Subsection

Chichester Harbour 2

Coastal Group: Southern

The Chichester Harbour Subsection is split into 17 areas. Their boundaries have been set based on analysis of coastal processes and the character of the shoreline. Select an area to find out more information about it.

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General actions for this subsection

There are no actions generic to the whole of this subsection. For actions relating to specific locations, select an area on the map above or use the postcode/location search and click on the Action Plan tab.

All actions are subject to funding and approval, often by other parties than the Lead Organisation shown.

Download SMP documents

The information on this website represents the current SMP management approaches adopted by the local authorities within its area, and current actions needed to deliver them. These management approaches have been approved by the Environment Agency under its Strategic Overview for coastal flood and erosion risk management and are considered to be local policy.

The documents below provide the full SMP adopted locally and approved by the Environment Agency at the time of publication. Some of the information has changed in response to new government policy, new evidence or new work identified.

Data on this page

Main report

Appendices

Changes and addendums

Addendum to Appendix K

Supporting documents

About this subsection

This subsection of the SMP covers the shorelines of the Chichester Harbour Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, including Thorney Island, Emsworth, Langstone and the eastern side of Hayling Island.

The entire area including nearshore, inter-tidal and remnant freshwater coastal floodplain grazing marsh in the hinterland (mostly on Thorney Island) is protected under a range of legal designations. These safeguard the internationally important wildlife of Chichester and Langstone Harbours and The Solent as a whole. The interaction between these different habitats and the features of importance within them is a particular consideration in planning the management of flood and erosion risk in this area.

The land use is mainly rural, dominated by open arable agriculture and occasional patches of trees and woodland. Towns and villages are scattered throughout the harbour including Itchenor, Bosham, Fishbourne, Chidham, Emsworth, Langstone and Selsmore and Eastoke on Hayling Island. Small scale tourist and leisure infrastructure, especially for boating, is also common throughout the harbour. Infrastructure in the tidal floodplain includes Langstone Bridge, the only access route on to Hayling Island, sections of local road, utilities and a water treatment installation between Apuldram and Fishbourne.

A high proportion of the flood defences between East Head and Langstone and between North Hayling and Eastoke are privately owned and maintained, including by the Ministry of Defence on Thorney Island. Landowners have historically considered undertaking any necessary maintenance works as affordable, even where national public funding criteria may indicate that works are not economically viable. During the development of the SMP, most of the proposals for managed realignment to accommodate coastal change and improve environmental value were therefore changed in the final SMP to Hold the Line, understanding that public funding for this would be unavailable in most cases. This approach will help protect individual properties, agricultural land, some environmentally important sites and other local features from flooding. It will also result in continued loss of inter-tidal habitats as sea levels rise.

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