An emergency meeting has been called after part of a wall protecting land and homes around an historic harbour breached.

A section of the wall at Southwold harbour – thought to be about 6ft wide – gave way earlier this week and it is feared that the rest of the structure could now be under threat unless immediate action is taken to repair it.

A team of divers will take to the water on Monday to survey the damage while councillors hold an emergency meeting to discuss what can be done to protect the future of the structure. (more…)

RECENT dramatic cliff falls at Pennington Point have left the pathway linking Eastern Town with the rest of Sidmouth at risk.

Now, after more than a decade of surveys and discussions, the time has come for action, say Cliff Road residents and the Sidmouth Herald.

In 2002 one of four protection schemes was agreed by East Devon District Council, but rejected by English Nature, who felt it important to allow natural erosion to protect the cliff’s fauna and flora. (more…)

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ latest environment theme report is Climate Change: Adapting to the Inevitable? It considers the possible climate changes which we may expect over the next 1,000 years due to continuing CO2  emissions, and recommends what engineers need to do to adapt to our future world so that we can cope with these changes.

Man’s activities are causing the world’s climate to change rapidly.  Although many nations will be able to cope with the impacts of climate change in the short term, albeit at a cost, long term, it will be a very different story.  Global governments will be meeting in November 2009 to agree a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, proposing reducing global carbon dioxide emissions by mitigation.

However, as global emissions are not reducing and the climate is changing, the more pragmatic approach, as suggested by the Institution, is that only by adapting our behaviour can we hope to secure long-term human survival.  We have to look at how engineers might help our world to adapt to changes over the next few centuries. (more…)

Proposals to realign coastal defences and surrender part of a nature reserve to the sea look set to get the go ahead.

RSPB wardens have applied for planning permission to allow some of the sea wall at Titchwell Marsh, near Hunstanton, to be breached.

They existing defences are prone to being overwhelmed by storm surges, which would lead to a “catastrophic loss of habitat” for rare birds including the bittern and bearded tit.

But by allowing controlled flooding on parts of the site, brackish lagoons would become salt marsh and provide a barrier for more important freshwater pools and reedbeds further inland. (more…)

PARTS of Hartlepool’s crumbling coastline could disappear into the sea unless millions of pounds in funding can be found to make essential repairs.

Experts have described the condition of some sections of the coastline as the worst they have ever seen, with piers, walls, footpaths and steps all under threat of collapse.

Hartlepool Council has an annual budget of £320,000 to maintain and repair breaches to coastal defences but the estimated bill to carry out the major repair work stands at a staggering £41m. (more…)

GREAT Yarmouth’s new outer harbour could be having an erosive effect on the coastline at Hopton, it is feared.

The beach there has taken a battering from the sea in the past six months, with up to three feet of sand being washed away in some sections.

This has led some villagers to fear that Hopton could soon fall victim to rapid cliff erosion. (more…)

A SENIOR figure at a leading worldwide engineering organisation has told how it is “futile” to protect parts of the Suffolk coastline from the sea.

Dr Colin Brown said that he agreed with the Environment Agency’s (EA) policy to stop maintaining flood walls around Blythburgh, Southwold, Reydon and Walberswick. (more…)

It has been extremely interesting watching the televised ‘grilling’ of Bankers by the Treasury Select Committee over recent days.

What occurs to me is the stark parallels which can be drawn from the way the Banks were (mis)managed and the way we (mis)manage the coast.

It seems to me the demise of the Banks (which has led to financial chaos) is due largely to suspect ‘Risk Management’ techniques and the marked absence of good old fashioned sound banking principles and practice. The result is financial chaos on an unprecedented scale.

Read the full article by Malcolm Kerby on the Coastal Concern Action Group website

PLANS to protect hundreds of low-lying homes and two schools from flooding have been delayed because of a lack of cash – just days after the Islander revealed them publicly.

The Environment Agency wants to fork out £1.8million to shore up sea defences on Hayling.

But work has been postponed for at least three years because the agency says it doesn’t have the money.

The project was due to begin next year, but will now be delayed until 2012 at the earliest. (more…)

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Coastal and Marine Issues has recognized the need for an inquiry into deprivation and disadvantage in rural coastal areas. Attached you will find an invitation to submit evidence, which we would ask you to respond to and to circulate widely.

Norman Lamb MP, Chair APPG Coastal and Marine Issues

APPG Coastal and Marine Invitation to submit evidence.doc