Climping Beach Café has to be moved because of coastal erosion

The owners of land near Climping beach, near Littlehampton, have unveiled plans to move the Climping Beach Café, car park and nearby toilets to ensure they can be enjoyed by future generations.

Sea defences in the area were undermined by a number of storms over the winter and spring, which owners said resulted in the loss of nine acres of shingle beach and three acres of car park - equivalent to over 11 football pitches.

Nearby farmer James Baird, who owns the land the café sits on, was also affected by the recent storms. Seawater flooded his family farm's land.

This resulted in a 25 per cent reduction in the number of crops they were able to farm.

The family have now made the decision to rewild the land, letting natural processes return it to salt marshes as they were over 400 years ago.

James said: "While we have no formal responsibility nor obligation for coastal protection, we are the stewards of the land and couldn’t sit by and do nothing.

"We couldn’t watch the sea take such an important community facility, and while it’s not possible to save the existing site, we are able to move it elsewhere on our land.

"We have a responsibility to decommission the existing buildings before they fall into and pollute the sea."

The council and Environment Agency have decided over recent years to let the area move to its natural position, meaning the area could no longer rely on hard sea defences like sea walls.

Waves crashing against the sea wall in Climping (Image: Supplied)

With the café and nearby structures closing their doors for the last time soon, James added: “This means the community and visitors will be able to enjoy the beach safely, without cars being parked and clogging up the narrow roads in and around the village.

"Storm damage along the beach, combined with Arun Council and the Environment Agency’s 2015 Coastal Defence Strategy, means a new way of thinking has been needed to ensure the environment is safe for visitors, and to plan for the future of the facilities and beach."

It is hoped the car park could move to the south of Climping Primary School, which landowners hope could also help ease the pressure on local roads during drop-off and pick-up hours at the school.

The sea defences are damaged (Image: Supplied)

The Baird Family has also offered to repurpose the old car park to have a higher shingle bank, which would slow the rate of erosion and protect the nearby houses from the sea, and homeowners would only have to pay for the collection and depositing of the shingle on the land.

A planning application for the proposed new café and car park is expected to be submitted to Arun District Council early in 2024.

Arun District Council has been approached for comment.