» Coastal Erosion



The Demise of Fairbourne

The five hundred residents of Fairbourne, a picturesque village in Cardigan Bay, West Wales, have formed yet another coastal community reacting against the dictates of the Shoreline (mis) Management Plan (SMP) which calls for that the entire Welsh village be ‘decommissioned’ and its population forced to move because it’s sea defences have been abandoned. They […]

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The Humanitarian side of the Shoreline Management Plan

The Guardian published a remarkable Heart-warming and emotive story written by Patrick Backham that shows the impact of the Shoreline Management Plan upon just two of those victims who have put up a valiant fight to to try to save their homes from the sea, and the amazing level of ruthless authoritarian bureaucracy employed by […]

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Eco-based engineering could protect coastal cities from rising sea levels

The Guardian reports, 6th August 2015: ‘Eco-based’ engineering systems to put sediment-laden water back on to the delta plains could prevent the loss of 500,000 hectares of wetlands in Mississippi and greatly reduce annual flood damage costs to New Orleans and the Louisiana coast. Rich nations spend huge sums to keep the seas at bay […]

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Project to survey UK coastal archaeological remains

The Guardian reports, 3rd August 2015: A small army of volunteers, backed by drone technology, is being recruited to record and monitor the longest archaeological site in Britain: 5,600 miles of English coastline and tidal foreshore containing some 70,000 sites at risk of being destroyed by changing sea levels or coastal erosion. The drones are […]

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Human aspect of the Shoreline Management Plan

In April Patrick Barkham published in The Guardian a beautifully written article entitled “This sinking isle: the homeowners battling coastal erosion” It shows not the technical, social and political horrors inflicted by the Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) but the more emotive and sympathetic aspects of the plight experienced by those living by the sea where […]

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Explaining erosion in simple terms

A letter recently appeared in the weekly Great Yarmouth Mercury from reader B. J. Rudd, who demonstrated an acute and perceptive understanding of the mechanism as to why the sand is being lost from our beaches. His ‘theory’ is in fact just what’s happening, but not dressed up in the complex terminology of coastal geomorphology […]

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SCAR AGM

The Annual General Meeting of SCAR, ‘Suffolk Coast Against Retreat’, will take place at the Riverside Centre, Stratford St Andrew on 7th March 2015 at 10.30-12.45, coffee from 10.00 am. Patron Lord Deben, nee John Gummer MP previous Minister for the Environment, will open the meeting which includes a presentation by Sir Philip Dilley, Chairman […]

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Guardian article on Coastal Losses

The Guardian published an article by Damion Carrington on the properties destined to be lost to the sea under the auspices of the Shoreline Management Plan, which contains comment and a map showing the SMP status of the entire UK coastline, i.e. ‘No intervention’, ‘Hold the Line’, ‘Managed Retreat’ or ‘Advance the Line’. Source: The […]

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7,000 Coastal homes to be sacrificed to erosion

An unpublished Environment Agency (EA) report shows that some 7,000 homes and dwellings valued at well over £1bn will be lost due to increasing coastal erosion in England and Wales over the next century under the auspices of the Shoreline Management Plan, with no compensation for homeowners as the government has determined that it has […]

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Tyndal research paper into Offshore Aggregate induced Erosion

In the hope of getting some meaningful empirical research performed that would conclusively prove the impact that Offshore Aggregate Dredging is having upon our coastline, MARINET wrote to Mike Walkden and P.K. Stansby, authors of Tyndal Working Paper 97 ‘The effect of dredging off Great Yarmouth on the wave conditions and erosion of the North […]

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Erosion threatens Scroby windfarm stability

The continuing dredging of aggregate in close proximity to the Scroby wind turbines has brought about a considerable reduction to the Scroby Sandbank and loss of the seabed, to the extent that the wind turbines embedded nearby are now threatened with instability. Three years ago the deeply entrenched power line taking the generated power from […]

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Crown Estate paper on Norfolk offshore sandbanks

Peter Waller has brought our attention to a detailed paper from the Crown (Marine) Estate describing the rather complex details of the offshore banks and the current state of knowledge on their formation and movement. The paper contains plethora of historical data and information relating to the tide and sand movement. Readers will find it […]

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National Trust concern for Norfolk and Suffolk bird habitat erosion

The heavy rainfall, the loss of foreshore due to the 5th December 2013 tidal surges that resulted in flooding was followed by the exceptionally high tides in mid June 2014, when the further loss produced an increasing further grave threat to Norfolk and Suffolk’s coastal wildlife sights. At the Blakeney Point, Great Yarmouth and Minsmere Reserves, Britain’s greatest Little Tern colonies, the surge altered […]

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New Dredging Beach Hazard

A new and rather novel hazard has arisen on our beaches, discovered when an off duty explosives expert walked by a man exercising his dog by Lower Marine Parade on the beach at Dovercourt (near Harwich) throwing for his retrieval what at first appeared to be a miniature Rugby football. On closer inspection, it was […]

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East Coast beaches ‘fast disappearing’

  The BBC has placed a video on the rapid disappearance of many beaches along the East Coast of the UK, where an average of half a mile being lost every fifty years due to the increased erosion. See it at www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28551480 The Winter storms due to Climatic change coupled with the draw downdraw down […]

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National Trust concern on Coastal Erosion

In addition to many beaches and dunes, large stretches of the wildlife-rich Norfolk coast at Brancaster, Cley and Blakeney Freshes, suffered significant damage by the December ’14 storm and a tidal surge. Norfolk and Suffolk were far from alone in losing habitat. Sand dunes at Murlough in Northern Ireland also suffered their worst erosion in […]

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Scotland’s coastal “machair” grasslands at risk from climate change

The Guardian reports, 23rd May 2014: “The Hebrides and Northwest coast of Scotland are home to 70 per cent of the world’s machair, one of the rarest habitats on Earth and disappearing rapidly with climate change. Machair is unusually fertile grassland along the coast, enriched by winds driving off the Atlantic that blow tiny fragments […]

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Beach losses threat to Norfolk’s little tern colonies

The Norfolk Coast has long been a return haven every April for nesting Little Terns, with colonies at Great Yarmouth North Dunes and Winterton on the East Coast and at Blakeney National Nature Reserve on the North. These tiny terns are one of the UK’s rarest seabirds, so are protected by RSPB Wardens from disturbance […]

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North Sea Surge impact along Norfolk Coast

The aftermath of the devastating December North Sea Surge can be seen on Mustard TV’s short film at Mustard TV

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SCAR AGM Opportunity

Anne Page, Secretary of SCAR (Suffolk Coast Against Retreat) invites you to the 2014 Annual General Meeting of SCAR to be held at 10.30 am on Saturday 29th March at 10.30 am (Coffee from 10 am) at the Riverside Centre, Stratford St Andrew. The Guest Speaker will be Lord Deben, Patron of SCAR and Chair […]

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