Press Release - 1st March 2008

PRESS RELEASE: SOS LAUNCHES ITS FIGHT THEM ON THE BEACHES CAMPAIGN

SOS was formed just over a year ago, to fight proposals to abandon coast defences at Selsey, outlined in the authorities’ “initial” Coast Defence Strategy. The next stage in the official process is imminent: the publication of the “Draft” Coast Defence Strategy, due out in April. SOS has launched its “FIGHT THEM ON THE BEACHES” campaign to raise awareness of this, and encourage the Manhood’s population to take part in the accompanying consultation – the last chance they will have to let their views be known.

It’s just over a year since SOS was formed, to fight proposals to abandon coast defences on the Manhood Peninsula. These “preferred indicative options” included allowing the seafront at Selsey Bill to erode away (with the loss of at least 100 homes), the flooding of half Selsey’s caravan parks (our largest employer) along with 28 homes at Ham and Medmerry, and the increased risk of flooding for 1000 homes in low-lying parts of East Beach.

SOS has had tremendous support from the public, and we believe the authorities can’t ignore the massive opposition to their initial proposals. It will soon be “crunch time”, as their amended proposals are due to be published in April, in the “Draft” Coast Defence Strategy.

This is a key stage in the process. Once published, there will be just 12 weeks of public consultation – the last chance for the public to let their views be known. This is the time to put up a spirited defence of our community, and that’s why we’ve launched FIGHT THEM ON THE BEACHES. The campaign will raise awareness, inform people, and encourage them to take part in the consultation..

By standing together we can get the authorities to adopt reasonable policies for managing our coastline – not ones that mean people lose their homes or jobs. We are urging people to display our campaign poster, check our website for news & information, and take part in the Environment Agency’s final consultation.

Getting reasonable policies is a vital first step to getting sustainable coast defences. The second step will be to find a way of paying for them. Sustainable coast defences are an essential part of our community’s infrastructure, deserving much higher priority from the authorities. However, with community support, we can cross this bridge once we have sensible policies in place.

End.

01/03/08, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE