PLANS to stop flooding at a problem spot on the A12 between Ipswich and Lowestoft have been boosted by a Government minister.

Suffolk County Council is looking to alleviate flooding on the main road at Blythburgh, where the road meets the River Blyth, and is proposing to install a sluice to manage tidal flow in the area.

The road is liable to flooding during heavy rainfall and fears were heightened when the Environment Agency announced it could not continue to maintain defences along the Blyth estuary indefinitely.

Major delays on the road cause huge inconvenience for people and businesses in the area, as well as damaging economic prosperity.

The county council secured a £1.8million grant to deal with the problem and had considered 
raising the road but is now going to “develop the option” of installing a sluice.

It said it had responded to requests from the local community to look at this option – an idea which was supported by Environment Minister Richard Benyon at a meeting last week.

Guy McGregor, the council’s cabinet member responsible for transport, and Suffolk Coastal MP, Dr Therese Coffey, went through the proposals with Mr Benyon.

The plans have been developed jointly by the county council, Environment Agency and Natural England and have been designed to have minimum impact on the surrounding environmental areas.

Mr McGregor said the Government minister recognised the proposal would do much more than reduce flooding on the A12, and would benefit the entire Blyth estuary and Southwold Harbour.

“Flooding at Blythburgh has been an issue for sometime, most notably in November 2007 when the road was closed for two days,” he said.

“Following this, we successfully secured £1.8million of funding from the Department of Transport to put in place an effective solution to this problem.

“The sluice option should reduce the risk of flooding on this important road, as well as complementing the redevelopment work planned for Southwold Harbour and plans by the community to upgrade local flood defences.

“I would like to recognise the efforts of Therese Coffey MP in supporting our proposals and enabling them to be heard at the highest level.”

He added: “With ministerial support for our approach, we will continue to work in close collaboration with the Environment Agency, Natural England and the local community to design a suitable structure and ensure the work is carried out carefully and effectively.”

Detailed design work on the sluice will begin now, with construction expected to start before the end of 2012.

Dr Coffey welcomed the A12 sluice plan and added: “This shows the importance of securing Richard Benyon’s visit to the Suffolk coast in September, as he was already familiar with the challenges”.

Story by Jonathan Barnes in the East Anglian Daily Times

It is the quintessential coastal holiday destination, complete with a historic harbour popular with yacht owners and idyllic countryside that offers visitors a glimpse of a more traditional, genteel way of life.

Such is the charm of Southwold, on the Suffolk coast, that Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah took their two sons on a family holiday there and each summer the town attracts thousands of music fans who come to enjoy the Latitude Festival.

But now large areas of the popular beauty spot are to be lost under government plans to abandon the flood defences that have protected the town and its surrounding countryside from the sea for more than 400 years.

The clay embankments that have kept the sea at bay around the Blyth Estuary have been condemned as unsustainable by the Environment Agency because of rising sea levels and will now be left to crumble.

It means 250 acres of rare protected habitat, home to rare species of birds and plants found in only a handful of locations within the UK, will be left to be destroyed by salt water and the historic Southwold harbour will be allowed to crumble due to erosion.

The plans are expected to form a blueprint for similar strategies in other estuaries around the country. Plans are being drawn up for the Alde and Ore Estuary and the Deben Estuary, both popular beauty spots on the Suffolk coast.

They are part of a wider policy to abandon coastal flood defences across Britain, a move which will drastically change the face of country’s coastline.

Swathes of farm land, natural habitat, national beauty sites and hundreds of homes will be surrendered to flooding from the sea under the plans for “managed realignment” of coastal areas.

One new plan published for consultation last week revealed an internationally protected nature reserve, Holland Haven Country Park, near Clacton-on-Sea in Essex, will be lost to the sea when the flood defences are abandoned.

The new strategies are being drawn up under the guidance of the Environment Agency, the government body with national responsibility for flooding, as it cannot afford to maintain all of the country’s 2,500 miles of coastal defences in the face of rising sea levels.

