Leisure chief's fury as sluice gates were left closed
Bunn Leisure's managing director John Bunn has criticised the Environment Agency for its failure to open a series of sluice gates which had become clogged with reeds.
The gates, which are in the small rifes near West Sands Caravan Park, allow water to flow out.
But they had become choked with reeds, which should have been cleared by the agency's contractors.
Instead of opening them to ease the amount of water pouring through during the storm last week, the gates were kept shut.
Mr Bunn said it was the worst damage the site had ever witnessed and that he was upset steps had not been taken to open the gates.
"I sent an email to the Environment Agency on the Saturday about the storm and was given assurances. There was a meeting of emergency services on Monday and the EA gave assurances the gates would be opened. But by 10pm they still weren't open."
A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: "Although it was not the responsibility of the Environment Agency to unclog the sluice gates, we had undertaken this work prior to the storm on March 10.
"With the breach of the sea defence, more material was washed into the stream, causing a further blockage of the sluice. This again was cleared by the Environment Agency when conditions were safe enough to permit this.
"The clearance of the sluice had, as expected, little effect on flood water levels in the caravan park. Therefore, even if it had been safe enough to access the sluice earlier during the storm, it is clear this would have made no difference to the flooding that occurred."
Bunn Leisure is now continuing its 10m investment in building up sea defences along a half-mile stretch of the beach to protect its complex. Planning permission is currently being sought for phases two and three.
Commenting on the clean-up operation, Mr Bunn said it was now business as usual and praised his staff for their dedication over the past week. He said he hoped the site would be back up and running in time for the school holidays on April 4.
Bunn Leisure's popular Oasis Leisure Complex has reopened.
Operations director Mike Caven said: "Getting the Oasis complex back open was a priority for us as it is such an important facility for the local community as well as our visitors.
"We are delighted it's now business as usual for the whole Waterfront complex."
Over the past week technicians have been working to reinstate services such as the electricity supply. A team surveyed the site to give it the all-clear so caravan owners could return.
"We've had lots of letters from people saying how good they thought all the staff were and people have been very understanding," said Mr Bunn.
"Some people were down at the weekend. A lot of them have said they can't believe how clean and tidy it is now.
"The staff have been fantastic. It has been just as heartbreaking for them as it has been for the owners. They want to get everything open as soon as possible."
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Chichester
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: -4 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North west
