Motion
The following Motion was submitted in accordance with Council Procedure 15.1 and 15.2 and referred to the Committee by Full Council on 15 September 2021.
Proposer: Councillor Dixon
Seconder: Councillor Thurston
The Coastal Plain in the Arun District is low lying and flat – making it vulnerable to the risks arising from climate change, particularly rising sea levels. This land was under the sea once (as evidenced by the district’s raised beaches), and, if recent climate change forecasts are to be believed, it can be again.
There are already thousands of existing homes on the Coastal Plain. Also, the Council is compelled by government policy to build a further 20,000 new homes.
Normally, in districts at risk of flooding, it is possible to build on higher ground but in the Arun district our higher ground is National Park, where there is a presumption against development, and so we are prevented from doing this. New homes can only be built on the Coastal Plain.
On the 5 December 2019, the Prime Minister said:
“We've got to stop building on flood plains. We've got to stop building on areas which are vulnerable to flooding.”
And
“The other thing we've got to do, we've got to put in long-term flood defences.”
This Council supports these aims, as expressed by the Prime Minister.
The Council therefore calls on the Government to recognise the flood risks to the Coastal Plain arising from climate change, by commissioning a full and comprehensive risk assessment for the Coastal Plain, utilising the most up to date and credible scientific data available, in order to identify what mitigation measures will be required to protect new and existing communities.
The Council instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to request a meeting to discuss this.
Minutes:
At the beginning of this item, the Chair proposed a Motion to proceed to next business (as per Part 5, Section 2, 13.11 iii) of the Constitution) as the original proposer had asked that the Motion referred from Full Council on 15 September 2021 to this Committee be withdrawn and the action referred to in the Motion had been taken. This was seconded by the Vice-Chair.
The Committee
RESOLVED
To proceed to next business.