A CONTROVERSIAL Environment Agency plan to flood land to create a wildlife habitat at Donna Nook has been approved by East Lindsey District Council.

The land in Marsh Lane in North Somercotes will see the Donna Nook-managed re-alignments scheme remove the existing flood defence and replace it with a newly improved flood defence system.

It will change the use of existing agricultural land and be used to form a new embankment to form new wildlife habitats which will include creation of intertidal habitat, islands and creeks.

The final decision made by East Lindsey District Council was a close one with the vote going six to five for the approval of the Environment Agency plans. (more…)

A scheme to flood 300 acres of farmland in Lincolnshire has been approved by council officials.

The Environment Agency wants to allow the sea into Donna Nook, North Somercotes, as replacement wetland for habitats lost to flood defences nearby.

East Lindsey District Council planning committee approved the application at a meeting on Thursday.

The authority had rejected the plan last June following strong local opposition to the loss of land. (more…)

A £6m project to move sand on to Lincolnshire’s beaches to help prevent flooding and coastal erosion is set to start.

The “beach nourishment” campaign sees more than 141,000 tonnes of sand pumped from off-shore sites onto 20km (12.4 miles) of beach.

The scheme, carried out by the Environment Agency, protects 30,000 properties from the risk of flooding. (more…)

AN OPPONENT of plans to create a wetland habitat and flood scheme at Donna Nook claims the community has been “stabbed in the back” after a local authority announced it could not rely on its original grounds for refusal.

East Lindsey District Council has been preparing to be represented at an appeal lodged by the Environment Agency after its plan to create a wetland habitat and flood scheme at Donna Nook was refused last year.

The wetland would see acres of farmland flooded and would compensate for the loss of habitat around the Humber estuary due to coastal squeeze.

But in a U-turn, ELDC said things have since changed which meant its reasons for refusal could not be relied upon to win the appeal. (more…)

A PLAN to safeguard our coastline from rising sea levels was approved by councillors.

The Shoreline Management Plan is expected to last 100 years and ensure industry and homes are protected.

North East Lincolnshire Council cabinet members welcomed the plan. (more…)

People living on the East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire coast are being asked to help shape a new strategy to cope with coastal flooding and erosion.

The coastline from Flamborough Head in East Yorkshire to Gibraltar Point in Lincolnshire is to be the subject of a new shoreline management plan.

The draft plan outlines the risks posed by erosion and climate change to homes, coastal defences and wildlife habitats.

Public consultations are taking place until 5 February at various locations. (more…)

Preparations have begun for the continuation of a multi-million pound project to reduce the risk of tidal flooding and maintain beaches on the Lincolnshire coast on the east coast of the UK.

The Environment Agency has set up the compound for its Lincshore beach re-nourishment project. Lincshore aims to combat the decrease in sand levels and increased risk of flooding caused by coastal erosion.

Dredging for Lincshore 2010 will begin in the middle of July and is expected to finish at the end of  September. It will see 400,000 cubic metres of sand pumped onto 20km of beach, including Trusthorpe, Boygrift, Trunch Lane, Chapel Six Marshes and Moggs Eye, at a cost of £6 million. (more…)

ENVIRONMENT Agency (EA) warnings on the threat of coastal flooding are ‘killing the tourism’ in the Mablethorpe area according to some angry residents and business owners.

In response to a flood plan pack issued by the EA, a Sutton on Sea resident, who asked not to be named, said: “This agency is killing our holidays. No one will buy here if all this is sent out. Tourism will be finished.”

Last year, the Leader reported on the EA’s Shoreline Management Plan to provide an assessment on the risk of coastal flooding over the next one hundred years and identify possible defence options.

Mike Dugher, area coastal manager for the EA, said: “A storm surge will come one day, so we need to be prepared. We won’t be able to stop it, all we can do is reduce the likelihood of flooding.” (more…)

THIS year will be a crucial one for adapting to climate change, claims Lincolnshire County Council.

The council is reassuring people living along our coastline it will be doing all it can to focus on the issues of flooding and protection.

Following months of research and public consultations, the council and its partners are now preparing a workshop at Louth on Monday, January 11. (more…)

RESIDENTS living on the east coast have been given the chance to have their say and find out more about future plans for developing coastal areas and managing flooding issues.

Partner agencies representing the Lincolnshire Coastal Study and two ongoing Shoreline Management Plan reviews in the county were present at a joint event at the Coronation Hall in Wainfleet. Consultation events also took place in Skegness and Chapel St Leonards.

The events form part of a public consultation period for the Shoreline Management Plans which will help define how coastal defences are managed over the next 100 years. (more…)