Funding for vital flood defence schemes in the South West is to be cut by 16 per cent next year, the Government has confirmed.

But officials refused to produce a list of projects that will not get state aid as a result of the region losing £6 million in 2011/12.

Ministers announced that £521 million would be spent on protecting homes and businesses in England from April. (more…)

Burnham’s sea wall will need to be replaced “with a far higher structure” to protect the town from coastal flooding in the future, the Environment Agency revealed this week as it outlined its long-term proposals for the next few decades.

Dozens of Burnham-On-Sea residents, including Burnham-On-Sea.com, attended a special meeting in the town’s Princess Hall on Tuesday (October 13th), where the agency unveiled a draft version of its Somerset Shoreline Management Plan, which outlines its plans for our coastal defences.

At the event, the Environment Agency’s Angela Proctor said its recommended policy for Burnham is to “continue to minimise the risk of erosion and flooding, through a ‘hold the line’ policy.” (more…)

Residents in Burnham-On-Sea will today (Tuesday, October 13th) be able to have their say about the threat of coastal erosion and how our coastline and its estuaries should be managed.

The Environment Agency is holding an event in Burnham’s Princess Hall to present a draft version of the Somerset Shoreline Management Plan, which considers flood and erosion risk management.

The event will include formal presentations and discussions between 3pm and 5pm and an open exhibition, which anyone is welcome to visit, between 5pm and 7.30pm. (more…)

PEOPLE living between Hartland Point in Devon and Anchor Head, near Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, are being asked for their views on how this stretch of coastline and its estuaries should be managed.

A series of events is being held to present the draft North Devon and Somerset Shoreline Management Plan (SMP), which considers flood and erosion risk management. (more…)

More than 20,000 homes in North Somerset are at significant risk of flooding, according to a new report by the Environment Agency.

The report reveals that North Somerset is the second place at most risk of flooding in the whole of the South West with 20, 415 properties at risk.

The figures reveal one in three properties in the area could go under water as climate change increases coastal erosion and a rise in river levels.

A map published by the agency highlights areas such as Weston Bay, Uphill, Sand Bay, Brean Down and Kewstoke at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea without defences. (more…)

RESIDENTS have the opportunity to comment on how the land surrounding the Severn Estuary should be managed in years to come.

Interested parties will be able to put their views across at a consultation meeting which will take place at the Paget Rooms in Penarth on Wednesday, June 10, from 2pm to 6pm. (more…)

People in North Devon and Somerset are being asked for their opinions on how the coastline should be managed over the next 100 years.

A review of the original Shoreline Management Plan, completed in 1998, is under way.

It aims to help reduce risks to people, property and the historic and natural environment associated with coastal processes such as flooding and erosion. (more…)

PEOPLE from West Somerset are being asked for their views on how their coastline should be managed over the next 100 years.

The consultation is a review of the original Shoreline Management Plan (SMP), completed in 1998.

Anyone interested in airing their views can attend a meeting at Minehead Rugby Club on Wednesday from 4pm-6pm.

For more information on the SMP, click here.

Story by Lloyd Vaughan in the Somerset County Gazette

Almost 200 miles of some of the most precious stretches of south-west England’s coastline are threatened by rising sea levels, it is claimed today.

Fabulous beaches and cliffs, harbours and buildings are in danger. At least 142 scheduled ancient monuments, 111 listed buildings and one historic garden lie within a “risk zone”. More than 100 miles of public rights of way have already been lost, or could be soon.

The claims are made in Shifting Shores, a report published by the National Trust, which warns that 173 miles of the coastline that it cares for in south-west England could be lost or damaged. Amongst the world-famous sites in danger is St Michael’s Mount, the island off Penzance in Cornwall. The trust says the causeway which is used to cross to the site at low tide may be lost within 45 years. (more…)