Urgent sea defence repairs plans at West Beach, Selsey

Chichester District Council has submitted plans to carry out repairs to a 250-metre stretch of sea wall on Selsey’s West Beach, to strengthen existing defences.

The council says the stretch of defences is showing "significant deterioration" despite emergency patch repairs that were carried out between 2022 and 2023.

It adds that a failure to carry out further repairs could now result in "a risk to life" and a "loss of property".

An aerial view of the site, with properties pictured metres from the sea (Image: Coastal Partners)

The general condition of the stretch of sea wall is deemed to be in poor condition, with a 100 metre section in front of West Street in "very poor condition".

The urgent repairs would involve installing new six-metre steel sheet piles seaward of the current structure, encasing damaged concrete in new material, filling voids, and replacing timber groyne planks.

The new sheet piles would extend the footprint of the sea defences marginally by 0.5 metres.

It is hoped that these repairs will safeguard the area for ten years, with minimal maintenance requirements.

A birds-eye view of the site, showing multiple properties metres from the sea (Image: Channel Coastal Observatory)

If the scheme is approved, construction would be scheduled to take place between July and October 2026, with the work expected to take around 40 days.

Work would take place during low tide when the foreshore is exposed, using a combination of land and marine access.

A barge would deliver materials to the site at high tide, and two excavators would drive piles using a temporary sandbag ramp on the foreshore.

A welfare unit would be stationed at the end of West Street, and most material deliveries would come by sea to limit vehicle movements through residential areas.

The area of the coastline has been subject to storms in previous years, which has led to the deterioration.

An image of a severe storm occurring in the area (Image: Coastal Partners)

Works were carried out in 2007 after a serious failure saw the coastline cut back by approximately 15 metres during a single storm.

More recently in 2022, two sections of the seawall at West Beach failed, leading to further urgent repairs.

An image of some of the damage to the current sea defences (Image: Coastal Partners)

The site is located within or near to several protected areas, including the Solent and Dorset Coast Special Protection Area, Bracklesham Bay Site of Special Scientific Interest, and the Selsey Bill and the Hounds Marine Conservation Zone. 

Natural England has raised no objection to the proposals, provided mitigation measures are in place to safeguard breeding terns and reduce noise disturbance. 

Any improved defences would be inspected by the Environment Agency, although the organisation would not take responsibility for maintaining them.

Other sections of Selsey’s coastline already receive maintenance as part of the Pagham to East Head Coastal Defence Strategy.

The district council also previously sought more than £1 million from the Environment Agency earlier this month to support other flood and coastal erosion defences in Selsey and the Witterings.