Houses on stilts, floating communities and returning urban areas to saltmarsh should all be considered as part of radical approaches to tackling the threat posed to coastal cities by flooding, a report suggested today.

The study by the Royal Institute of British Architects’ think tank Building Futures and the Institution of Civil Engineers warned that the UK’s 12,000km (7,500 miles) of coastline would be increasingly at risk of floods.

Rising sea levels, sinking landmass in the south and increased storminess will all put coastal towns and cities at risk, and planners will need to decide how to tackle the threat.

At-risk areas could cope with the risk of flooding by retreating inland and allowing water to flood parts of the city, defending urban sites in innovative ways or “attacking” the problem, for example by building out into the water. (more…)

Low-lying coastal areas could get no investment in their sea defences as the government draws up a 100-year plan to ‘prioritise’ flood protection.

The Environment Agency is set to release a blueprint next month for how a 240 mile stretch of coastline along the Solent will be protected over the next century.

The proposals, from Hurst Spit in the west to Selsey Bill in the east, will detail how much funding is likely to be given to different sections of coastline. (more…)

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…)

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save Lymington Harbour have issued a rallying cry to back the installation of multi-million pound breakwaters.

The town’s Harbour Commission has applied for consent to start what would be a major engineering project at the mouth of Lymington River.

Now they are begging the thousands of boat owners who use the renowned yachting area to get behind the sea defence scheme.

Experts say the 12-acre salt marsh which protects the harbour, could disappear in 30 years unless urgent action is taken.

The plan is to create two breakwaters at the mouth of Lymington River to shield the harbour from the full force of the sea’s waves. It would mean a 180m rock construction on one side of the estuary and a 200m equivalent on the other.

Getting the go-ahead for the scheme hinges on gathering mass support and convincing a number of key regulatory bodies that such an undertaking would be beneficial.

Read the full story by Julian Robinson on the This is Hampshire website