The Environment Agency has launched a new consultation on its proposals for the Climping flood risk strategy in East Sussex – funding is a key challenge which will make some works unaffordable.
The Agency is seeking views on the revised recommendation for managing Climping beach, part of the draft Arun to Pagham Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy. The Environment Agency and Arun District Council have been working together to develop the Strategy to manage flood and erosion risks along the coastline between the River Arun and Pagham.
The Agency produced the draft Strategy in 2009 - at the time its recommendation for the Climping Frontage was to ‘withdraw maintenance’. The economic analysis identified that it would cost more to maintain the defences compared with the cost of the damage prevented.
The Agency has since completed more detailed analysis of the beach, which indicates that it is more stable than at first thought, but with a limited life remaining as a flood defence. In view of this, the recommendation has changed from ‘withdraw maintenance’ to ‘do minimum’. This means that the existing defences will be maintained as long as possible to prolong their life, a process called ‘patch and repair’. However, the overall economic situation has not fundamentally changed.
Paying for works will be a challenge - we will have to make difficult choices
The consultation document states:
“We can only justify carrying on work here as long as the economic benefits exceed the costs. We will monitor the costs to determine when it is no longer economically viable or sustainable for us to continue with this work.”
“There is the possibility that a severe storm or series of storms will breach the defences or cause damage that is beyond economic repair in a much shorter (or longer) timescale than mentioned above.”
“Paying for maintenance works at Climping will continue to be a challenge. We will make the most of the limited resources we have but we will have to make difficult choices when prioritising our work in the years ahead.”
No economic justification for major repair works
The Agency has concluded that if minor repairs are made to the defences they could remain economically viable for between 15 and 35 years. However, under Government rules for investment, there is no economic justification for major works to repair or replace the groynes in the future. If a major storm were to cause significant damage to the defences which would cost more to repair than the benefits that would be gained, the Agency would cease further maintenance immediately.
The Agency said it will inform the community and Local Council partners when it needs to consider stopping the maintenance permanently – but would help the community at Climping to adapt when it can no longer carry out maintenance work. The Agency’s consultation paper states:
“We will discuss these issues with the landowners and affected parties, offer advice on practical ways for them to maintain the defences themselves and advise on any consents or permissions they may need. “
“We will continue to support the community in investigating opportunities collaboratively to fund measures to extend the life of the current defences. It will be a matter for the landowners and affected parties to decide what they do next and what action is best for them.”
Majority of £9m funding needed for other area will “need to be found locally”
For the rest of the strategy area, excluding the Climping frontage, the recommendations for the coastline between Pagham and Elmer, and for the west bank of the River Arun from the coast to Ford remain unchanged.
The low lying land between Climping beach and the River Arun provides a potential route for flood water if the sea defences were breached. The recommendations for the River Arun west bank take both sources of flooding into account - 188 residential properties are currently at risk during a flood event.
The current risk management relies on the continued maintenance of the existing river defences, as well as the sea walls, groyne fields and beach levels. This means that the height of the current river flood defences will need to be raised over time and new inland flood defences will be required in the future.
The Environment Agency estimates that the works needed over the next 15 years would cost £9m. Government rules for investment require a combination of Central Government Grant in Aid and local funding to enable the works to go ahead. The Agency commented:
“The majority of this funding will need to be found locally with only a small contribution likely to be available from Central Government. We will work with our Local Council partners and other stakeholders to secure the funding solutions needed. However, implementing the works in the short term is likely to be unaffordable under current funding arrangements. “
Completing the strategy is a priority for the Environment Agency and Arun District Council. It is an important step in developing projects to manage coastal flood and erosion risk between the River Arun and Pagham.
Once finalised, the strategy will support the investment case needed to direct available funds to coastal communities. The Agency said that “securing funds to maintain and repair the existing defences will be a challenge” and that the strategy provides risk management authorities with clarity on the technical issues that can used as “a framework for negotiating and securing contributions for future works.”
The Environment Agency will consider responses to the consultation before making its final decisions in early 2015. Deadline for responses to the consultation is 12th January 2015. Click here to access the consultation online
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