29 January 2014
Greens on Brighton & Hove City Council are calling on the government to provide proper funding for coastal defences in the area, the bill for which is estimated at £7m.
Councils on the Sussex coast are drawing up and consulting on a plan to protect the seafront between the River Adur in the West and Brighton Marina in the East. However councils currently only have funding for maintenance, not new defences.
Councillor Pete West, Chair of the council’s Environment & Sustainability Committee who also sits on the Southern Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, proposed an increase of 2%, in contributions from local authorities to coastal defence work, but the proposal was rejected by other local authority representatives.
Green councillors are also proposing a motion at tomorrow’s (30th January) Full Council meeting expressing concern at cuts to funding for environmental policy and regulation. This includes cutbacks at the Environment Agency, which does work on sea defences in Sussex.
Councillor Pete West said:
“The recent stormy weather has shown how important it is that we invest in protecting our coastline. In Sussex alone we saw cliff-falls, storm surges and flooding.
“We know that the greatest threat to the UK from climate change is the increased risk of flooding. Yet government cuts to the Environment Agency mean they will lose about 1,700 staff members in the next 12 months, 550 of whom work on preventing and mitigating flooding.
“Brighton & Hove’s location as a coastal city at the foot of the Downs puts us at risk. We’re putting together a new strategy for coastal protection - but we need national support to design defences and funding to build them.
“The government should not just maintain, but instead increase funding for coastal and flood defences. I hope that the government listens to sense and properly funds this crucial work - while also doing more to combat climate change."