VIDEO: Plea for EU to shore up Littlehampton defences

Arun District Council’s local plan is expected to propose the 1,000 homes would be built on the West Bank of the Arun by 2029.

However, those already living near the proposed site say if defences are not improved, well before this date, the land could become unusable and ultimately unsuitable for the new development.

On Thursday, members of the Rope Walk Residents’ Group united with landowners, Littlehampton Liberal Democrat county councillors Ian Buckland and Dr James Walsh, and the Lib Dem MEP candidate for the region, Antony Hook, to draw up a battle plan to beat future floods.

They are now calling on the European Union to act and grant emergency funding to help shore up the defences.

Edna Faria, chairman of the Rope Walk Residents’ Group, said she was fully supportive of the large-scale housing development, which would provide a welcome boast to the West Bank area, described by Edna as Littlehampton’s ‘forgotten island’.

She said: “We won’t get houses until nearer 2029 and by then we may not be here. We may be flooded, so where would the houses go then?”

Mr Hook explained the EU has a solidarity fund, of £414m for 2014, to help areas affected by natural disasters, such as the flooding which hit parts of Rope Walk, earlier this month.

He is urging the Environment Secretary Owen Paterson to apply to the EU to obtain a portion of these funds.

For the full story, see this week’s Littlehampton Gazette (Thursday, January 30).