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.

An East Lindsey District Council statement said: “Following proposed changes to regional planning policy and progress with the Shoreline Management Plan, the Environment Agency resubmitted its planning application for land at Donna Nook to East Lindsey District Council.

“The district council refused the original application and this is currently at appeal, however, in light of the proposed policy changes and the progress with the Shoreline Management Plan, the original objections are no longer considered to have sufficient weight to defend our decision to appeal.

“We realise that there is strong feeling in the local community about this application but as the Local Planning Authority any decisions we make must be based on sound planning grounds, backed up by substantial evidence.”

Many of the local Parish Councils in the area are disappointed with the planning approval.

North Somercotes Parish Council member Neil Drewery said: “We are disappointed in the way the plans were handled by East Lindsey District Council.

“We are losing vital agricultural land which to Lincolnshire is a natural asset and we shouldn’t destroy it.”

Story in the Louth Leader

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.

‘Substantial evidence’ It has since approved the application following changes to planning guidelines.

The Environment Agency said it was obliged to replace wetland habitat lost to the wider Humber estuary flood defence programme.

A spokesman for the district council said: “Following proposed changes to regional planning policy and progress with the Shoreline Management Plan, the Environment Agency resubmitted its planning application for land at Donna Nook to East Lindsey District Council.

“In light of the proposed policy changes and the progress with the Shoreline Management Plan, the original objections are no longer considered to have sufficient weight to defend our decision at appeal.

“We realise that there is strong feeling in the local community about this application but as the local planning authority any decisions we make must be based on sound planning grounds, backed up by substantial evidence.”

Story on the BBC News website

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.

Work is due to start at the end of May or beginning of June.

The sand is moved using a specialised dredger.

Mike Dugher, Environment Agency area coastal manager, said: “Increasing the level of the beach reduces the risk of waves reaching the main defences and going over sea walls.

“If the defences along the beach failed, there could be extensive damage to property and disruption to local communities.”

The scheme first started in 1994 and covers beaches from Mablethorpe to Skegness.

Story on the BBC News website

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.

Farmworker Alwyn Drewery said: “The community has been stabbed in the back and East Lindsey has yet again failed to support local people. We have letters from the chief executive Nigel Howells saying this will be defended rigorously.

“I am very disappointed and I feel they have let local taxpayers down, local parish councils and our ward councillor Robert Palmer who has greatly supported the community.

“We will continue to fight this as an interested party, but I think the appeal will make ELDC look silly, especially as the Environment Agency has spent a lot of public money with the appeal process.”

However, a council spokesman said: “The district council refused the planning application for two reasons – the Shoreline Management Plan hadn’t been adopted and the proposal by the Environment Agency was contrary to the Regional Spatial Strategy.

“Since the district council’s decision to refuse the planning application, which was based on solid and relevant planning policy at the time, the Shoreline Management Plan has been endorsed and the Government’s intention to revoke the Regional Strategy has been confirmed as a material planning consideration.

“Any appeal would be decided on the law and policy as it will stand when the appeal is heard later this year.”

The application had received almost 400 letters of objection from the public, who were concerned about flood water being brought closer to their homes in North Somercotes and the loss of top-quality land.

Story in the Grimsby Telegraph

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.

Members heard £750,000 from an Environment Agency grant was already being spent strengthening gabion defences on the front embankment at Humberston Fitties. They are expected to last for a further 50 years.

Recommending approval of the plan, portfolio holder for the environment Councillor Peter Burgess said: “With this plan, sea defences are going to be protected for 100 years and for 50 years at The Fitties.”

He said the campaign to attract investment to protect defences would continue, along with monitoring of the sea’s impact on defences.

The plan is part of the a wider management plan for the coastline stretching from Flamborough Head in Yorkshire to Gibraltar Point south of Skegness.

A report to members described the solid defences protecting Immingham, Grimsby and Cleethorpes, but there is continual destruction of the cliffs at Holderness in Yorkshire.

That mass of sediment is deposited by tides in the estuary of the River Humber and along the Lincolnshire coastline, much of it on the flats at Donna Nook. These have developed into saltmarsh, providing ideal feeding and breeding grounds for birds and wildlife, especially seals.

Temperatures have increased between the periods 1850-1899 and 2001-2005 by 0.76 degrees Centigrade.

Sea levels have risen 3.1mm per year between 1993 and 2003. Over the previous century, it was 17mm.

Experts estimated a sea level rise of just under 1m by 2105.

Story in the Grimsby Telegraph

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.

The next exhibition will be at Marshchapel village hall between 1300 and 1900 GMT on Friday, followed by a two-day exhibition at Grimsby Central Library on 3 and 4 December.

‘Great uncertainty’

Feedback from the public consultation will be taken into account in the final version of the plan, which is expected to be published in summer 2010.

It will establish a policy for managing and responding to coastal flooding and erosion in Lincolnshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire over the next 20, 50 and 100 years.

