As reported in Construction News and numerous other sources:

Dungeness in Kent has been dropped from a Government list of potential locations for new nuclear power stations.

The location, which was one of eleven sites nominated by industry in March, was not listed in the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s draft National Policy Statements consultation, which opened today (9th November).

Concerns about how to mitigate potential environmental impacts at the site, coastal erosion and associated flood risk were among the reasons. (more…)

Will the Kent coast always look like it does now? Unlikely. By 2100 is estimated that sea level changes wrought by climate change will have altered the map and we could find ourselves with a county that looks very different to the one we know and love today

Whether an act of humility or egotistical mania, King Canute’s tidal antics in the 11th century confirmed that the sea does what it wants. We’ve come a long way since, developing more sophisticated ways of thwarting the sea other than a pair of kingly ankles.

Around the county, coastal communities enjoy protection via a network of flood defences. They ensure that, even when the sea is at its bolshiest, those at risk from flooding (10 per cent of Kent’s population), can sleep safe in the knowledge that they won’t end up sharing more in common with Atlantis than Ashford. (more…)

Flood defences to protect 3,600 homes in Kent are among schemes being brought forward a year to boost the economy, the Environment Agency (EA) has said.

Work is now likely to start in 2009 to improve coastal defences in Deal to protect against future sea level rises.

The scheme is one of several which will be brought forward from 2010-2011 if final approval is given in February.

Others include the construction of two new pumping stations and a replacement of a tidal sluice in east London.

The work there is planned to reduce the risk of river and tidal flooding of homes, businesses and infrastructure in the Thames Estuary.

Read the full story on the BBC News website

Rising sea levels will have a major impact on the South East’s coastline over the decades to come. It could result in the map of the region being completely redrawn. Even those miles from the sea could end up living under water. (more…)

New map shows Medway’s climate change threat.

Today, the World Development Movement has published a shocking new map and data, clearly showing the very real affect that climate change could have in Kent, especially in Medway.

Download this map as a pdf – share this map on your website

From a press release on the World Development Movement website

On BBC Radio 4′s Open Country transmitted today features the Faversham Road Residents Association

Ever since the storm surge and the Great Flood of 1953 threatened the North Kent coast, the inhabitants of low lying areas of the county have lived with the risk that the sea may one day flood their homes.

Nick Crane visits the coast to meet those involved in the management of the shore, along with those who are being affected by the shifting sands and the rising tides. (more…)