Christmas may be over and done with but what about all the left over Christmas trees?

With 8 million Christmas trees sold in the UK every year that can be quite a waste if they’re not put to good use.

Instead of throwing your tree on the rubbish heap why not use it to help the environment?

Well, Hayley decided to do just that and took hers to Formby in Merseyside to see how it can be used to prevent coastal erosion.

Story on BBC Newsround

CONSERVATION work is due to begin on a major scheme to improve coastal sea defences around Hightown.

The project involves moving thousands of tonnes of sand from Crosby and Waterloo to restore dunes alongside the River Alt.

It is hoped the Hightown Dune Restoration Project will protect hundreds of homes in Hightown – and the historic Blundellsands Sailing Club – for generations to come.

It will also restore sea views in Waterloo by removing sand dunes on the ‘landward’ side of the promenade between Crosby Leisure Centre and the Marine Lake.

Graham Lymbery, from Sefton’s Flood and Coastal Erosion team, explained: “This is an important project to protect Hightown for decades to come and will mark a significant chapter in the history of the Sefton coast.”

Story by Jade Wright in the Southport Visiter

A GREAT deal of work has been done to try to ensure the efficient management of the local shoreline by a number of organisations representing a whole variety of interests.

The North West England and North Wales Shoreline Management Plan 2 final report has recently been published and which covers the whole of the Sefton coastline.

Formby Parish Council took part in the public consultation phase and submitted a response to the draft recommendations.

The consultation which is focused on coastal protection and defences is primarily driven by the local authorities and the Environment Agency and draws up plans to manage the coast for the next 20 years, 20 to 50 years and 50 to 100 years.

The original recommendation for the Formby dunes was that this section of the coast was for ‘no active intervention’.

The definition of that is that no action be taken to maintain existing defences or prevent nature from taking its course where the land is not defended.

The Parish Council took the view that this was unacceptable, given the fact that Sefton Council themselves had taken measures, which we support, to stabilise the dunes, and grants had been received to plan for managing coastal change.

So we are pleased that the final plan announced has been amended to reflect more accurately the measures currently being undertaken, and which we would wish to see continued into the future.

The final recommendation is that the policy for this part of the coast be changed to ‘Managed Realignment’ and which we supported during the consultation.

This policy is for the existing defences to be moved inland in a controlled way managing the sand dunes as they naturally move inland.

Sefton Council and the National Trust in Formby both actively manage the dunes and are working to understand how the dunes adapt.

We would have preferred the full policy to use the words ‘active intervention’ but the final wording has been changed from ‘minimal intervention’ to ‘limited intervention’ by the policy team.

The full policy, which is consistent for all three time periods, reads ‘Managed Realignment will allow the dune system to evolve naturally with limited intervention to manage dunes, and manage adaptation in the erosion risk zone (such as relocating paths and car parks), subject to consents’.

The Parish Council wishes to thank the Coastal Defence Officer for Sefton Council, Graham Lymbery, for his advice and information to support our response and to the local manager of the National Trust Formby, Andrew Brockbank, for his guidance and input at the public consultations and to both parties for continuing to give a high priority to the maintenance of the dune system to continue to protect this sensitive natural environment and the inland assets of the local community.

The Parish Council considers it vital that to continue to monitor the work planned for the coastal area and the flood plain on which we live.

G GASKIN

Deputy Chair, Formby Parish Council

Letter to the Formby Times

A PLAN to stop a road collapsing into the sea is being held back by red tape, it is claimed.

The road leading to Eskmeals Gun Range, near Bootle, is seven feet away from the highest water level during a storm.

Fears are mounting that one or two extreme waves will result in the road falling into the sea.

Gun range managers QinetiQ plans to install concrete blocks on the beach to protect the road, but needs permission from “a number of parties” before the work can be carried out.

A QinetiQ spokeswoman said: “The deterioration of the road is a concern for QinetiQ, which operates the MOD Eskmeals Range, as well as for others in the community, including local authorities.

“We are more than happy to work with people to try to find a solution. However, we cannot act without the permission of the relevant authorities, such as those ultimately responsible for the road or the local environment.

“One suggested interim solution, to help reinforce the existing sea defences with surplus concrete blocks from MOD Eskmeals, would also require permission and approval from a number of parties before it can proceed.”

Bootle villagers braved the freezing weather on Thursday to meet Copeland Borough Council officials and gun range manager David Harrison in a plea to save the Eskmeals road. Villagers are now demanding that something be done.

Mr Harrison offered the use of 100 concrete blocks, known as Pendine blocks, to help with the protection.

But Mr Harrison said similar efforts in the past had been blocked, as the act would be classed as fly-tipping.

Mr Harrison said: “There is a short-term solution there, that will buy more time to deal with the road.”

Lead campaigner and Bootle parish councillor Trudy Harrison said: “The on-site beach meeting in Bootle was organised to highlight the plight of residents and local businesses. The road is but two storms away from falling into the sea. As one of only one of a few beaches in the National Park, it should be preserved and treasured. I doubt its current condition fits the criteria for a world-class tourist destination.

“However, the meeting was hopeful and positive.

“I will be pursuing a meeting with the National Park Authority, Copeland Borough Council, the Highways Agency and the Environment Agency to find a sensible, low-cost solution to this urgent problem.

“Let’s hope when free materials, machinery, labour and local need are highlighted, we can move forward with a pro-active approach.”

Bootle farmer Casson Fox said: “If you put those blocks down now, I can guarantee that road will still be there in 10 years’ time.”

The need for the road is highlighted in the Bootle Community Plan, which was launched to spearhead the village’s economic survival.

