Residents of Walney’s West Shore Park fear coastal erosion at Earnse Bay will eventually lead to their chalets being flooded.

Two years ago, temporary flood defences were put in place to protect the park.

Now government organisation Natural England has met with members of Barrow Borough Council and the owners of the park, Embra, to discuss how to build long term protection for the Earnse Bay residents.

Chris Lumb, marine delivery leader for Natural England said: “It was a very helpful and constructive meeting. (more…)

A retired engineer has been dealt a blow in his battle to prevent his home from falling into the North Sea after an appeal was upheld.

Conservation watchdog Natural England has today won an appeal against a court judgment to allow the cliffs below Peter Boggis’ home at Easton Bavents, near Southwold, to erode naturally.

Since 2002, the 78-year-old has spent tens of thousands of pounds installing his own “soft” sea defences built of 250,000 tonnes of compacted clay soil in front of the cliffs near his home. (more…)

Hundreds of miles of the English coastline are inaccessible to the public, according to Natural England.

And miles of footpaths which provide public rights of way by the coast could vanish into the sea within 20 years because of coastal erosion, it warned.

Maps drawn up as part of plans for a coastal path around England showed 34% of the 2,478 miles (3,988km) of shore does not have full access for walkers.

On average, people can walk about two miles before finding their way blocked.

Natural England, which advises the government on the natural environment, is aiming to create a coastal path around the whole of England in a £50m scheme over the next decade.

Story on the BBC News Website.

Read the report on the Natural England website

PLANS to rescue 56 homes on the cliff edge at Scarborough could be scuppered by an agreement entered into by the council in 2007, according to watchdogs Natural England.

The organisation’s regional director has also expressed his surprise that planning permission was ever given to build the bungalows when it was known that the land they are built on was at risk of landslip.

He added that, rather than spending £20 million on shoring up the homes at Knipe Point, Cayton Bay – as Scarborough Council is hoping to do – it might be better to relocate the families living in the threatened properties. (more…)

Hundreds of homes could be at risk from flooding after plans to improve sea defences were blocked by a conservation group.

Natural England has opposed Arun District Council’s move to transport 30,000 square metres of shingle to Pagham, near Chichester, from the nearby Church Norton spit.

It decided the work would have a detrimental effect on the environment and wildlife of the area. (more…)

A villager has been honoured for her role in a David and Goliath style battle against the might of a government quango.

Fifty nine year old Susan Lowes is standing tall after she played a pivotal part in bringing down a controversial policy to surrender her home and 25sq miles of the Norfolk Broads to the sea.

The former bank worker was at the forefront of a grassroots uprising against now ditched plans by Natural England to allow her village of Potter Heigham and five others to be submerged by the North Sea. (more…)

The Norfolk Broads face severe damage from climate change unless more is done to help habitats recover, a report by Natural England said.

The study into the future of the Broads recommends new wetlands are created and species given more support before sea levels rise further.

The report authors found climate change will lead to the Broads becoming salty.

They said coastal defences will come under more pressure, while wetlands face harm from floods and drought. (more…)

From the Natural England website:

In the Norfolk Broads report, Natural England confirms its support for the current policy to maintain the current line of defence on the Eccles-Winterton stretch of coast, for at least 50 years, re-iterating that it is an adviser on flood risk policy and not the final decision-maker.

Summary report: Responding to the impacts of climate change on the natural environment: The Broads – a summary

A year ago the EDP revealed conservation bosses were considering a radical plan to surrender a large area of the Broads to the sea, prompting a public outcry and a vociferous campaign. Now Natural England has dropped the controversial proposals from its final report. JON WELCH examines the issues.

At least six villages wiped off the map, hundreds of people turned out of their homes, and thousands of acres of farmland and some of Norfolk’s top wildlife sites lost to the sea.

This devastating scenario came not from the pages of a lurid novel, but a report by the government’s own conservation advisers, Natural England. (more…)

Devastating proposals to surrender 25 square miles of the Broads to the North Sea have been officially dropped by government conservation advisers.

Natural England has bowed to public opinion over the proposals, which would have resulted in the flooding of at least six villages, and the destruction of hundreds of homes, thousands of acres of farmland and some of Norfolk’s top wildlife sites. (more…)