In the Blyth Estuary, the Environment Agency has ruled that building new defences to protect three protected nature and wildlife habitats is too expensive and maintaining the current defences is unsustainable.

In addition to the wildlife sites, Southwold harbour, which helps attract more than £30 million of tourism to the area, will be lost as flooding undermines the defences currently protecting it. Around 40 properties currently protected by the embankments would also be at risk of tidal flooding under the strategy.

The reed beds and marshes under threat are currently protected as nature and wildlife havens under European laws due to the rare birds that live there, including endangered bittern, marsh harriers and bearded tits.

As part of its plans, the Environment Agency has proposed a controversial £2.7 million proposal to build new habitats elsewhere in the country to compensate for their loss. Another £5 million will also need to be spent by local authorities to protect property inland from flooding.

Councillor Sue Allen, the Conservative council member for Southwold and Reydon at Waveney District Council, said: “There is around £25 to 30 million of tourism generated off the back of Southwold.

“If we were to lose the harbour and the natural habitats that attract people here, then that income will disappear. It will have a massive effect on the people who live here.”

Campaigners fighting the decision also claim they can protect the sites for a fraction of the cost simply by repairing and building up the existing embankments.

They insist the Environment Agency based its decision to abandon the existing defences on flawed information about the rates of erosion in the area and say the defensive walls can be made to withstand flooding up to the end of the century for as little as £2 million.

Richard Steward, of the Blyth Estuary Group, said: “The marshes and reed beds on either side of the estuary are home to rare birds, insects and whorl snails. They are so important they have been designated as protected areas.”

The habitats are protected under the European Habitats Directive and EC Birds Directive after being designated as Special Protection Areas and Natura 2000 sites, which are aimed at saving the most seriously threatened habitats and species in Europe.

Protected habitats – known as Tinkers Marsh, Delacroix Marsh and the Hen Reedbeds, can only be abandoned and relocated if a case of overriding national importance can be made.

The Environment Agency claims that the high costs involved in continuing to protect these sites in the long term from seawater coming into the estuary is such a case.

Mark Johnston, a coastal manager for the Environment Agency, said: “We have to consider how to make best use of the limited funds we have available to us.

“A lot of effort was put into assessing the condition of the existing defences and they were deemed to be unsustainable. It was decided that a better use of the money was to replace or compensate the habitats that will be lost.”

The final decision to relocate the habitats must now be made by Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, who is currently examining the plan and is expected to make a decision later this year.

Details of other areas that will be lost to the sea were detailed in a new shoreline management plan for Essex and South Suffolk, which was published last week for consultation.

It reveals that Holland Haven Country Park, which includes marshes designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to the rich bird and insect life that inhabits the area, will be lost when the flood defences are abandoned within the next 50 years.

The 4,000 year old St Osyth marshes in the Colne Estuary, another SSSI designated area, will also be left to be flooded by the sea.

The plan also warns that realignment of flood defences in the Blackwater Estuary, also in Essex, could threaten oyster fisheries in the area. Around 60 million tonnes of oysters, prized as a British speciality, are caught here every year.

Richard Haward, whose family has been farming oysters in the creeks on the Blackwater Estuary for more than 200 years, said: “Oysters that grow near to the marshes are far plumper and a better product than those further out to sea and if the proposed managed realignment goes ahead it could make life very difficult.”

Similar plans are being drawn up for all 3,720 miles of coast in England and Wales.

Nearly two thirds of the country’s coastline is currently defended with shingle banks, sea walls and barriers that are maintained by the Environment Agency using taxpayers money.

Some land, such as that owned by the Crown Estate, is protected by privately-maintained defences.

The risk of flooding is predicted to increase over the next century as sea levels rise by up to three feet but the Environment Agency cannot afford to build new defences or to increase the height of existing structures.

Ministers have instead decided to allow the agency to pick and chose the areas it will defend, with priority being given to towns and areas with special historical or natural heritage.

