A NIGHTMARE scenario of properties being lost and Coverack effectively being cut in two has prompted St Keverne Parish Council to take swift action.

The prospect of coastal erosion around The Lizard is contained in a shoreline management plan being drawn up for government agencies and Cornwall Council.

Among other things it also suggests there could be flooding if Loe Bar, which currently separates the sea from Helston – parts of which are below sea level – is breached.

Worried residents of Coverack, which is covered by the St Keverne council, attended its meeting on Thursday.

One, Trevor Abraham, who has lived in the village for 22 years, said this was the first he had heard of the plan.What worried him and others is the prospect that more than 20 homes, the main road through the village and the listed quay are at risk in the coming years.

“This could cut the village in half,” he said.

Cllr Bill Frisken said: “We clearly have a problem at Coverack because the report in essence says that the present sea wall will only be maintained for the next 15 years.”

The parish council wants the report, in draft form, to be changed before it is put to funding agencies such as Cornwall Council.

Cllr Frisken told the West Briton there was real concern from residents over matters such as the effect on house insurance.

“We feel, at this stage, we would like the council to hold the line (continue maintenance on the sea wall) until at least 2055.”

Mr Frisken pointed out that a large hole had opened up in recent years in the sea wall, yet the nearby harbour, which took a much heavier pounding from the sea, had been well maintained by local fishermen. “This quay has, with careful maintenance, withstood the onslaught of the sea for the last 300 years.”

The parish council was suggesting a local person be engaged part time to point the sea wall, as they did the harbour, as “a stitch in time” operation.

Otherwise, he added: “The loss of the road sometime after 2025 (only 15 years from now) would have severe financial consequences”, not least, Cllr Frisken also said, because nearly 70 more properties would no longer have road access unless a new one was built “at enormous cost”.

The full Shoreline Management Plan, drawn up by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Coastal Advisory Group, can be found at www.ciscag.org/draftsmpindex.html

Story in This is Cornwall

People living near the coast in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, are being asked for their views on proposals for how the coastline should be planned over the next 100 years.

A review of the original Shoreline Management Plans, which were completed in 1999, is being undertaken and this is a chance for the public to get further involved in an ongoing consultation process.

During March, the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Coastal Advisory Group is holding nine stakeholder and public exhibition events, to show the work that has already been completed on issues and objectives and to consult on proposals for the future.

Julian German, Cornwall Council cabinet member for the Environment, said: “Coastal erosion and sea level rise is nothing new – communities have suffered its effects throughout history, and it will go on happening, so we need to look now at how we can cope with it over the next hundred years, given what we know about the resources that will be available and how the coast will change.

“It is often a very emotive issue, and one that we must all confront. I hope people will take the time to attend these events, make their views known and also provide the project team with information, so we can reach a balanced conclusion that takes into account the needs and livelihoods of coastal communities as well as the impact of climate change.”

In January 2009, Haskoning UK were appointed as the consultant to provide technical advice to the review process on behalf of the Advisory Group.

The SMP Review considers the Government’s latest guidance on local strategic planning, the latest data available, nature conservation legislation, and the implications for property and land use, landscape, historic environment, amenity and recreation.

The ‘drop-in’ consultation events and formal presentations are a chance for the public now to comment on the proposals to be included in the Shoreline Management Plan. The events will introduce the background to Shoreline Management Plans, talk through the issues and objectives and explain the draft management options and policy proposals now being considered.

All events commence at 1600 hrs, for informal ‘Drop-in’ sessions during the afternoon. Followed by a Formal Presentation & Questions & Answers session, commencing at 1800 hrs. [An additional Drop-in session for the IoS will be staged on 18 March from 1030 to 1300 hrs].

