Rock delivery to protect Pagham homes
A 1,700-tonne consignment of rock has been delivered to a beach in West Sussex where homes are under threat from coastal erosion.
Arun District Council has begun work to shore up the defences, which will see the rock positioned and the shingle beach recharged.
Lead engineer Roger Spencer said a shingle spit had grown which had led to the erosion on the beach.
He said the beach last year was 98ft (30m) wider than it is now.
Mr Spencer said the spit had grown naturally and was continuing to grow and a long-term solution was still needed.
He said: "Most of the coastline we can manage and we can forecast where the sea is going to be and how the shingle is moving.
"This, as I said, is very dynamic. That's why we've got an adaptive management policy because we can't predict with great certainty what's happening and how fast it's going to go."
Residents have said they want engineers to create a hole in the shingle spit.
But the council has said cutting the spit would cost £1.5m over five years, it may not solve the problem, it would bring technical challenges, potentially increase the flood risk within Pagham Harbour, and it would have an environmental impact.
Representatives from the council are due to meet Environment Secretary Liz Truss on Wednesday to seek funding for a long-term scheme.