Under the policy, another area to be hit will be the around the Cuckmere Estuary where 260 acres of the picturesque valley will be allowed to flood over then next 15 years.

Another strategy published for the Humber has also revealed that within the next 20 years, defences protecting 800 homes will no longer be repaired, affecting parts of Kilnsea village, Sunk Island and the mouth of the River Humber, east of Hull.

A popular tourist destination in Medmerry, east of Selsey, West Sussex, will also see 612 acres of coastal flats surrendered to the encroaching sea to form a new intertidal area.

Residents living near East Head, West Sussex, have also been told they face having to find funding to maintain the defences around their popular beauty spot.

The policy of abandoning some defences and not improving others has enraged campaigners, who claim house prices in affected areas have plummeted as residents struggle to sell their properties.

Malcolm Kerby, from campaign group National Voice of Coastal Communities, said: “Why would anyone want to buy a house in an area that will be regularly flooded in 20 years?”

Story by Richard Gray in the Telegraph

An historic harbour wall that is in poor condition and has been slowly crumbling into the sea is set to get a rescue package.

Waveney District Councillors are being urged next week to adopt a policy to save Southwold Harbour North Quay Wall from further collapse.

Harbour users and council officers have already agreed urgent action needs to be taken to prevent the structure from becoming even more precarious but concerns were raised over where the money to fund the repairs would come from.

That could be solved if councillors agree next week to use the £50,000 budget previously allocated to the Blyth Lower Estuary study – which campaigners say has already been done.

The recommendation before councillors at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday is to extend a previous contract with consultant HR Wallingford to fund two studies.

One is an options appraisal study leading to a recommendation for a major scheme to stabilise the Harbour North wall; the second is a dredging viability assessment to advise on the viability of diverting the existing navigation channel away from the wall failure zone.

Councillors are also urged to take a ‘Reactive – Do Minimum’ approach to manage the risk of wall failure prior to the implementation of the major repair works anticipated.

The recommendations were yesterday welcomed by Sue Allen, chairman of the Blyth Estuary Group based in Southwold, who said: “One of the aims of the group has always been to ensure the future of the harbour wall, so I will be urging councillors to go with the recommendations at next week’s meeting.

“It’s also better to spend the money on repairs to the wall rather than on the Blyth Lower Estuary study, which has virtually been done already.”

The council is obligated as landowner and harbour authority to appropriately manage the risk of collapse at the wall, and Colin Law, deputy leader and portfolio holder for customer access, said: “We are exploring all the options at the moment, so until we have decided on the best way forward it’s hard to discuss it.

“We have to consider both short-term and long-term measures. What we don’t want to do is to have a short-term fix that does not prove to be cost-effective in the long-term.”

As reported in the EDP earlier this month, the future management of the wall is looking more certain after a loan was secured to help set up an ownership trust.

The harbour has been the subject of an ownership dispute for years and last year Waveney District Council, which has run the facility since the 1970s, agreed to start the process to get it signed back over to the town.

The Southwold Harbour Lands Trust has been set up to take over the management of the site and nearby car park and campsite when they are handed back to the town next year.

The harbour, which lies at the mouth of the Blyth estuary, is part of a system of walls which protect businesses, farmland and homes in Southwold, Walberswick, Reydon and Blythburgh from flooding.

The Environment Agency (EA) plans to stop maintaining defences around the estuary over the next 20 years because it cannot afford the estimated £35m needed to repair them.

Story by David Bale in the Eastern Daily Press

A scheme to protect one of north Suffolk’s busiest stretches of road from flooding is moving nearer to realisation now that a transport minister has given the project his backing.

A £1.85m project to raise the A12 Lowestoft to Ipswich road by about a metre at Blythburgh was yesterday backed by Paul Clark, under- secretary of state for transport, when he visited Lowestoft and said bids for the work were already being considered.

The road often ends up under water after heavy rain or during very high tides and it is feared that plans to abandon flood defences in the nearby Blyth estuary could leave the road vulnerable to flooding up to 12 times a year.

