£1m flood protection scheme is green-lit

Holiday park operator Bunn Leisure has been given the go-ahead to stabilise a section of Medmerry Beach in Selsey by Chichester District Council.

The £1m flood protection scheme includes the installation a 180m timber splash wall and the replacement of two dilapidated groynes with new 35m timber groynes.

The work will take in a section between where Bunn Leisure carried out £17m works, which were completed in 2012, and the Environment Agency’s Medmerry Managed Realignment (MMR) scheme.

John Bunn, managing director of Bunn Leisure, said: ‘We are delighted this vital work has at last been given the go-ahead by the EA and the council.

‘The scheme will further minimise the risk of overtopping and ensure the coastline is better protected against climate change.’

The scheme also includes a 170m extension to the Environment Agency’s rock armour along the beach frontage will offer greater stability for the beach.

Seventy-two static caravan pitches, which were used until storms in 2008, will also be reinstated at the West Sands Holiday Village as a result of the project.

The four-month works are expected to begin soon, with Mr Bunn saying that the impact on the holiday park will be minimal.

He added: ‘The scheme completes the missing link between existing defence schemes and, as a result, will safeguard the Toe End beach, which is currently affected by overtopping and erosion.

‘Bunn Leisure has a history of investing in successful coastal protection schemes and we intend this scheme to further enhance protection for static caravans, holiday homes and recreational facilities within the Bunn Leisure parks.’