, and lead local flood authority West Sussex County Council about his concerns.

Surface water flooding is also a national problem. Last month the National Infrastructure Commission warned that 325,000 properties in England are currently at risk from this kind of flooding.

According to the NIC, this could double to more than 600,000 by 2055, mostly due to a combination of extreme weather caused by climate change and increasing pressure on drainage systems caused by new developments.

The government has recently promised to review housing targets – which local councils have been struggling to meet – to make them more of a guide.

Meanwhile, the Environment Agency has told Mr Mundy that all new developments must have a ‘Flood Risk Assessment’ but it falls to WSCC to assess the risks of surface water flooding.

“If the proposed developments are allowed to be constructed on the fields adjacent to the Pagham road, the consequences will be disastrous for the community,” said Mr Mundy. “What is occurring now is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Large developments have been approved off Summer Lane, Hook Lane and Sefter Road in recent years.