The trustees of the Friends of Pagham Harbour (a registered charity) met yesterday to discuss the Chichester Local Plan. We wish to make the following points:

* We support to proposal for wildlife corridors. We have been strong proponents of the Pagham Rife wildlife corridor which stretches from Pagham Harbour to Chichester.
* We are concerned about the impacts additional housing will have on existing infrastructure, particularly the sewage system. During the winter months Pagham Harbour suffers several sewage spills per week into the Pagham Rife due to storm surges and this will only increase should further housing be built. Furthermore, other seage treatment plants that discharge into rifes which flow into Pagham Harbour will be similarly affected.
* We are struggling to understand why the buffer zone around Pagham Harbour is smaller than that around Chichester Harbour.
* We are concerned about the increased traffic on the Chichester-Selsey road (B2145). This road has to be crossed by those walking or cycling from Pagham Harbour to Medmerry and expect more accidents will happen unless better crossing facilities are provided.