Preparations have begun for the continuation of a multi-million pound project to reduce the risk of tidal flooding and maintain beaches on the Lincolnshire coast on the east coast of the UK.

The Environment Agency has set up the compound for its Lincshore beach re-nourishment project. Lincshore aims to combat the decrease in sand levels and increased risk of flooding caused by coastal erosion.

Dredging for Lincshore 2010 will begin in the middle of July and is expected to finish at the end of  September. It will see 400,000 cubic metres of sand pumped onto 20km of beach, including Trusthorpe, Boygrift, Trunch Lane, Chapel Six Marshes and Moggs Eye, at a cost of £6 million. (more…)

The waves have washed away the shingle which covered the gabions

Homeowners living on the cliff top at Thorpeness are questioning whether dredging is to blame.

Shingle has been washed away at North End Avenue exposing the gabions (wire baskets filled with rocks) which protect the sandy cliff.

“It’s very, very frightening,” said Sheila Green, who lives there.

The British Marine Aggregate Producers Association said there’s no connection between dredging at sea and the erosion on the beach. (more…)

CONCERNED residents have urged coastal bosses to step in and save their homes from the ravages of the North Sea.

In the last two weeks large sections of the cliff behind properties in North End Avenue, Thorpeness, near Aldeburgh, have been washed away.

What was once a gentle shingle slope leading down to the beach has been replaced by a sheer drop of between 18 and 20ft. (more…)

More than 60 residents from the Holderness area packed into the SHoRes Centre on Friday evening to attend a public meeting organised by Graham Stuart, MP for Beverley and Holderness.

They heard presentations from members of the marine aggregate industry, which is currently dredging nine miles from the coast, as well as marine environment expert Professor Mike Elliott.

Graham organised the event after some residents contacted him to say they feared the continued off-shore dredging is having a direct impact on the speed of erosion along the Holderness coast. (more…)

An internet campaign to raise awareness of erosion problems at an Angus beach was launched yesterday.

Campaign group SOS (Save Our Sands) Montrose is calling for those concerned about the erosion of the town’s beach to put pressure on local politicians to demand urgent action.

The group believes sand dredged from the local harbour and its navigation channel has had a devastating effect on the beach. (more…)

Graham Stuart, MP for Beverley and Holderness, is inviting residents to learn about the possible impact of dredging for aggregates on coastal erosion at an information event and public meeting.

Graham organised the event, due to be held at the SHoRes Centre, Withernsea, on March 27, after some residents said they feared the continued off-shore dredging was having a direct impact on the speed of erosion along the Holderness coast. (more…)

CAMPAIGNERS aiming to protect Gower beaches are vowing to step up their fight against a building firm’s sand dredging plan.

Llanelli Sand Dredging is still hoping to get permission from the Assembly to dredge material off the coast of Swansea Bay. Concerned residents and local groups, who insist the process damages the region’s beaches, said they were gearing up for the release of key data on the environment.

Their cause has won the backing of Tory AM Alun Cairns, who is calling on more people in South West Wales to get on board with the campaign. (more…)

A FRESH call will be made for the Government to carry out an investigation into whether offshore dredging has contributed to large losses of land on the East Riding coast.

In the past year, unprecedented chunks of cliff measuring almost three times the length of a double-decker bus have disappeared into the sea. (more…)

The effects of dredging off the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts on fishing and coastal erosion are to be examined by a major year-long scientific study.

The Anglian Offshore Dredging Association (AODA) is due to renew its licenses to extract sand from the seabed around the East Anglian coast within the next six years.

Now the association, which represents five of the UK’s largest dredging companies, is going to undertake a series of environmental studies over the next 12 months to look at the effects of dredging on the environment, including offshore wind farms, fishing, navigation and erosion. (more…)

FEARS have been raised that a sea wall and even a road could collapse because of dredging work being carried out.

Don Barker, of Harbour Crescent, Harwich, used to work as a coastal protection worker for Tendring Council. About 20 years ago he helped remove roughly a 400-yard stretch of groynes between the end of Barrack Lane, Dovercourt, and a ramp on Harwich beach. The area was due to be regroyned and recharged with sand, but Mr Barker said this never happened. Now he fears if something is not done, the road he lives in could fall victim to the sea. (more…)