I was disappointed to read the comments of Eric Williams of Friends of Widewater regarding the costs and state of the Shoreham to Lancing sea defences (Letters, January 26).

The communities on and behind Shoreham Beach between Shoreham and Lancing are the most vulnerable to deep and devastating tidal flooding on the whole of the Sussex coastline.

Thankfully, the old defences in the area have held firm since the early 1900s when, during perhaps the last major tidal flooding incident in the vicinity, almost every building was levelled by the sea. Although today's structures and houses on the beach are much more sturdy, they are still vulnerable.

It is simple to explain why between £10 million and £13 million have already been spent on refurbishing the defences. Indeed, almost as much needs to be spent to bring the whole reach of coastline up to the required standard.

In the 1980s and early-1990s the existing timber groynes had just about reached the end of their planned life, were beginning to fail and were increasingly expensive to maintain. Because of the state of the groynes, shingle was being lost from the beach and the risk of flooding was increasing. The beach was then at its worst in the Kings Walk and Brooklands areas. At the same time, sea levels were beginning to rise due to global warming. This made the community even more vulnerable.

Consequently, wholesale defence refurbishment began in the mid-1990s. Environment Agency funding is received from a combination of Government grant and a levy on the local authorities in Sussex.

Unfortunately, because we have not been able to raise the required funding in one tranche, the work has had to be staged over a number of years.

This is not the most efficient way of working but I have to work within the budget available. Timber has not been used as wooden groynes are built of tropical hardwood.

Much tropical hardwood comes from clearance of rain forests, which contributes to global warming and sea level rise. To use timber would not be sustainable when we can buy rock, which is a waste material from quarries in Norway, at a comparable price. By sensible procurement and working closely with our engineers and consultants, we have managed to put extra rock on to the defences ahead of schedule. This is a benefit to the community and its defence.

More work is required over the coming years between the Widewater and Lancing and it is this which is taking precedence over badly needed work in Lewes. The flood defence works require heavy plant and engineering, which is expensive.

My Sussex flood defence team has received some £20 million for our coming year's work from agency, Government grant and local authority levy. This is some £600,000 short on what I had hoped to receive. The net result of this is that while work on the Shoreham-Lancing coastline will commence as planned in the early summer, work in Lewes will be delayed until December and January.

The low-lying coastal areas of Shoreham and Lancing will always be vulnerable to flooding. We can and will reduce the risk of this through building sound defences.

Because of this risk, work here is of the highest priority and will continue. I have not come across any real expert who has doubted the need for this.

Lewes is also a high priority for the agency given the devastation there in 2000. We will do all we can to raise the necessary money and commence work as soon as possible. I am sad that these criticisms are being made.

-Peter Midgley, Sussex area manager, Environment Agency, Worthing