|
4th February 2008
Download the poster here
FIGHT THEM ON THE BEACHES
| Thanks to Paula and Mark Phillips for the use of Betty the Bulldog! |
 |
The Draft CDS (Coast Defence Strategy) is due to be published in May. It will set out the authorities’ proposals for managing our coastline over the next 100 years.
FIGHT THEM ON THE BEACHES is our campaign to alert people to this, and mobilise everyone to take part in the consultation that follows its publication.
We’ve been lobbying hard to get the original proposals (“preferred indicative options”) changed, they were:
-
Selsey Bill: “do nothing” – let it erode away, with the loss of 100 homes;
-
Selsey East & West Beach: “hold the line (maintain)” – keep sea defences at their existing height, giving less and less protection as sea levels rise.
-
Medmerry: “managed realignment” – let the beach fail, flooding hundreds of acres of land, half the caravan parks, and 28 homes;
We think so. Along with the MPSG group, we’ve been urging for changes. As a result, SOS cautiously predicts that the revised policies will be:
-
“Hold the line” for all Selsey’s urban sea frontages (E & W Beach and Selsey Bill). This sounds good, but:
-
Flood risk would increase (especially at East Beach, where 1000 homes are in the flood risk areas) if the policy is just to “maintain” defences, not “sustain” (=raise) them, as sea levels rise.
-
Nothing will be done unless the money can be found! Even if we get favourable policies, the next battle will be over who pays for the works. This could be thousands of pounds per household.
-
“Managed Realignment” for Medmerry. We believe plans to flood houses and the caravan parks will be dropped, and a limited managed realignment proposed. This sounds good, but:
-
The authorities think earth banks will stop the sea from charging inland – it works at Pagham Harbour, they say. But Medmerry is on the exposed side of Selsey Bill and gets the full force of SW gales. If 10 years from now the earth banks fail, our road and mains services could be cut off, which will affect everyone in Selsey.
-
We want defences that will stand up against the sea.
-
Display the FIGHT THEM ON THE BEACHES poster. It’s available on this website, and will be printed in March’s edition of Selsey Life. Put it in your home/workplace window, car window, on your garden fence. A bumper sticker will be available from March, too.
-
Tell your family, friends, colleagues that there will be only 12 weeks’ consultation and it is really important that they make their views known.
-
Look out for our suggestions on how to respond to the consultation.
-
Register as a supporter of SOS (here on the website) if you haven’t already done so. It costs nothing, we don’t pass on your details, and we don’t send you spam. Every person counts, from school age into retirement age, whether you live here full time or not. The more people we speak for, the more we can get done!
FIGHT THEM ON THE BEACHES
|
