10/06/2026
Chichester District Council have published the following media statement.
Date of Release: 10 June 2026 Ref: 4602
Further steps agreed to help protect homes in Selsey and the Witterings from flood risk
Leading councillors have agreed to seek further funding of £1.2 million to help protect homes and businesses in Selsey and the Witterings from the risk of flooding and coastal erosion.
At their meeting on Tuesday 9 June Chichester District Council’s Cabinet agreed that the council could draw upon the Environment Agency for further funds after approving the extension of the existing Beach Management Plan until March 2029, subject to receiving full EA funding.
The extension means that the risk of tidal flooding and coastal erosion to properties will continue to be managed in order to help maintain beach levels and to protect the seawalls from being undermined.
Up until now £1.4m has already been invested in delivering beach management works and the, £1.2 million would be spent on the extended plan. As part of this, works would take place to reinstate the beach profile at Selsey and Bracklesham to avoid significant flood and erosion damage.
During this time, Coastal Partners will also develop a replacement plan which will take a more holistic approach to protecting the coastline.
This would mean extending management beyond the current Selsey and Bracklesham frontage and developing a single, coordinated approach for the wider Chichester District open-coast frontage, and incorporating coastlines between East Head and Pagham Harbour that are privately owned and/or owned/managed by the Environment Agency.
The aim of the new-style plan would be to coordinate management across ownership boundaries, draw together the requirements of coastal stakeholders into one plan, and ensure future beach management decisions consider the wider sediment system. This would mean that work in one location would not create adverse effects elsewhere in the plan area.
The new plan would also align with and support the developing Selsey Coastal Scheme.
Councillor Jonathan Brown, Cabinet Member for Environmental Strategy at Chichester District Council, says: “Both Selsey and East Wittering are densely populated communities and so it is vital that we access the required funding through the Environment Agency so that we can extend the beach management plan.
“We know that 448 residential properties and 78 businesses across both these locations are at risk from coastal erosion over the next 10 years. As part of the management plan here shingle replenishment has taken place in targeted areas and natural losses of shingle along the frontage have been prevented. This has resulted in greater beach stability which has helped to protect the hard-engineered defences to the rear of the beach, while also reducing coastal flood and erosion risk to the properties and residents behind.
“Since 2021, there have been no tidal flooding events on council-managed frontages or losses of land from coastal erosion and so ensuring that this work continues is a key priority to help protect these properties.”
