Millions of pounds of sea defence funding have been awarded to prevent flooding and erosion as 700 properties are at risk.

Chichester District Council has received £2.9 million to begin plans for sea defences in Selsey after 700 properties were found to be at risk of coastal flooding in the face of an extreme storm.

A long-term solution has been prioritised by the council as the current sea defences are nearing the end of their life span and the number of properties at risk is expected to increase over the next 100 years.

Residents in Selsey have also been encouraged to find out how they can protect against flooding by the council, such as signing up for flood warnings, making a flood plan and protecting their property.

The funding has come from the Environment Agency after Coastal Partners, the council’s coastal engineering service, identified the concerning issue.

The coast of SelseyThe coast of Selsey (Image: M J Richardson)

A bid was then submitted to the Environment Agency requesting funding to start essential ground investigations, flood modelling and environmental assessments.

Chichester District Councillor Jonathan Brown, deputy leader and cabinet member for environmental strategy, said: “This money is vital in order to help us investigate options to reduce the risk of coastal flooding and erosion to Selsey.”

“We are seeing more extreme weather events, which could impact on the town's sea defences and increase the risk of flooding, which is why it is so important that we are all able to plan and prepare.

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“Although it's not one of the council's statutory duties, managing future coastal flooding and erosion is a key priority for us and we have permissive powers to undertake such works.

"The coastal defences for Selsey involve a number of elements, including seawalls, rock revetments, groynes, and beach.

“Over the last decade, the council has undertaken a very successful programme of beach management through shingle replenishment, and Environment Agency funding is currently in place to continue these works until March 2026.

“This has helped protect the ageing seawalls from major storms and protected local properties.

"The new funding means that we can now press ahead and come up with options and designs that will allow us to bid for further funding to move forward with the work.

“We expect there will be a significant funding gap, so we'll be working hard in order to close this, including contacting the Environment Agency to highlight funding issues.

“We'll also be working with other partners and the community on funding options for a long-term solution because as things stand, partnership funding is necessary to unlock the government grant.

“Huge amounts of work will need to take place to design and fund the scheme. If successful and all goes to plan, we anticipate that construction work will start six years from now.

"This is a major project and during all of this work we will be closely consulting with the local community, as well as businesses and other public organisations who have an interest in the Selsey coastline."