A SMALL community has told of its determination to protect its homes against coastal erosion after learning it is set to be abandoned to the ravages of the North Sea.

Residents in the tiny hamlet of Covehithe, just north of Southwold, face an uncertain future if Suffolk’s Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) is given the green light.

The scheme has been drawn up to suggest how flood and erosion risk should be tackled along the coast from Lowestoft Ness to Languard Point in Felixstowe.

At Covehithe it recommends a policy of “no active intervention” for the next century – meaning that within 30 to 40 years the entire hamlet, including homes, the historic 15th century church and important conservation areas, will be lost. (more…)

BUSINESSES and landowners are among those being given a say in the future of The Wash coastline between Wolferton Creek and South Hunstanton.

The newly formed key stakeholders sub-group is a partnership set up between the Environment Agency and West Norfolk Council to represent the interests of the local community and tourism.

These are the most likely parties to be affected by future changes. (more…)

The Environment Agency today announced how over £745m of Defra, Welsh Assembly Government, Local Authority and European Union funding will be allocated to reduce the risk of flood and coastal erosion in England and Wales for the year to March 2011.

The investment includes funds to build new and maintain existing river and coastal defence schemes, develop flood forecasting technologies and heighten public awareness of flood risk.

Today’s investment forms part of the Environment Agency’s strategy to reduce the risk of flooding to more than 200,000 additional properties across England and Wales by 2015. (more…)

THEY face the prospect of their land being lost to the Solent.

Land owners in the New Forest were given their first chance to comment on plans that will end up shaping the future of Hampshire.

A major blue print, suggesting how coastal erosion should be tackled over the next 100 years, is going on display over the coming week at a series of public consultations.

Within the pages of the North Solent Shoreline Management Plan (SMP), experts have already recommended that some stretches of the county’s coast should effectively be sacrificed to Mother Nature. (more…)

From Building Design:

British cities near the coast are at risk of extreme flooding with urgent action needed now to protect them, the RIBA and the Institution of Civil Engineers have claimed.

A new report by the two organisations urges the government, built environment professionals, planning authorities and the public to focus on devising radical solutions including the building of flood defenses or floating or stilted buildings.

The report, called Facing up to Rising Sea Levels: Retreat, Defend, Attack?, focuses on Kingston upon Hull and Portsmouth and presents six scenarios up to 90 years in the future, proposing three main approaches to tacking extreme flooding – retreat, defend or attack. (more…)

North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) has been awarded a grant of £3 million to develop new ways of managing the impacts of coastal change on our coastal communities.  This comes from the Coastal Change Fund announced in the Government’s Coastal Change Policy.

• Find out more about the North Norfolk Pathfinder

15 coastal change pathfinder authorities who will explore new ways of adapting to coastal change have been announced on the Defra website. These include Scarborough Borough Council, East Riding District Council, North Norfolk District Council, Waveney District Council and Tendring District Council.

From a press release:

Support for coastal communities in adapting to coastal change was announced today when the government awarded £11 million in grants to fifteen local authorities who had come up with the best and most innovative ideas for dealing with and adapting to coastal change.

The winning local authorities come from all around the English coast, from Sefton in the North West, to East Sussex in the South East. Each has come up with their own “pathfinder” scheme to work with communities and find ways of dealing with a changing coastline.  Projects range from creating new sand dunes and building boardwalks to, where properties are at risk, developing of ‘buy to let’ schemes and the purchase of land to rebuild properties at risk. (more…)

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…)

The Environment Agency has posted its response to Defra’s Consultation on Coastal Change Policy on it’s website:

We welcome the Coastal Change consultation and believe that for decisions to be made about a sustainable future for the coast there must be meaningful practical support for those affected by coastal change.
We:

• support the proposals for a coastal erosion assistance package for individuals and the use of the coastal change fund for community adaptation pathfinders
• see this as a positive initiative which needs to give local authorities sufficient flexibility to apply within their communities
• would like a clear policy and financial framework beyond 2011 that includes better levels of support to individuals at the ‘front line’ of coastal change
• welcome the Community Adaptation Planning and Engagement guidance, and have already adopted its principles in joint Environment Agency / local authority engagement work on Shoreline Management Plans and erosion maps.

Read the full response on the Environment Agency website

The Manhood Peninsula Steering Group has responded to Defra’s Consultation on Coastal Change Policy:

Coastal change is an issue which crosses into many different areas of government policy: planning, housing, transport, welfare, employment, economic development, nature conservation etc.

MPSG believes that an ICZM approach to coastal zones will be necessary to deliver any coherent package of measures and policies which allow our coastline to remain a vibrant place to live, work or visit. This requires locally-accountable governance bodies to shape local policy and develop ongoing management plans specifically for the coastal zone, cutting across existing administrative boundaries and responsibilities. (more…)