Plans to extend dredging off the East Anglian coast could accelerate coastal erosion and even endanger banks protecting Sizewell nuclear power station, it was claimed yesterday.

Concerned residents and coastal campaigners who attended a public meeting about the latest dredging proposals also voiced fears that gravel extraction was already decimating fishing stocks by destroying spawning grounds.

The newly-formed Anglian Offshore Dredging Association of dredging companies held a series of presentations at Yarmouth racecourse to outline its plans. (more…)

Villagers fighting to protect their land and homes from being lost to the sea were offered a glimmer of hope yesterday.

The Environment Agency’s Eastern Regional Flood Defence Committee (RFDC) met to discuss plans to abandon flood defences around the Blyth estuary in north Suffolk.

The Environment Agency (EA) wants to stop repairing the flood walls, which protect land and property around Blythburgh, Southwold, Reydon and Walberswick, because it says it cannot afford the £35m needed to maintain them.

The RFDC yesterday looked at submissions which have been received during the year-long consultation process and asked the EA to reconsider its strategy for the estuary. (more…)

YORKSHIRE has yet to wake up to the threat of the Humber Flood Risk Strategy, according to National Farmers’ Union secretary for Holderness Ed Davey.

He says farmers need to realise that it is not only cliff-edge cottages which are threatened by the Environment Agency’s proposed abandonment of coastal defences.

The strategy, combined with the likely rise in sea level, will mean thousands of hectares of farmland being flooded by the sea on a regular basis within 40 years – and many more could be hit by knock-on effects. (more…)

A new harbour could be created on the county’s coastline as part of a new coastal defence strategy.

It would be similar to wildlife-rich Pagham Harbour, a designated local nature reserve, just a few miles away, and the county maintains it would have a ‘positive impact’ for generations to come – according to West Sussex County Council.

But the authority’s comments, made in response to a new Pagham to East Head coastal strategy, come with a warning about concerns over national funding mechanisms for coastal defence, which could cause problems over such a project. (more…)

A plan to determine the best way to look after the coastline from Great Orme’s Head to Solway Firth in a sustainable way for the next 100 years has been opened for public consultation.

The North West England and North Wales Coastal Group are currently preparing a revised Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) for the coast between Great Orme’s Head and the Scottish Border.

They have opened a website to enable the public to participate in the various phases of public consultation.

“It is essential that the revised plan adequately deals with the issues and concerns of the communities, businesses and organisations which have an interest in this part of the coast and that the Coastal Group base their work on the best information available to them,” says the group.

“For these reasons it is important that consultation takes account of your views.”

Those interested can take part in the consultation online at the link below

Posted on the News Wales website

For more information on the Shoreline Management Plan Consultation visit the North West & North Wales Coastline website

From the Holy Trinity Church looming over the marshes at Blythburgh to a safe haven for rare birds, the banks of the Blyth estuary offer some of north Suffolk’s most peaceful countryside.

But the village landmarks, animals and farmland could soon be lost to the sea if campaigners are defeated and the Environment Agency’s (EA) proposals to stop maintaining the area’s flood defences are given the go-ahead. (more…)

Tens of thousands of tonnes of sea defence rock will be shipped to Norfolk’s coast by barge in the run up to Christmas, while a sister operation pumps huge quantities of sand from the seabed to build up the beaches.

The multi-million pound project will beef up and repair both the soft and hard defences around Waxham, Horsey, Winterton, Sea Palling and Eccles as contractors Team Van Oord carry out the work on behalf of the Environment Agency. (more…)

From the Autumn edition of the Environment Agency’s newsletter Flood News:

In April this year the Environment Agency became the lead organisation responsible for all flood and erosion risk management around the coastline of England.

This new role is a “first”, giving us a unique opportunity to lead the country in developing a coastal management plan that works at local, regional and national level. Our partner organisations, including local authorities, will put agreed plans into practical action. We will support them by giving Grant-in-Aid (GiA) funding and overseeing the work carried out.

Rising sea levels will have a major impact on the South East’s coastline over the decades to come. It could result in the map of the region being completely redrawn. Even those miles from the sea could end up living under water. (more…)

Deadline day has passed for residents to submit their views on the plans for coastal defence between Pagham and East Head.

More than 1,000 people attended exhibitions held by the Environment Agency (EA) for the Pagham to East Head draft coastal defence strategy. (more…)