The events will take place on the following dates and venues:

• Tuesday 16 March Falmouth Learning Centre National Maritime Museum Discovery Quay Falmouth TR11 3QY.
• Wednesday 17 March Padstow Parish Church Rooms Church Street Padstow.
• Thursday 18 March Isles of Scilly Old Wesleyan Chapel Garrison Lane St Marys IOS TR21 0JD.
• Monday 22 March Bude Rooms 2/3 Parkhouse Centre Ergue-Gaberic Way Bude EX23 8LD.
• Tuesday 23 March Hayle Denis Hollow Room Passmore Edwards Institute [Hayle’s Village Hall] 13-15 Hayle Terrace, Hayle TR27 4BU.
• Thursday 25 March Penzance St Johns Hall (Lecture Room) Alverton St, Penzance TR18 2QR.
• Monday 29 March Looe Guildhall Fore Street East Looe PL13 1AA.
• Tuesday 30 March Mevagissey IT Suite Mevagissey Activity Centre Valley Road, Mevagissey PL26 6SA.
• Wednesday 31 March Perranporth Perranporth Memorial Hall Wheal Leisure Perranporth TR6 0DP.

Cllr German said: “It is vital that we engage as many people as possible who have an interest in this issue during these consultation events, to ensure that we are making informed and sustainable decisions.”

The events are open to all stakeholders and members of the public and are free to attend.

Story by Stephen Ivall in the Falmouth Packet

People living near the coast in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are being asked for their views on how the coastline should be managed over the next 100 years.

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Coastal Advisory Group (CISCAG) is updating the existing Shoreline Management Plan that details protection arrangements for thousands of homes and businesses that may be at risk from tidal flooding and coastal erosion caused by climate change.

There will be a chance for local people to find out more about the work that has already been done and to talk about future issues and objectives at four stakeholder events during late April and early May 2009.

Speaking on behalf of CISCAG, Jerry Masters from Cornwall Council, said: “Coastal erosion is nothing new. Communities have suffered its effects throughout history, and it will go on happening. We need to look now at how we can cope with it over the next hundred years, taking account of what we know about the resources that will be available and how the coast will change.

“Coastal erosion can be a very emotive issue, making it particularly important to reach balanced decisions that consider the needs and livelihoods of coastal communities as well as the impact of climate change. I hope people will take the time to attend the events and make their views known.”

A wide range of organisations work together in CISCAG, including Cornwall Council, the Council of the Isles of Scilly, the Environment Agency, Natural England and the National Trust. Consultants Haskoning UK have been appointed to work with the group to ensure the updated plan meets the latest government guidance.

Story in the Falmouth Packet

Visit the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Coastal Advisory Group website

THERE’S a clue in the name Langport; the town did indeed once have a port, even though it is situated more than a dozen miles from the sea – and could be renewing its maritime links in the not too distant future if climate change experts meeting in Copenhagen last week are right.

Scientists now believe that global warming will have far more profound consequences on sea levels than had previously been estimated – they are predicting that the planet’s oceans will rise by more than a metre by the end of this century, rather than the half-metre increase they had been working on.

Not only will this have an acute significance for individual communities located at present-day sea levels, but entire areas of the South West peninsula will be in the firing line when it comes to widespread coastal flooding.

The national media habitually turns its focus on London, the Thames Basin and places like the Norfolk Broads in the east of the UK – but the increasing tides will have huge ramifications for the Westcountry, as is outlined in an official document which has been passed to the WMN.

“Climate is already changing – that much is certain,” writes the Environment Agency’s (EA) Kylie Russell, who is the organisation’s climate change and energy officer in the Westcountry. “This will lead to rising sea levels and increased flooding. The South West region has a very long coastline and as such is extremely vulnerable to rising sea levels.”

Suddenly even places like Langport, situated deep in the Somerset Levels, 12 miles inland from the nearest ocean wave, look worryingly vulnerable.

But not nearly as vulnerable as Bridgwater, located downstream on the banks of the tidal River Parrett. That town of just under 40,000 souls now looks to be the largest community in the region that is under direct threat from climate change. So much so that the chairman of a new body set up to regenerate the town is demanding a Thames-style barrage be built to protect it.

Bridgwater Challenge Project board chairman Anthony Gibson told the WMN: “The news from Copenhagen reinforces the need to protect Bridgwater and its 11,000 homes from flooding. At the moment this has been put at a 1-in-200-year risk – but the odds on it happening are shortening all time.

“You can give Bridgwater complete protection by building a mini surge barrier – and that would protect us at a cost of £40 million. This protection is an essential precondition for what the regeneration project is doing – a regeneration that could create thousands of new jobs in the town. But we need protection from the floods.”

Meanwhile, perhaps ominously for Mr Gibson and the people of Bridgwater, the EA is overseeing a so-called “managed retreat” at Steart, out at the western mouth of the River Parrett.