Mr Clark, who visited north Suffolk yesterday to see the area’s transport problems for himself, said: “Bids to raise the road are now in from across the region and we are judging those. It has been very useful to come and see the area myself; it will help me to advise in these decisions.”

The Environment Agency announced last autumn that it plans to stop maintaining the defences in the estuary which protect thousands of acres of land and homes in Southwold, Walberswick, Reydon and Blythburgh, as well as the A12 road, from flooding.

Officials said they could not afford the estimated £35m to repair and look after the defences and will stop maintaining them over the next 20 years.

Waveney MP Bob Blizzard, who invited Mr Clark to Lowestoft, said: “The most important scheme here at the moment is the A12 at Blythburgh, which has flooded at least three times in recent years. That road is our main link to the rest of the country and needs to be protected.”

Suffolk County Council, which is in charge of the county’s roads, has already submitted a bid to the Department of Transport for funding to raise the road.

Guy McGregor, the council’s port-folio holder for roads and transport, said: “The flooding problem needs to be tackled and this project will help to do that. We also recognise that there is a flooding issue on the A1095 Blythburgh to Southwold road which needs to be dealt with.”

Mr Clark was also shown the bascule bridge in Lowestoft and the preferred location for a third crossing over Lake Lothing, which recently made its way on to a list of schemes that could get cash from the East of England Regional Assembly after 2013.

The Highways Agency is undertaking a study to look at the feasibility of a new bridge in the town and Mr Clark said: “People should recognise very clearly from this that the government has expressed a level of commitment to the scheme through this study.

“No one would expect us to spend money without knowing what it is going to do and how it is going to help the town, so the feasibility study needs to be done. Getting on to the list is a major step forward.”

Story by Halyley Mace in the Eastern Daily Press

A year after a tidal surge breached flood defences around a north Suffolk estuary, a landowner has vowed to work with coastal campaigners to protect the land he loves.

Andrew Blois, who owns hundreds of acres of grazing, marsh and farm land in Walberswick, next to the Blyth Estuary, has been working for the last year to repair some of the flood walls which were damaged in last November’s storm surge.

“These defences were built by my family 300 years ago. I’m not going to be the Blois who gives up on them,” he said.

The surge increased sea levels by nearly 9ft on November 9 last year, damaging property at the mouth of Southwold harbour, washing away a footpath linking the resort to Walberswick and closing the A12 trunk road for most of the day.

The freshwater habitat at the Hen Reedbed in Reydon was contaminated by saltwater and the Dingle Marshes wildlife reserve between Walberswick and Dunwich – a site of European importance – was also deep under water.

For the last year, Mr Blois has used his own resources and money to help plug some of the breaches in the defences around Tinker’s Marsh and he is now confident that the repaired walls will last for at least the next 50 years.

He said: “We’re happy to maintain the walls ourselves as we have always done, and there are plenty of people willing to help with it. It’s like a house with a broken roof – there are a couple of cracked tiles and the gutters don’t really work, but it’s all fixable.”

More than 2,000 sandbags and several tonnes of clay have been moved around his land by heavy machinery and boats, plugging gaps in the earth walls which protect Walberswick from flooding.

He is determined to protect his land and get planning permission to repair and maintain the flood walls himself.

The Environment Agency (EA) announced two years ago that it plans to implement a strategy of managed retreat in the estuary because the flood walls are not financially viable, but since the storm surge thousands of pounds has been spent repairing some of the more economically-viable stretches of wall.

EA consultant David Collins said that the banks protecting Reydon, on the north bank of the estuary, have now been repaired and £160,000 has been spent bolstering the Palmer’s Lane bridge.

He said: “The concern was that if one of those banks goes, there is such a huge amount of water going in and out of that marsh that it could easily double the amount of water flowing out through Southwold harbour.

“Those walls will now be maintained for another five years and it will withstand the type of tidal surge which is predicted to happen about once every ten years.”

The Environment Agency’s flood management options for sea defences at Minsmere in Suffolk are now being under review.

