Experts warn Sussex cannot cope with new homes (From The Argus)

Experts warn Sussex cannot cope with new homes

6:33pm Tuesday 31st July 2007 in News By Lawrence Marzouk

More than £2.5 billion of infrastructure is needed to cope with the 17,000 new homes planned for the Sussex coast, new research has revealed.

A report by the South East England Regional Assembly and the Environment Agency has set out the huge sums required to cater for the influx of new households.

Transport, schools, hospitals, parks and libraries will need £1.5 billion investment to bolster the infrastructure along the coast between Chichester and Hastings.

Added to this, work by consultants on behalf of SEERA and EA has identified a need for £1.1 billion to ensure all homes receive water, flood defences are in place and flora and fauna protected.

And this figure does not the include the massive expense for region-wide infrastructure, like the £11 billion for reservoirs across the South East.

Research shows that the South East's growth plans for the next 20 years will need at least £89 billion investment in total, SEERA's planning committee heard this week.

Moira Gibson, the newly elected chairman of the planning committee, said: "Recent flooding demonstrates the importance of adequate investment in infrastructure, including flood defences and water supply.

"Some investment is in hand but there remains a significant funding gap.

"We will continue to press Government for more investment to make sure the South East's thriving economy keeps going; we need a bigger slice of the budget cake.

"We are dealing with important planning issues that affect local councils and communities so it is important we represent their interests in Government through democratic leadership."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced a huge increase in house building ahead of the Queen's Speech earlier this year.

The number of new households per year will go up by 20 per cent across the country, rising from 200,000 ever 12 months to 240,000.

Consultants calculate that a 30 per cent increase in building targets along the Sussex Coast would cost another £127 million in new flood defences alone.

The report warns that homes could be left without adequate defences if extra funding is not found.

It reads: "For water resources and supply and water quality current funding appears adequate, although it can be subject to political influence, making it less certain.

"Waste is adequate at present, but this is likely to change in the future since local authority funding is limited.

"Flood risk management and biodiversity funding is insufficient at present and likely to be even more so in the future.

"These are significant challenges that require a significant shift in current practice across large parts of Government and industry.

"They will need a strong campaign to generate the groundswell of opinion and argument that will achieve change."

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