Campaigners battling to save flood defences protecting land around a north Suffolk estuary are putting the finishing touches to plans which could see them repairing and rebuilding the walls themselves.

The Environment Agency announced in September 2007 that it could no longer justify large-scale investment to repair the defences around the Blyth Estuary, near Southwold, in the face of rising sea levels.

It proposed a strategy of managed retreat, which would see the existing walls protecting land around Walberswick, Southwold, Reydon and Blythburgh, maintained for a maximum of 20 years but with some sections allowed to breach much sooner.

Now the Blyth Estuary Group, which has been campaigning against the proposals ever since they were first put forward, is hoping to take on the task and rebuild the mud walls themselves so that they will last for at least a few more decades.

The proposals, being submitted to Suffolk Coastal District Council through Walberswick Parish Council, involve building an access track across the marsh using waste soil from building sites so that clay from the marshes can then be put in place to bolster the defences.

Blyth Estuary group member Richard Steward, who has been drawing up the plans, said that the scheme would see about thirteen and a half thousand truck loads of soil put in place over the next six years. The finished walls would be about 12m wide and stretch about 8km right round the estuary.

Mr Steward said: “It has taken us three years to get to this point and to really understand the processes at work in the estuary. We will build the wall so that it is the same height as the salting on the other side, near the river.

“We believe we can defend and protect these walls and we will do this with waste soil. The charges we get for disposing of the soil will help to fund the work. We will then use the marsh clay to build up the walls again.”

He added: “Men with spades have dug and protected not only the Blyth Estuary, but also the Deben, the Alde and large parts of the Broads, for hundreds of years.

“This will happen. We will defend the estuary. Every generation has to stand up and get on with the job in hand, that’s all we can do.”

Sue Allen, chairman of the Blyth Estuary Group, said: “It is nice to see things finally moving forward. This shows good community working as the local councils have put money forward to help pay for the application.”

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: “We have been working with the group very closely on this and giving them as much advice as we can. When the application is registered, we will then comment on it as we would consult on any other application.”

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