The Minsmere valley, which is home to the RSPB reserve, is protected by dunes and a clay embankment but these are being eroded by the sea, putting pressure on sea defences.

The plan is to move part of the defences most at risk in the north of the site landward, which will continue to protect the majority of the valley.

A drop-in session to discuss the proposals is being held on Friday to the Sizewell sports and social club, King George’s Avenue in Leiston from 2.30pm to 7pm.

The plans are already on display in Leiston, Saxmundham and Aldeburgh libraries or online via http://www.suffolkestuaries.co.uk/Blyth/PrefOption.htm.

Story by Haley Mace in the Eastern Daily Press

A bid to secure European funding to protect homes and land around a north Suffolk estuary has attracted the support of decision-makers in the flood risk zone.

East of England MEP Geoffrey van Orden has been looking into the possibility of applying for European Union money to help repair flood defences around the Blyth estuary, near Southwold, and now local councils have agreed to help him bid for the cash.

The Environment Agency plans to stop maintaining defences around the estuary over the next 20 years because protecting them would not be financially viable – leaving thousands of acres of farmland, about 20 homes and the A12 Lowestoft/Ipswich road at increased risk of flooding

Now Waveney District Council and Suffolk County Council have agreed to help Mr van Orden put in a formal bid for Interreg funding, which is offered to projects which combine knowledge and skills from British and European partners.

A spokesman for the MEP said: “Mr van Orden would like to see a council taking the lead to bid for a project and his written to councils to this effect. We are still in touch with the Blyth Estuary Group and are researching more options.”

Though the Environment Agency does not have any government funding available to maintain and repair the estuary’s flood walls, it will join other partners in bidding for the European funding in the hope of protecting as much of the coastal area, which includes Southwold’s historic harbour, as possible.

A meeting between the councils and the Environment Agency took place late in October to discuss how European funding, if it is granted, could play a part in the issue of coastal flooding, including the problems in the Blyth estuary.

A Waveney District Council spokesman said that as well as funding, the on-going discussions will look at the use of planning along the coast to buy time for threatened communities and address land management.

Mr van Orden took a boat trip round the estuary in February this year to see the breaches in the defences for himself and will be meeting flood experts from low-lying parts of Europe, including Holland, later this month to find out about the techniques and strategies they use to protect coastal areas which are threatened by the sea.

Story in the Lowestoft Journal

LARGE numbers of homes and businesses on the Suffolk coast around Aldeburgh and Orford could be lost if the Environment Agency decides to abandon sea and river defences, campaigners have warned.

The Alde and Ore Association has issued a rallying cry to residents, businesses and tourists in the Aldeburgh and Orford area, warning the future of the land is under threat.

The Environment Agency is set to reveal its strategy for the area within the next six months – but the association fears it may follow the highly controversial proposals for the Blyth estuary.

There, the agency wants to stop repairing the flood walls which protect land and property around Blythburgh, Southwold, Reydon and Walberswick, because national funding is not available.

David Andren, Alde and Ore Association chairman, said: “Unless our coastal and river defences are maintained, hundreds of businesses in towns surrounding the Alde and Ore estuary will be put at risk.

“If there is a breach in the sea defences south of Slaughden this will almost certainly lead to breaches in our river defences, notably the walls protecting the Aldeburgh marshes.”

There is concern that in the future, the sea and river walls in the Aldeburgh area could be left to deteriorate and ultimately be breached.

Under threat could be the High Street, home to shops, houses, flats, hotels, the Moot Hall, and bed and breakfast houses.

Jimmy Robinson, mayor of Aldeburgh, warned: ”It is a devastating thought that nothing might be done and we do not want Aldeburgh or any part of it to be taken over by the sea or the river.

”We would like to have the sea and river walls maintained to the same standard or better than they are at the moment.”

Rosie Clarke, county councillor for Orford, said: ”There is concern that the low lying land around here will go if there is managed retreat – we have got to fight for what we have already got.”

