A NEW online mapping facility shows how at risk Worthing, Shoreham and Littlehampton’s coastlines are from erosion and flooding.

The coastal erosion map was made live on the Environment Agency’s website last week, and allows users to see what changes, if any, there might be to the coastline where they live in the next 15 years.

The map for the South Downs area is one of just two unveiled last week as pilots for this project. It charts the coastline from Beachy Head in the east to Selsey Bill in the west, and predicts any changes to the coastline in our area by 2025 are likely to be “negligible”. (more…)

AN MP is demanding government ministers step into the battle to stop homes being washed into the sea.

Residents of West Shore Park on Walney have been increasingly concerned over recent years that coastal erosion at Earnse Bay will lead to their homes being flooded.

But now Barrow MP John Woodcock hopes to lead a delegation to meet the environment minister in Whitehall in a bid to resolve the issue once and for all. (more…)

Large parts of the Sussex coastline will disappear into the sea within 15 years, a Government report has revealed.

A study by the Environment Agency into coastal defences across Sussex highlights more than ten miles of the shoreline which will be lost to erosion.

Newhaven, Seaford and beauty spots such as Birling Gap are all listed as being affected by damage caused by the sea because of a lack of protection.

And the report warns as much as 20 metres of land could be lost in some places by 2025. (more…)

I have for some considerable time refrained from making comment or updates as there has been considerable activity ‘behind the scenes’ and I was conscious that any comment could have affected some of the negotiations and events which were taking place. However I believe the time is now right to comment on a number of relevant issues.

Firstly and perhaps most importantly (in the wider context) is the all new Central Government policy for Flood and Coastal Risk Management which came into being in July of this year. This is a policy which seeks to convince us, and no doubt the Association of British Insurers ( ABI ) that more will be done on the coast when in fact Government is looking to do much less with an ongoing reducing budget. The only positive I can find in the new policy is the fact that it removes any doubt that we manage our coast for fiscal reasons rather than sound coast management rationale. My own view is that the new policy is hugely divisive, has increased costs for the Maritime Authorities when seeking to provide a scheme which is subject to central funding grant in aid and could be damaging in the long term.

The conundrum for Government which this policy seeks to resolve is, how do we do less on the coast whilst convincing the public we are doing more! (more…)

With new online maps communities along the South Downs coast between Beachy Head and Selsey Bill can see how coastal erosion could affect their coastline in future.

Two pilot maps, for the South Downs and Northumberland, were published today by the Environment Agency. The maps were developed in conjunction with local councils and provide information for the public on how coastal erosion could affect where they live for the next 20 years. The maps also show how the coast is being managed and any defences that are in place.

Although few households are at risk from coastal erosion, its consequences can be serious. Better information on coastal erosion will help coastal communities to make more informed decisions about development and adapting to a changing coastline. (more…)

A holiday park in Selsey has put forward plans to make changes to its sea defence works.

Bunn Leisure is privately funding a £15m scheme at West Sands Caravan Park to protect its business and the west side of Selsey.

The original plans were granted planning permission in 2009 but Bunn wants to change the type of rock, profiling and footprint of the breakwaters, as well as change the source of shingle for a beach recharge. (more…)

Wales must prepare for coastal erosion such as the landslip that left 15 caravans teetering on the edge of cliff near Barry, a minister says.

Environment Minister John Griffiths is launching a new strategy aimed at managing and reducing the risks and fall out of flooding and erosion.

It aims to raise awareness, improve responses and prioritise investment in the areas most at risk.

One expert says people must accept saving all the coastline is too costly. (more…)

A recent rock fall which left caravans hanging over a cliff in South Wales brought the issue of coastal erosion into stark focus. In a special report, Rachael Misstear visits a defence project which it is hoped could protect our shoreline – and boost tourism

IT was recently named as Wales’ best place to bring up children, but the future of the village itself was in jeopardy due to decades of unrelenting coastal erosion.

Now it is hoped that part of Borth’s coastline will be protected for several generations thanks to a £12.9m coastal defence project which could also boost tourism. (more…)

Plans for the future management of the north Suffolk coast were approved by councillors last night.

Members of Waveney District Council’s cabinet met on Wednesday to formally adopt the county’s Shoreline Management Plan (SMP), which covers the stretch of coast between Lowestoft Ness and Felixstowe.

The SMP was provisionally approved by the cabinet last November and, following delays, it has since been approved by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), signed off by the Environment Agency, and adopted by Suffolk Coastal District Council last week. (more…)

THE Welsh Government has launched a strategy to manage coastal erosion, just a week after 13 caravans were left hanging over the edge of a cliff by a rock fall.

The incident at Porthkerry, in the Vale of Glamorgan, was a “devastating” reminder of the consequences of coastal erosion, said Environment Minister John Griffiths.

He told the Senedd: “We have recently been reminded of the potentially devastating consequences of coastal erosion, with the disturbing images presented to us in the media. (more…)