Waves, tides and storms regularly batter the wild coastline of Lancashire. It is nothing new for the landowners who see their land lost inch by inch every year.

But now this destructive climate cycle has left the shores crumbling and communities fearing they could be lost under water forever.

After years of protecting the shoreline, local authorities could wave the white flag at mother nature as they consider leaving the future of the Lancashire coastline in the hands of the gods.

Lancaster City Council is working with the North West England and North Wales Coastal Group, the Environment Agency and other organisations to draw up a Shoreline Management Plan (SMP), to establish the best way to manage the changing coast, now and for future generations.

Plans are to either to maintain the current coastal defences or allow the defences to weaken and let swathes of agricultural land turn to marshland. (more…)

Four Lancashire dairy farms covering 1035 acres could disappear under the sea if the Environment Agency gives the go ahead for a shoreline management plan along the coast of Morecambe Bay.

The scheme, which will affect 10 farms in total and destroy 17 properties and four large caravan parks, is part of a review of sea defences along a stretch of north-west coastline south of Lancaster. The current sea-wall embankment runs for about five miles.

One of the farms that would be lost is John and Brenda Lawson’s Bank End Farm at Cockerham, which stands virtually on the shoreline of Morecambe Bay. This highly productive dairy farm carries around 350 cows.

“It’s unbelievable that someone has come up with a plan that will mean our farms and the future of our families will disappear under the sea and none of us has received a letter or a phone call so that we could at least be represented at the [planning] meetings,” said Mrs Lawson. (more…)

PARTS of Morecambe could disappear beneath the waves if rising sea levels continue over the next 100 years, according to a new report.

Experts looking at the erosion of the North West coastline say roads and railways in the town could be affected by coastal flooding. Schools and potentially, the Queen Victoria Hospital Centre are all in the coastal flood risk zone. (more…)

MERSEYSIDE councils are uniting to create a “super shoreline” in a move which could one day provide a template for tackling beach litter.

Across the region authorities are creating a “Shoreline Management Plan” to address the problem of coastal erosion.

The united shoreline will link Wirral, Denbighshire, Conway and Sefton as well as Morecambe Bay and the Cumbrian coast.

Consultations will take place with beach users to see how best to address rising sea levels and the predicted effects of climate change.

For the Marine Conservation Society, it is the kind of initiative which could be used to create a united front against litter.

Read the full story on the Liverpool Echo website