Peter Burgess, portfolio holder for the environment, said: “With the great uncertainty about climate change and sea level rise it is very important that we set in place the right sort of plans to look at the long term possibilities and issues.

“This shoreline management plan is the starting point and I welcome everyone to get involved and give their views in the consultation.”

Story on the BBC website

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.

The mammoth scheme helps to prevent flooding on the Lincolnshire coast and maintains protection against a one in 200 year flood (0.5 per cent) for 30,000 properties and 35,000 hectares of land.

In addition, the work also helps maintain the beaches as tourist attractions – without it there would be little sand.

Mike Dugher, Environment Agency Area Coastal Manager, said: “Increasing the level of the beach reduces the risk of waves reaching the main defences and going over the seawalls. It protects the clay foreshore against further erosion and prevents rapid deterioration of the defences.

“If the defences along the beaches which rely on the Lincshore project failed, there could be extensive damage to property and distress and disruption among local communities. Tens of thousands of homes would be at severe risk of flooding, along with commercial and industrial properties. A number of important environmental sites would also be affected.

“During the works, there will be some unavoidable disruption to people in the area but we will make every effort to reduce this as much as possible. We hope they will understand the importance of carrying out this work to ensure properties and business along the Lincolnshire coast remain protected against tidal flooding and the area can look forward to a vibrant economic future.”

The Lincshore re-nourishment scheme began in 1994 and covers beaches from Mablethorpe to Skegness.

Each year, sand is dredged from licensed sites offshore and pumped onto beaches to replace material lost to erosion over winter.

The project is reviewed every five years to ensure it remains the best option for protecting homes and businesses from flooding. A review last year concluded it was and this year marks the start of another five-year programme which will see £30 million spent protecting the coastline.

Story on the Dredging News Online website

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.”

Martin Carmichael from the local Tourism Forum said: “I don’t think it will affect tourism, but I do think the EA has over-estimated the threat of coastal flooding and under-estimated the threat of river flooding. There are lots of other places in the country where you’re more likely to get flooded than Mablethorpe.”

A spokesperson for the EA said: “Coastal communities should be aware of the risks from the sea and it is essential to have warning systems in place to protect people and property.

“The flood plan pack is designed as a guide to help communities prepare for flooding so that should it happen there is a plan of action in place to help people stay safe.

“Communities work together on the plans which include making sure vulnerable people have someone looking out for them.”

They added: “We constantly monitor sea conditions to make sure we give timely warnings to communities. The risk of flooding is always present so it is advisable to be prepared.”

Local resident John Gregory concluded: “There will be another flood, we just don’t know when.”

Each year the EA spends £7 million replenishing the beaches between Mablethorpe and Skegness to provide some protection from flooding.

A consulation period for the Shoreline Managemnent Plan draft concludes on February 5.

Story by Gemma Gadd in the Louth Leader

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.

LCC will work with the Environment Agency to enter the final phase of the shoreline management plans which look at managing floor risk over the next 20, 50 and 100 years.

The stakeholder workshop, to consider the work of the Humber Estuary Coastal Authorities Group, will take place on Monday from 1-4.30pm at Louth Town Hall.

This shoreline management plan covers the coast from Flamborough Head to Gibraltar point, and the Wash plan from Gibraltar Point to Wolferton Creek.

People will have the opportunity to find out more about the plans and give their views.

Coun Eddy Poll, executive member for economic development, said:”2009 has been a key year of research and consultation.

“2010 will now see us develop a co-ordinated programme for the future by collaborating with organisations across East Lindsey, Boston and South Holland, refining the results of breach-mapping models with the Environment Agency and, crucially, working with the people who live in the coastal zones.”

Projects will include developing better communications and warnings about flood risk, and promoting ways of making homes more flood-proof.

The Standard recently reported LCC has been named a coastal change pathfinder authority and was awarded £810,000 by the Department for Food, the Environment and Rural Affairs.

These consutations will include finding ways to spend the money most effectively.

Story by Helen Bell in the Skegness Standard

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.

Its policies will then inform the Lincolnshire Coastal Study, which will assess current and potential flood risks alongside the implications for coastal communities and how the areas could be developed in future.

Lincolnshire County Council’s assistant director for development Richard Belfield, said: “We need to build up a detailed picture of Lincolnshire’s coastline and those areas most at risk of flooding, not just for now but for the next 100 years.

“That means adapting and developing new thinking about flooding protection, creating a balance between planning restrictions, maintaining the unique characteristics of our communities and the need to plan for future growth.

“Coastal communities are ideally placed to make a meaningful contribution, helping identify future challenges and aspirations.

“This will ensure the study accurately reflects the issues our communities face.”

For more information about the Lincolnshire Coastal Study or Shoreline Management Plan consultation events, call (01522) 782070 or visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/coastalstudy

The final Shoreline Management Plan consultation event will take place on November 30 at The Bacchus Hotel, Sutton-on-Sea, Lincolnshire.

Story on the This is Lincolnshire.co.uk website