The Environment Agency said it hoped to announce a preferred option within six months.

A spokesman said: ”It is only natural that people will be concerned about the outcome, but we are investigating how to manage this estuary and piece of coastline to take account of sea level rises.”

The Alde and Ore Association says if defences are abandoned there could be a breach between the sea and river at Slaughden, leading to an increase in volume and speed of tidal flows in rivers.

Most properties below five metres would be vulnerable to tidal surges, there could be extensive flooding of most marshlands and the loss of many saltings and habitats.

Government policy, says the association, is based on current estimates that in 100 years sea levels will have risen so much that it would be uneconomic to defend large areas of the Suffolk coast.

”The real threat to the coastal lands for the immediate future is not a change in sea level but tidal surges breaching current and inadequately maintained defences.

”We believe the appropriate policy would therefore be to ensure that the current sea and river defences are properly maintained, at least for the medium term (20-30 years) to the standard laid down following the 1953 floors,” says the association.

River walls withstood the surge in November 2007 and the association says the walls are of sound construction and regular maintenance would ensure the area remained safe.

It estimates the economic value of the Alde and Ore estuary is at least £25million annually. This excludes the value of crops and the gross output of £7m of 10 key employers.

”At peak times the Lower Alde area can account for up to 50% of the nation’s potato production. The loss of jobs in the agricultural industry if farmland surrounding the Alde and Ore were lost and salinated would have a major effect on local employment,” adds the Association.

At a recent meeting of the Eastern Area Regional Flood Defence Committee, the Environment Agency was asked to reconsider its Blyth estuary strategy.

It also said it would continue to work closely with local groups and authorities to use local funding to repair and maintain the flood defences.

Story by Richard Smith in the East Anglian Daily Times

From the Holy Trinity Church looming over the marshes at Blythburgh to a safe haven for rare birds, the banks of the Blyth estuary offer some of north Suffolk’s most peaceful countryside.

But the village landmarks, animals and farmland could soon be lost to the sea if campaigners are defeated and the Environment Agency’s (EA) proposals to stop maintaining the area’s flood defences are given the go-ahead.Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s hen reed bed reserve, which runs along the north bank of the estuary, is home to the reed and sedge warbler, otter and water vole and at low tide, waders such as the redshank, avocet and sandpiper can be seen searching for food, but more than 40 acres of the marsh could be lost if the estuary breaks its banks.

The agency announced a year ago that it planned to stop repairing the walls which protect thousands of acres of land, roads and homes around the Southwold, Walberswick, Reydon and Blythburgh areas because it could not afford the £35m needed to repair them.

Now, despite a lengthy period of public consultation, the EA’s eastern regional flood defence committee is expected to announce on Friday that the flood walls will be abandoned over the next two decades.

The hen reed bed is an important wildlife habitat, supporting three pairs of marsh harrier, nesting bittern and a herd of konik Polish ponies, as well as rare wetland plants like the skull-cap and lesser water parsnip.

Alan Miller, Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s north Suffolk manager, said that up to 45 acres of the hen reed bed reserve could be lost if the flood walls are not maintained.
He said: “This is a very important nature habitat. The wall has recently been repaired to fill in the breaches caused by the floods last November, but we only have a guarantee for five more years of maintenance – after that we don’t know what will happen.”

Flooding will also pose a risk to the Holy Trinity Church – known as the cathedral of the marshes – and Southwold harbour, where the estuary meets the North Sea.

Mr Miller said: “The water from here flows with the tide through Southwold harbour and if there is more water in the estuary in the future, then it will flow faster and wear away the harbour walls.

“The defences are all interdependent – any wall is only as strong as its weakest point because once it is breached, the water flowing out will take material with it and weaken it further. Maintenance needs to be all or nothing,” he said.

Story by Haley Mace in the Eastern Daily Press

Demands for investment in flood defences across Waveney have been made following the release of a report into the threats posed to businesses and the economy.

Waveney District Council’s new regeneration strategy report claims major infrastructure work is needed in the next decade to stop the area’s economy suffering from the effects of flooding.