Managed retreat is a polite way of bowing to inevitability. It’s a way of saying: “Look at what happened to King Canute.” And it occurs when there’s a realisation that you can’t beat nature, no matter how hard you try.

There will undoubtedly be a great deal in the way of managed retreat here in the Westcountry in the next 100 years.

“There are 14,700 properties in Devon and Cornwall that are currently known to be at flood risk from the sea,” says Steve Marks, the EA’s team leader for flood incident management in the region. “The numbers of properties at risk from flooding, inundation and erosion will increase due to the expected impacts of climate change.

“These impacts include sea-level rise, increased frequency and severity of storms causing storm surges (i.e. a higher sea level caused by a combination of low pressure and wind action), and waves generated by these storms.

“To put this into context, two of the most severe coastal flooding events in Devon and Cornwall occurred in October 2004 and March 2008 when a 0.5- 0.75 metre storm surge coincided with high (autumn and spring equinox) tides.

“Tides of this height could be normal with future predicted sea-level rise. When further exacerbated by storm surges of increased severity and frequency the impacts will be much higher,” said Mr Marks.

To put that in modern parlance, we’re in for a double-whammy. More ferocious storms occurring more often will help push the tides and waves even higher than the much-feared basic rise in sea levels.

That particular scenario is likely to be at its worst in Cornwall – the highly exposed county that juts furthest into the ocean. But other double-whammy events will hit other parts of the coast in our region. Take, for example, the massive landslides that have become a feature of the East Devon/West Dorset coast – they could become a lot more common in the future, according to the EA’s coastal engineer in the area, Neil Watson.

“High levels of ground water can help cause these landslides and when you combine that with a higher wave action causing new erosive forces to bear along cliffs then you have an increased risk.”

Mr Watson also talked of a possible inundation of West Dorset’s famous Chesil Beach. “It has been breached before,” he said. “There was a storm in 1824 when vessels were washed right over the top – and certainly increased storminess might be a thing that affects Chesil Beach more.”

But, of course, it is in areas of human habitation most damage will occur. You only have to take a quick trip around the Westcountry coast to work out the at-risk areas.

West of the River Parrett and Somerset Levels you reach the West Somerset coastal plain from Blue Anchor to Minehead. It’s reckoned that, a long time ago, waves used to lap the base of Dunster Castle’s hill, now a mile inland – a metre tide rise would help them do so again. It would also turn a seaside holiday at Europe’s largest holiday camp into an altogether different experience – Minehead’s Butlins would be in the sea rather than beside it.

Further west, we come to the Taw and Torridge delta – a vast landscape of dunes and flatness stretching all the way upstream to Barnstaple. You will require a float-plane in order to land on Chivenor’s airbase’s runway in 100 years’ time.

Along the north coast of Cornwall, EA engineers have worries about the Camel Estuary, where inundations could hit Padstow and Wadebridge. And west again there are concerns for the low- lying parts of the Hayle estuary basin.

But perhaps the most worrying place to live in 2100 will be in the once hugely desirable Isles of Scilly.

A one-metre sea rise would wipe out most of the archipelago’s capital Hugh Town, half of which – including the main street – is built on a sand spit that connects the main island of St Mary’s with the hill that houses the old Garrison. When you add increased storm surges and bigger waves to the rise in overall tides, the beautiful but low-lying archipelago looks very exposed indeed.

Back along the mainland’s south coast, we come to Penzance and its neighbouring Marazion Marshes, at present protected by a low sea wall that could easily be breached by such tidal rises.

Out along the Lizard peninsula, the National Trust has already announced the future demise of Mullion Harbour, but there are also fears for Cornwall’s largest freshwater lake. Loe Bar, the shingle ridge protecting Loe Pool, could easily be breached, so that one day Helston might again have a harbour just like it did centuries ago.

Tregony, high up the Fal estuary, is another ancient harbour town that hasn’t seen a wave or a boat of any size for hundreds of years. By the end of this century, they might be considering building a marina there. Even Truro city centre, located in the same estuary system, could find itself looking more like Venice than anything built on Cornish granite.

