Press Release - 22nd October 2007

West Sussex County Council (WSCC) pulls out of voluntary agreement to fund coastal defences

West Sussex County Council’s Cabinet decided last week that WSCC would no longer fund any coast protection works, by dropping a long-standing agreement to contribute to costs in those cases where the government was not fully funding the works.

WSCC had an agreement with District Councils, to share the costs of coast protection schemes where the government would only pay part of the bill. For some years the agreement wasn’t triggered, because Whitehall fully funded works, but all that might have changed, as government tries to reduce its rising expenditure in this area.

WSCC feared a return to the old system, so has cut and run, pulling out of the agreement and leaving the Districts alone to deal with the finance of coast defence. This is a shameful act. 54% of West Sussex’s population live in coastal Districts, including the coastal plains and other areas at risk from erosion and flooding.

These areas contribute massively to the County’s economy, both as centres of urban activity and through tourism and agriculture. WSCC is happy to take tax from these residents and businesses, but isn’t prepared to help protect them from rising sea levels. In many cases, the County’s own assets (highways, schools, libraries etc) are at potential risk, yet the County is leaving it to the smaller Districts to protect them.

WSCC won’t even guarantee to let the Districts get on with the job. It may object to some coast defence proposals, by promoting so-called “alternative options” such as “managed retreat”, to further its environmental agenda to create more salt marshes. This policy involves the deliberate flooding of low-lying farmland and rural housing, yet WSCC would have no responsibility for the economic and social consequences: that would be left to the Districts.

It is time for every County Councillor from a District on the coastal plain to stand up and tell the WSCC Cabinet to reverse this decision. They can remind their colleagues that voters will have a chance to replace them at the next County election, which is only a year or so away.