FLOOD-HIT farmer Rob Keene has questioned a consultation which appears to ignore the high ground of Gloucester’s massive rubbish dump.

The Environment Agency has released details of its plan to manage flood risk around the River Severn.

But Over farmer Rob, whose land flooded in 2007, says no account has been taken of the huge Hempsted tip site which dominates the landscape south of the Lower Parting.

The tip site grows ever higher, and is well above the level of the river and surrounding land – so it would not be able to take floodwater.

But the Environment Agency has marked out an area which could flood, and that area includes the tip.

“The whole thing kind of makes sense if the tip wasn’t there,” said Rob. “I know people are concerned about it and its been brought up with the EA. The repercussions for this area are really serious.”

Swamped

The EA said the tip site had been taken in to account, and the map used in the consultation document was for illustration purposes only.

But Rob said the Hempsted tip would cause a flood bottleneck as well, and its potential effect on worsening the flood risk should not be underestimated.

“There isn’t much chance of moving the tip but it seems unfair that farmers’ land is being used as a flood storage area to reduce the flooding possibility in Gloucester.

“If we are taking water on our land to save people’s homes, I accept that, but they are not taking notice of the problems the tip causes.”

He added that a plan to raise a new stadium for the Gloucester City football ground would cause further problems.

During the floods of 2007, which saw more than 5,000 homes under water, and 135,000 without drinking water, Mr Keen’s farm lost many crops.

“It was devastating,” he said. “We had 350 acres submerged. It was just a nightmare in terms of the crops we lost and the retail trading we didn’t have.”

The EA’s Managing Flood Risk on the Severn Estuary brochure ties in with the recently published Shoreline Management Plan (SMP), which provides a framework for managing issues around the Severn Estuary including flood risk.

“It is important for us to be able to plan ahead for the challenge that climate change presents of rising sea levels,” said Anthony Perry, area flood risk manager.

The SMP and the Severn Estuary Strategy are intended to help councils, landowners and others to work with the EA to adapt to climate change in the coming decades.

Consultation closed on April 4.

An EA spokeswoman said: “The modelling and assessment for the Severn estuary strategy did take into account the raised ground of Hempsted landfill site.

“The map shown in the brochure was for illustration purposes only.”

Story on the This is Gloucestershire website

PEOPLE living along the coast of the Severn Estuary are being asked for their views on how their coastline should be managed over the next 100 years.

As part of a major new study, a large-scale review of the current Shoreline Management Plan, which dates back to 2000, is being carried out by the Severn Estuary Coastal Group.

The group is a partnership of local authorities and other organisations – such as the Environment Agency – which manages coastal protection and flood defence issues.

The far-reaching review it is undertaking is called SMP2, which will enable planners and regulators to plan for – and manage – the way that the coast will change over the next century.

This could be by maintaining or improving flood defences, helping areas that are at risk of flooding, or ensuring future developments are not put at higher risk of flood or coastal erosion.

SMP2 is being project managed by the Environment Agency.

Once it is finished, local authorities and regulators with responsibilities for managing the shoreline will be asked to adopt it.

The public consultation process on the proposed policies that have been drafted was launched this week and closes on January 8, 2010.

A number of events open to the public will look at several areas of the Severn Estuary Shoreline Management Plan including: the history of Shoreline Management Plans, what work has already been done, asking local people their thoughts on what should be done in the future and asking local people for their comments on the proposed policies for their local areas.

Events are being held at Bristol City Sports and Social Club, Bristol, on Thursday, November 12 (2-6pm) and at Gloucester City Council offices on Friday, November 13 (2-6pm).

Dave Harris, chairman of the Severn Estuary Coastal Group said: “There are thousands of residential and commercial properties in the Severn Estuary at risk from flooding, erosion and climate change, as well as farms, historically important areas and environmental sites.

“We need to plan now for changes in the future. It is important that the decisions we all make today do not put additional burdens on future generations. We need the SMP2 to help everyone understand how the shoreline in the Estuary will change and be managed over the next 100 years. People need to be able to plan ahead and make decisions about their businesses, land, homes and investments.’ “We’d like to encourage anyone who lives or works around the Estuary to get involved in this consultation process.”

‘We can’t shy away from these decisions we’re going to have to make plans to manage the way the coast changes over the next 100 years, it’s as simple as that I. hope as many people as possible attend this event – and other we intend to hold in the future – make their views known and give us information.”

The Severn Estuary Shoreline Management Plan document is available to download, for comment, from The Severn Estuary Coastal Group website at www.severnestuary.net/secg/

Story in the Gazette Series

RESIDENTS have the opportunity to comment on how the land surrounding the Severn Estuary should be managed in years to come.

Interested parties will be able to put their views across at a consultation meeting which will take place at the Paget Rooms in Penarth on Wednesday, June 10, from 2pm to 6pm.

There is no registration process and you can simply turn up on the day to have your say.

Issues to be discussed include coping with possible future floods, and coastal erosion on and around the Severn Estuary.

The event will be hosted by the Severn Estuary Coastal Group (SECG) in partnership with the Vale Council and the Environment Agency.

The SECG is currently running a large-scale review and consultation, in Wales and the South-West of England, into the management of the Severn Estuary’s coast in which the meeting in Penarth will play a key part.

Once the review and consultation period finishes, a new ‘shoreline management plan’ will be drawn-up for local authorities and regulators – including the Vale Council to adopt, replacing the current decade-old plan.

Cllr Geoff Cox, Vale Council cabinet member for visible and building services, said: “I welcome this opportunity for the public to be involved in the consultation process for the review of the Shoreline Management Plan for the Severn Estuary, and encourage those interested in the management of the coast from Penarth Head to Lavernock Point to actively participate in the review.” Dave Harris, Chair of the Severn Estuary Coastal Group said: “There are thousands of residential and commercial properties in the Severn Estuary at risk from flooding, erosion and climate change. We need to plan now for changes in the future.

“It is important that the decisions we all make today do not put additional burdens on future generations. People need to be able to plan ahead and make decisions about their businesses, land, homes and investments.”

Ken Tatem, project manger for the Environment Agency said: “We’d like to encourage anyone who lives or works around the estuary to get involved in this consultation process.

“Not just to make sure we’re making informed, lasting decisions, but more importantly, to help the coastal group come as close to consensus as we can on crucial issues like protecting against coastal erosion and flooding.”

Story in the Penarth Times

More information can be found on the Severn Estuary Coastal Group website

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