Future developments in the Par area would be better adapted if they were to be built on stilts – and the same could be said for homes in various low-lying parts of the Tamar estuary. South Devon folk at present trying to protect the A379 road that traverses Slapton Sands will be regarded as brave but hopeless heroes in a century’s time. By then, combers will be crashing into lower Slapton village, while the lagoon called The Ley and the village of Torcross will be but distant memories.

The Exe estuary will suffer a plethora of problems – not least caused by the possible disappearance of not one, but two, railways. Although, by 2100 it is likely that the Great Western line which continues around the coast to Dawlish and Teignmouth will be history. The tram line at Seaton will also have become another memory after the entire Axe estuary basin fills with salt water.

That’s a basic round-up of what increased sea levels could mean to this region. In light of which, it’s perhaps wise to reflect upon the words of Kylie Russell, who ends her report on climate change in the region thus: “We need to adapt our way of life so that we can be prepared for the inevitable and unavoidable effects of climate change.”

Story in the Western Morning News

Almost 200 miles of some of the most precious stretches of south-west England’s coastline are threatened by rising sea levels, it is claimed today.

Fabulous beaches and cliffs, harbours and buildings are in danger. At least 142 scheduled ancient monuments, 111 listed buildings and one historic garden lie within a “risk zone”. More than 100 miles of public rights of way have already been lost, or could be soon.

The claims are made in Shifting Shores, a report published by the National Trust, which warns that 173 miles of the coastline that it cares for in south-west England could be lost or damaged. Amongst the world-famous sites in danger is St Michael’s Mount, the island off Penzance in Cornwall. The trust says the causeway which is used to cross to the site at low tide may be lost within 45 years.

A boathouse at Agatha Christie’s summer house in Devon could be gone within 15 years, while there are fears that salt water will soon spill into the lagoon at Brownsea Island in Dorset, which would mean the end of a crucial habitat for migrating birds.

Not far away, the trust is looking at spending almost £4m on moving the visitor facilities at Studland in Dorset back from the crumbling coast.

The National Trust, which looks after 450 miles of coastline in the south-west, admits it is already too late for some sites. For example, when the grade II listed harbour at Mullion in south Cornwall is next badly damaged, it will be made safe but not repaired.

Phil Dyke, the National Trust’s coastal and marine adviser, said the government, local authorities and communities needed to think about what would be happening not just now but in 20, 50 or 100 years’ time. “We know how important the coast is for people who live in and visit the south-west. The prospect of the coastline changing is very worrying.”

Three years ago the trust launched a campaign to highlight the problems of coastline erosion at its sites. Today’s report says there has been little progress. “We still have yet to see policy and decision-makers really wake up to the impact of coastal change,” it claims.

Dyke added: “We have seen some positive steps such as the launch of new guidance on producing shoreline management plans and proposals to review planning guidance on the coast. The draft marine bill and a possible flood and water bill should also offer opportunities to develop new, innovative approaches to the management of coastal change. But there’s still more to do. With nearly 30 agencies or authorities involved, achieving a coherent planning and management policy along our coast is difficult. We have yet to see the integrated, long-term planning at a local level.”

To highlight its concerns the trust has published a list of 21 sites it believes are at risk. The 13 on the “high risk” list include many of south-west England’s favourite destinations. Among them is Westbury Court Garden in Gloucestershire, a rare and beautiful example of a Dutch water garden dating back to the 17th century.

The report also suggests that in some areas, good can come out of rising sea levels. At Porlock Bay in Somerset, the breaching of a shingle bar resulted in the development of a new area of salt marsh.

It concludes it is necessary to plan at least 50 years ahead. In many cases people, businesses and habitats will have to be relocated. “In some cases this will mean undoing past mistakes, taking out hard defences and letting the coast realign naturally.”

At high risk

1 Westbury Court Garden, Glos.

2 Bossington, Somerset

3 Lundy Island access road, Devon

4 Godrevy cliffs and coves, Cornwall

5 Penberth Cove, Cornwall

6 St Michael’s Mount, Cornwall

7 Mullion Harbour, Cornwall

8 Cotehele Quay, Cornwall

9 South Milton Sands, Devon

10 Black Ven, Lyme Regis, Dorset

11 Golden Cap, Dorset

12 Studland, Dorset

13 Brownsea Island, Dorset

Story by Steven Morris in the Guardian

Also fetaured in the Telegraph