July 26, 2024
Welcome to this week's blog. As always, thank you for sparing the time to have a read. We hope you were able to enjoy the better weather this week, even if you only managed a short walk. We still have five of the six weeks of Summer so please remember that children can visit West Sussex libraries and join Amelia, Riley, Bob the dog and friends, to complete the 2024 Summer Reading Challenge, Marvellous Makers.
On Saturday Donna and I were alerted to a traveller incursion at East Beach in Selsey. We went to check and saw they had driven on to the Foreshore access road and camped on the green itself. Both are owned by CDC. Donna took some footage and I phoned it in. Later I was contacted, while checking another (inaccurate) report of an incursion on the Oval Field, to be told it was being passed to WSCC who act for CDC in these matters and the police. We have continued to monitor the situation several times a day, and have been repeatedly pressing both bodies for an eviction. We are continuing to do all we can, but the legal system turns rather slowly.
This week we have had urgent casework and several meetings, including a 3-hour Strategy Progress Meeting with STC's Senior Officers and my regular meeting with CDC’s Senior Leadership Team (while Donna was out and about.) This Monday I have CDC’s Budget Review Group. The highlight of the week for Donna and I was being invited to the opening of Selsey's new Winding Willow Sculpture Project in the Hidden Garden. It is open to the public three days a week, if you fancy a meander. Gareth posted: -
“My first official invitation as the appointed Selsey Town Council representative for Artsdream Selsey was to the open evening of The Winding Willow Sculpture Project, partially funded by Chichester District Council.. check out the Artsdream page for more information. I had a lovely evening, with Tracie (CDC Cabinet member for Communities and Wellbeing, Officer Tom and of course Councillors Donna Johnson and Tim Johnson. I bumped into some familiar faces and met some new ones too. Thanks for the welcome.“
Watch CDC’s public meetings here, and Full WSCC here.
This week’s interesting reads include a warning to motorists about ‘drunk’ seagulls, appropriately some summer walks to consider, and five Sussex seaside towns have been named amongst our best and worst. Regrettably, Southern Water is one of the four water firms responsible for 90% of serious pollution incidents according to Sky News.
The story of Selsey Tramway is featured at The Novium Museum. The exhibition recounts how a railway line was proposed to link the then remote and isolated village of Selsey with Chichester. By August 1897, the Selsey Tramway was born, operated by The Hundred of Manhood and Selsey Tramway Company. It consisted of approximately seven-and-a-half miles of track, with 11 stops in total, including Chichester, Hunston, Sidlesham, and Selsey, as well as privately owned farms and the Selsey Golf Club. In 1916, annual passenger numbers peaked at 105,169 but by the 1930s, bus services were more reliable and after thirty-eight years of operation, the tramway’s last service ran on 19 January 1935.
We are very pleased to report that over £2.9 million has been awarded to CDC to develop options and outline designs for a sea defence scheme that would reduce the risk of coastal flooding and erosion along the 4km of Selsey seafront.
The money has been awarded by the Environment Agency after the council’s coastal engineering service, Coastal Partners, carried out early feasibility work, which highlighted that more than seven hundred properties could be at risk of coastal flooding if a 1 in a 200-year storm occurred. This number is predicted to increase over the next one hundred years, along with the number of properties at risk from erosion.
The current defences are now nearing the end of their life and although a lot of work has been carried out over the years to help prolong them, a long-term solution is now a priority. A detailed bid was submitted to the Environment Agency outlining the risks and asking for funding so that essential ground investigations, flood modelling and environmental assessments can start.
Residents are encouraged to find out how they can help to protect against flooding. This includes signing up for flood warnings, as well as making a flood plan and protecting their property. You can also find frequently asked questions about the work in Selsey.
Finally: -
As always, from the whole Team, stay safe.
Tim
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