The harbour is protected by East Head, but a key feature of the Head known as the Hinge is being eroded and was temporarily breached in 2004.

If East Head is lost in its entirety, not only would an outstandingly beautiful feature of the south coast be lost, but the harbour will, in addition, lose the most attractive and safe anchorage in the eastern Solent.

Losing East Head will expose the whole of the Chichester Channel, from the harbour entrance to Cobnor to the open sea, and this stretch of sheltered water, for generations an area of safe sailing, will be lost.

If this happens, the effect on the local economy will be profound, both in the marine industry and supporting businesses such as shops, pubs and chandleries, and the loss of a nationally important recreation centre will impact adversely on the boatyards and marinas, sailing clubs and 13 historical harbour-side villages.

According to John Q Davis, Manager & Harbour Master, a long term solution for the problem now depends on the outcome of the review of the Coastal Defence Strategy for the Pagham to East Head sector of the south coast before any further action can be taken.

Funders are in place to pay for further recycling of material at East Head in both the short and long term if this measure is enabled by the Coastal Defence Strategy. Funding for a long term solution for East Head is unlikely to come from Central Government sources (such as DEFRA) however, and any scheme must be coherent with the Coastal Defence Strategy for the area.

Because of the environmental designations that apply to the whole of Chichester Harbour, it is most unlikely that extensive hard engineering (such as rocks, groynes, or gabions) would be used to protect East Head and solutions such as these would be unlikely to be permitted by Central Government and will, therefore, be ruled out as an option in the Coastal Defence Strategy.