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DEFRA Consultation on Coastal Erosion & Risk Management

Pat Gowen's response to DEFRA's Dec 06 'Consultation on Outcome Measures and prioritisation approaches for flood and coastal erosion risk management'
www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/fm-outcomes/index.htm

Pat Gowen, MARINET & NSAG
17 Heath Crescent,
Hellesdon,
Norwich,
Norfolk
NR6 6XD
UK

Tel/Fax/Answerphone: 01603-402554
Mobile Telephone: 07767-041443
e-mail: pat.gowen@ntlworld.com
Website: www.marinet.org.uk

Dear DEFRA,

Thank you for the opportunity to comment upon your 'Consultation on Outcome Measures and prioritisation approaches for flood and coastal erosion risk management' dated December 2006.

To simplify the response of my three united organisations, we merely wish state that we feel most of the questions offered for reply to be peripheral to the fundamentals of coastal erosion and consequent flooding. The fundamental and major cause of the rapid increase of damage to our coastal defences, dunes and sand cliffs is decidedly brought about by their underminement caused by the draw down scouring of our beaches and by deepening of the seabed, this directly related to the sediment deficit brought about by widescale cumulative Offshore Aggregate Dredging.

Further, we are concerned that remedial measures known to protect the beaches and shorelines have not been placed into practice, the UK depending instead upon expensive short term alleviation also based upon the removal of sea bed material.

Until these basic and fundamental issues are addressed there seems little point in addressing the secondary issues brought about by the erosion itself, so, rather than write a long and complex rendition of the points of the issue, I would refer you to those to sections of our MARINET website www.marinet.org.uk which comprehensively describes the problems encountered and the continuing creation of them.

I thus refer you to the specific sections of content dealing with the problem, as:

1. www.marinet.org.uk/mad/madbrief.html which provides a comprehensive briefing on the impact of marine aggregate dredging.
2. www.marinet.org.uk/mad/scientificstudies.html which gives scientific evidence of the impact of marine aggregate dredging.
3. www.marinet.org.uk/mad/beachrecharge.html giving criticism of current beach recharge policies.
4. www.marinet.org.uk/coastaldefences/canute.html dealing with present coastal defence policy.
5. www.marinet.org.uk/coastaldefences/smp.html dealing with the Shoreline Management Plan.

A study of these will clearly give you our concern and recommendations on what we see as the priorities for coastal protection and management in meaningful terms.

It is still our hope that recognition of the facts will permit a reappraisal of the strategy in dealing with what has already become a major threat to our environment, coastal income, social conscience, human rights and civil protection.

Yours Sincerely,

Pat Gowen o.b.o. NSAG, MARINET & FoE. 13th March '07