Chichester District Council is seeking government funding to carry out urgent repairs to Selsey’s West Beach coastal defences.
The cabinet has agreed to apply to the Environment Agency for a grant to fix a 250-metre stretch of the front that’s showing signs of deterioration.
The work is separate from the wider Selsey Coastal Scheme, which is still at the design stage after funding was secured last May.
Once the design stage has been completed, the project will need to go through two more approval stages to gain further funding. Currently, it is anticipated that work on the main project will not start until 2030 at the earliest, which is why extra funding is being sought for the urgent repairs required at West Beach.
“If this section of the beach frontage is not repaired before the main works start in a few years’ time, then there is a danger that this area will deteriorate even further and would push up the cost of the main scheme,” says Councillor Jonathan Brown, Cabinet Member for Environmental Strategy at Chichester District Council. “The wider project relies on using the existing structures as its foundation, and so it’s crucial that these works are completed to reduce the risk of the defences deteriorating further or failing ahead of the main scheme taking place. Now that the application has been approved, we hope to submit this soon and we anticipate hearing back after around four months.”
In addition, Cabinet also approved £60,000 of additional funding from the council’s General Reserves to repair the sea wall at Sea Grove in Selsey. A routine inspection of the seawall found that timber on the front had detached which had exposed a large void in the base of the seawall. If not repaired, then the void is likely to increase in size and compromise the rest of this part of the structure.
These works will be carried out by council contractors, supervised by Coastal Partners and will include a temporary support at the base of the seawall so that the void can then be filled with concrete.
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