The road has been left unprotected in line with the government’s Shoreline Management Plan which has a “no action” policy on the road.

The plan outlines which shorelines around the country should be protected and which ones should not be. Bootle Parish Council will officially stand against the plan at a meeting with the borough council in Muncaster on February 11.

Robert Morris-Eyton, land agent for Stubb Place Farm, which sits yards from the threatened road, said: “The problem is there are so many agencies in involved. We need to sit everyone round a table and thrash this out. “Eskmeals employs vasts amount of people. It is an important business in the area.”

A spokesman for the county council said QinetiQ would need permission from the borough council, and not from the county council, for defences to be put on the beach. The borough council’s flood and coastal engineer David Bechelli refused to talk to the Evening Mail at the site on Thursday. Ian Curwen, press officer for the borough council, was unavailable for comment.

Story in the North West Evening Mail

AN action plan is to be drawn up to determine the best way to manage the changing coast between Heswall and Eastham, now and for future generations.

And your help is needed to make sure that the plans are realistic, suitable and achievable.

Wirral Council is working with the North West England and North Wales Coastal Group, the Environment Agency and other organisations to produce the plan.

Director of technical services at Wirral Council, David Green, said: “Wirral’s coast is home to many internationally important environmental sites and the defences that form part of this coast protect homes, businesses and infrastructure from erosion and flooding.

“Predictions around climate change will accelerate changes at the coast and increase the risk from flooding and erosion.

“The future management of the coast is vitally important and it is equally important that people have their say on the shoreline management plan to make sure their views about their homes, businesses and interests are represented.”

Pete Fox, Environment Agency North West flood and coastal risk manager, said: “It’s really important that local communities work with the Environment Agency, local authorities and others to produce the shoreline management plans and coastal erosion risk maps.

“This will ensure we all get the best possible outcomes for people and the environment in Wirral and beyond.”

To have your say on the plans and find out more visit www.mycoastline.org

Once completed, the plans will be released around June of next year along with maps showing predicted rates of erosion along the whole of the coast.

These will be used to assist planners in making decisions about development and to help shape the work that local authorities and the Environment Agency do to protect homes and business and improve the environment.

During the consultation and beyond the council will be holding workshop meetings for local communities along the coast about the plan and maps to help them understand what it means to them and get their input.

The first workshop is set to take place this Thursday, December 10 at the Kings Gap Court Hotel, Hoylake, from 7pm till 8.30pm.

Story in the Wirral Globe

SEFTON’S changing coastline is to benefit from a £337,000 government boost.

The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has pledged the money to help Sefton Council adapt to coastal erosion and dune movements at Formby.

The site was last year highlighted by a National Trust report which named it among the top 10 UK beaches which could be irrevocably changed by increasingly stormy weather.

With one of the largest dune systems in Britain, Sefton Council proposed building a new board walk system at the site to continue access to the sands.

It also proposed a new visitor car park after the last one became inaccessible due to the movement of the beach.Š

The council has worked with the National Trust and the Sefton Coast Partnership to involve local schools and residents with the scheme.

The new DEFTA grant will pay for these schemes to be put in place.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said: “Our coastline has always been shaped by the sea and as climate change takes hold the risk of coastal change will only increase.

“That is why we need to help our coastal communities to adapt to this change.

“No one can know or understand what these communities need better than the communities themselves, and with this funding they will be able to work together, to better prepare their people and businesses by adapting to local change.”

Erosion already affects 30% of the English coastline, while other areas are at risk of flooding or an increase in amounts of shingle.

Fifteen coastal communities will benefit from this £11m grant scheme, and winning authorities come from all around the coast.

The 2008 National Trust report stated: “For the last 100 years, the beach at Formby has been eroding at a rate of four metres every year.

“Severe storms can take 12 to 15 metres from the front of the dunes in one event. This can be followed by some recovery as sand blows in from the beach.”

It added over the next 100 years the sands will recede by a minimum of 400 metres.

In June, 2009, Sefton were among the authorities who were invited to enter the Coastal Challenge Pathfinder competition to come up with their own scheme to deal with problems of erosion in their area.

The grants will be used by local authorities to explore and test their own ideas of adaptation.

Story in the Formby Times

IF there’s one thing that’s constant about the sea, it’s that it’s always changing, say our coastal experts.

Waves and tides move sand and sediment around the coast and up and down the estuary, changing the way that the shoreline looks, works and protects our homes and towns.

Climate change will bring higher sea levels, stormier seas and more rain – all of which will increase the pressure on the Merseyside area.

But it’s what we do about it that’s important.

The Environment Agency is working with the North West England and North Wales Coastal Group, Local Authorities and other organisations to identify where risk from erosion and flooding is greatest and set out effective solutions.

To do this they will produce a Shoreline Management Plan which will consider the effects of different actions on peoples homes and lives, business and tourism and the environment, and give suggestions on the best action to take in each area.

Graham Lymbery, North West England and North Wales Coastal Group chair says: “It is vital that people have their say to make sure their views about their homes, businesses and interests are represented.”

The Shoreline Management Plan will be released for public consultation in October and the Environment Agency want your views on the suggestions that have been made.

Final plans will then be released around June 2010, along with maps showing predicted rates of erosion.

Do you think that we need to maintain the current levels of defence from Garston to Seaforth to protect Liverpool from flooding? Is it OK to let nature take its course from Hale Bank to Garston and improve homes for wildlife? Have your say on the plans and find out more at www.mycoastline.org.uk

Story by Jade Wright in the Southport Visiter