Arun councillors write to Michael Gove about risks posed by rising sea levels

Michael Gove was promoted in the recent government reshuffle (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

The 24 Arun district councillors are calling on the government to assess the risk posed to the South Coast Plain by climate change and rising sea levels.

The area lies between the South Downs and the English Channel, and stretches from Selsey and Chichester to Worthing and Shoreham-by-Sea.

The councillors are concerned that the area was once below sea level and that this could happen again if current forecasts are correct.

This could cause existing homes and businesses to flood and more homes are still planned for the area.

In their letter, the councillors say the plain is ‘one of the most highly developed and at risk areas in the country’, adding that it is not possible to build on higher ground as this would encroach upon the South Downs National Park.

One of the signatories, Tony Dixon (Ind, Aldwick East), said: “Sea levels were once 35 metres above current sea level and the coastal plain was under the sea!

“Last week, at Arun District Council, we were prevented from debating a motion calling on the government to recognise the flood risks to the coastal plain arising from climate change, and in particular rising sea levels.

“However, there is more than one way to send a message to the government.”

ADC declared a climate emergency in January 2020 but, despite pledges to decarbonise council housing, increase tree planting and use solar to power Littlehampton’s Civic Centre, development along the coastal plain continues.

It is not the first time that risks to the coastal plain have been raised; two years ago, ADC’s Independent Group called for a moratorium on large-scale development in the district until the risks are fully known.

This could make a dent to the housebuilding targets of 1,000 new homes a year required under the Arun local plan and the government’s own target of a million new homes by the end of the current Parliament in 2024.

The Arun councillors’ letter will also cross the desk of Alok Sharma who is president of the UN COP26 climate conference which is due to take place in Glasgow, Scotland, from October 31.

The letter reads: “In November, at COP26, when heads of government debate the risks to their countries arising from climate change and rising sea levels, it’s vital that the coastal plain is high in our own government’s thinking.

“We need to know more about the risks, in order to then identify what mitigation measures will be required to protect our communities.”