The claim comes as the Environment Agency announced it has decided to press ahead with its plans to stop maintaining flood walls around the Blyth Estuary during the next 20 years.

Waveney’s report says: “The under-investment in flood defences of Lowestoft and other coastal communities, as well as the inland towns and villages built on the many watercourses, will become of growing significance and concern over the next decade and beyond unless major infrastructure and mitigation measures are implemented.

“Flooding of the A12, the direct link from London to Yarmouth running through Lowestoft, will particularly affect the tourism and logistics sectors, but inevitably all sectors will be affected, as staff and road freight will find it increasingly difficult to serve the needs of businesses in Lowestoft and the surrounding areas.”

Suffolk County Council announced this week it is submitting a £1.6m bid for funding to raise the A12 at Blythburgh by a metre to stop the road from flooding.

Wendy Mawer, Waveney’s portfolio holder for regeneration, said abandoning flood defences around the Blyth estuary would leave the A12 vulnerable to flooding up to 12 times a year and have a huge economic impact on the whole area.

Jane Burch, the Country Land and Business Association’s regional adviser, said: “We had a very near miss from a storm surge last November, which demonstrated how close we are to a serious flood. Imagine the effect such a flood would have.”

The council’s report will now be passed to the Environment Agency and its concerns about funding for flood defences considered.

Story in the Lowestoft Journal

The battle to protect large sections of the north Suffolk coastline from flooding was dealt a huge blow last night after it emerged environment chiefs were set to continue with plans to abandon defences.

Protesters have fought a high- profile campaign against the Environment Agency’s proposals to stop maintaining flood defences along the Blyth estuary, but appear to be facing a bitter defeat.
A report, which is due to be discussed by Suffolk County Council on Thursday, reveals that the draft proposals for managed retreat of defences along large swathes of the estuary are being put forward for ratification following a long period of public consultation.

The Environment Agency (EA) announced a year ago that it planned to stop maintaining flood walls which protect thousands of acres of land, roads and homes around the Southwold, Walberswick, Reydon and Blythburgh areas. Officials said they could not afford the estimated £35m to repair and maintain the defences.

Guy McGregor, chairman of the Blyth Estuary Strategy Group and a county councillor, said: “The Environment Agency’s so-called ‘cost-benefit analysis’ overstates the costs… It is not a question of huge sums of money. What is required is proper maintenance at a local level.”

Mr McGregor said giving up land to the sea would have a huge impact on the economy of the area, including tourism, Southwold harbour and surrounding roads.

Meanwhile, a new economic regeneration strategy report for Waveney District Council has revealed that abandoning defences, which protect the A12 Lowestoft to Ipswich road from flooding, will spell disaster for the area’s businesses. In light of this, the county council has made a bid for £1.6m to raise the A12 by a metre at Blythburgh.

The Eastern Regional Flood Defence Committee will discuss the proposals when it meets in Ipswich on September 26.

The county council report claims there has been a slight change in the Environment Agency’s viewpoint, with recognition of the economic case for defence of the northern river wall, which protects Reydon Marsh, the A1095 road between the A12 and Southwold, and the Hen Reed beds. It says the agency is seeking match funding from other organisations to fund rebuilding of this wall.

Environment Agency spokesman Richard Woollard said that, as well as the flood defence committee meeting, officials would hold talks with councillors and community representatives to discuss the way forward.

Story by Alasdair McGregor and Hayley Mace in the Eastern Daily Press

The East Anglian Daily Times reports:

CAMPAIGNERS reacted with fury last night after it emerged the Environment Agency was pressing ahead with plans to abandon huge swathes of the Suffolk coast to the sea.

The agency has confirmed it still intends to enforce its policy of “managed retreat” on the Blyth Estuary – despite massive public opposition to the plans.

The council has responded by launching a £1.6million bid to heighten a stretch of the A12 at Blythburgh to stop the key link road between Ipswich and Lowestoft flooding.