FARMERS have vowed to continue their fight against plans to allow large parts of Holderness to be claimed by the sea.
National Farmers’ Union (NFU) chiefs attended a meeting in Patrington to see first-hand the impact Environment Agency and Natural England plans would have on farmland.
The NFU claims environmental issues have changed and, with world food shortages, ensuring sustainable food sources has become a priority.
Holderness is known as the bread basket of Yorkshire and is thought to be one of the best wheat-producing areas in the country.
But the agency wants to allow the sea to run further inland to create mudflats for birds.
Read the full story on Hull Daily Mail website
Drainage authorities, farmers and the Environment Agency were this week squaring up for a battle over the need to maintain sea defences for key farming areas in Norfolk.
Norfolk is too valuable to be allowed to flood, despite rising sea levels, the National Farmers Union (NFU) and the Association of Drainage Authorities (ADA) claimed this week.
“As far as engineering skills are concerned we could certainly carry out protection of that coast, in the long-term, and when we look at the assets there we may find that we need to,” said ADA chief executive Jean Venables, who is also senior ICE vice president.
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The ADA stressed that future coastal defence schemes for low-lying areas such as the Norfolk coast must be considered with regard to their effect on the local community.
Environment Agency chairman Sir John Harman told local government officers last week that they had to take a wider view on flood defences.
“Regarding managed retreat, we need to get used to thinking not just about single communities, but a whole coast,” he said.
Read the full story by Kevin Walsh on the New Civil Engineer website (registration required)
