Early on Tuesday morning I was saddened to hear of the flooding which has affected communities in Bracklesham and Earnley.

At the time of writing, I have received updates from the Environment Agency and West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service on the situation at Medmerry Park and Bracklesham Caravan and Boat Club, including efforts to evacuate both sites.

I would encourage anyone who has been affected by these floods to get in touch with me if they need assistance.

I would also like to thank our excellent emergency services and all volunteers who have helped with recovery efforts. In the coming days I will work with local partners to assess the damage and see what can be done to help those affected. When I held my latest Chichester Water Conference a few weeks ago the pressure of new housing development on sewage capacity was one of the biggest issues raised by residents.

Over-development of Chichester and its surrounding villages poses a threat not just to our sewage system but to other local services like roads and the natural environment too.

The most important thing any area can have to counter overdevelopment is a robust Local Plan. This system was introduced a number of years ago, and I successfully campaigned to have housing targets lowered in Chichester as part of this. A plan helps to demonstrate which land is suitable to be built on and acts as a powerful way to stop speculative developers.

Not having a Local Plan puts communities at risk. Sadly, at the time of writing, Chichester falls into this category thanks to delays from the District Council. This is despite the public consultation having ended over a year ago.

We’ve already seen the impact of this, with 150 new houses approved at Birdham and a further 70 now proposed in East Wittering. The original draft of the plan from 2023 protects the entire Manhood Peninsula, yet developers have been able to get off scot-free thanks to the absence of a Local Plan that would stop them.

As an MP I have no role in the planning process but have intervened numerous times to ensure the council has all the resources they need to complete the Local Plan.

I join local residents in their frustration and continue to do all I can to urge the council to publish their new Local Plan for the sake of our communities.