Scheme to protect 700 Selsey flood-risk homes

More than 700 properties in Selsey are at risk of tidal flooding, councillors have been told.

During a meeting of the district council’s cabinet on Tuesday (January 9), members recommended that a business case for funding be submitted to the Environment Agency to help with the next stage of the Selsey Coastal Scheme.

Jonathan Brown, cabinet member for environmental strategy, said the number of properties under threat from the sea was likely to increase thanks to climate change.

He added: “Selsey has a very exposed coastline, with a long history of managing coastal floods and erosion risk.

“There were many defences constructed in the 1950s but they are basically now reaching – or have reached – the end of their design life.

“With climate change, the level of protection they offer is decreasing even more.”

The coastal defence strategy currently in place dates back to 2009.

Members agreed that a project was needed to build on that and to begin the development of a scheme which would consider the future challenges of the exposed coastline.

They recommended that a Project Initiation Document setting out the aims and objectives of the scheme be approved at the next meeting of the full council.

Those objectives included: reducing flood and erosion risks to people, property, and infrastructure; providing cost-effective and deliverable flood and erosion risk management intervention; maintaining access to the coastline and incorporating opportunities for wider enhancements; and maintaining and, where possible, enhancing the natural, historic, and built environments.

The district council is a member of Coastal Partners, a body which enables authorities to pool their resources and expertise.

Mr Brown said that both they and the council felt there was ‘a strong likelihood’ that the Environment Agency would provide a ‘significant’ part of the funding needed.

But he added that the council would also have to contribute, with some £5m earmarked, though that was unlikely to be enough on its own.

As for the coastal protection work itself, Mr Brown said: “This is a very early stage. It’s likely to be quite a few years before construction could begin, even if funding can be secured.”