"Enough is enough" says county councillor as Bognor Regis floods continue

Cllr Greenway (Con) spoke out at the Bognor Regis Town Council meeting on October 30, calling for something to be done to prevent future incidents after floods saw parts of Shripney Road closed off due to severe floods over the weekend.

"I think enough is enough. We have seen the environment agency not take action - when really I believe they should have done – over numerous years,” he said.

"And I think it’s about time they take some action. The level of flooding that we have seen puts unsustainable pressure on our sewers, our highways, it’s closed businesses, and restricted access to emergency services. I’ve had countless emails over the weekend from residents reporting water running through the road, damage to property, and disruption to travel.”

The councillor, who also serves on Bersted Parish Council, made clear that he plans to call on West Sussex County Council, the Environment Agency, local land owners to sit around a table and take action, and asked members of the town council for support.

This is the second time Bersted has flooded in 2023 alone, but issues have been ongoing for several years, and many residents feel too little has been done to safeguard the area. Shripney Road also closed in January, after a similar spate of floods which, like those this week, also flooded the nearby Tesco car park, and several adjacent fields, including the Bersted Brooks. That was itself several months after a series of floods in November, which reignited calls from several residents to dredge the Aldingbourne Rife, despite the fact that the practice stopped more than twenty years ago.

Either way, members of Bognor Regis Town Council were keen to lend their support to Cllr Greenway’s plans. “I think everyone in the chamber will agree, and do whatever they can to support this,” said Town Mayor Francis Oppler. “I think it is a real problem, and many people have been expressing views for a number of years about the unsustainable current local plan, which was deeply flawed, and I think has contributed to the problems that we’re facing at the moment.”