Newsletter - August'10

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Coastal Defences and Shoreline Management Plans

Destruction of Norfolk's Golden Sand Beaches — The Government's new generation of Shoreline Management Plans are the pathfinder plans for the coastal defence for all England's coastline. Their policy of "Managed Retreat" is systematically destroying the golden sand beaches of most of England's coast, so they will not be available to be enjoyed by future generations.

Reversing Beach and Shoreline Erosion — Peter Waller found a good video to share with you, demonstrating how low cost tried and tested methodology not only stops erosion in its tracks but actually builds by bringing back the lost sand. It can be seen by the film selected by going to http://savenorthtopsailbeach.com/html/video.html

Three versions are available according to your choice of 56K dial-up modem, 1,000-1400 Kbps cable DSL or 1500 Kbps high speed cable.

The emotive side of erosion — A rather sad and moving film of the heatbreaking social impact of the continuing erosion at Happisbugh can be seen by visiting: www.metacafe.com/watch/bg-141741/cliffhanger

Billion Pound Sea Wall for Norfolk? — An ambitious idea for an enormous 27 mile long offshore protective sea wall enclosure extending from Great Yarmouth has been proposed to protect The Broads and low laying inland villages and communities, provide fresh water for irrigation and prevent salination of the inland waterways, create jobs and provide windfarm emplacement and further protect our shoreline, beaches and sand cliffs from further erosion.

Heritage Protection at Bawdsey, Suffolk — This impressive aerial shot was taken by Mike Page on 25th June '09 of the now completed East Lane Trust Project.

Latest Newsletter on the Kelling to Lowestoft Shoreline Management Plan

Thoughts on the latest Shoreline Management Plan — Dr. Harry Buckland of Grimsby, one of our most active Coastal Group members gives his thoughts on the latest modifications to the Shoreline Management Plan, which notes some interesting comparators.

The Dutch, DEFRA and the Dreaded Dredging — For years public meetings discussing the issues of coastal erosion, saline flooding and offshore aggregate dredging have attracted regular comments along the lines of "the Dutch would never do it like this". But until this week few people have taken the time and effort to visit Holland, speak to the relevant experts and assess the realities.

The Threat to Norfolk and its Churches — David Keller of BBC Norfolk tells of the coming catastrophe for Norfolk should no effective action be taken to prevent erosion and its causes.

A New Threat From Coastal Erosion — Increasing erosion and the failure to protect our coastline threatens a new hazard in the form of potential hazardous waste from former industrial and domestic landfill sites situated along the UK coastline.

Double Dutch Dikes — The Dutch have long shown Britain how to defend their land from the sea and are now coming up with further innovative methods from which the UK could learn if only the will and sanity were there.

Cycling the North Sea — In May this year 2 Dutchmen completed a three-month 6,328 kilometre cycling tour around the North Sea. In mid July for two days they were the guests of MARINET's Pat and Norma Gowen when they were taken to see the problems that the East Anglian coastline is facing. To say they were shocked is an understatement.

Evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Group — MARINET has submitted evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Group Coastal and Marine Inquiry into deprivation and disadvantage in coastal rural areas.

Report of a meeting of the Solent Protection Society on 23rd September 2008 — concerning the history and evolution of saltmarshes in the Solent, Hampshire, and featuring their role in sustaining biodiversity and coastal defences. Contact details for further information about the role of coastal saltmarshes nationally, as well as in the Solent, are contained in this report.

Correspondence between Mike King (resident of Scratby, Great Yarmouth) and Phil Woolas MP (Minister for the Environment) regarding the proposal by Natural England to allow a vast area of Norfolk to be flooded by the sea.

Tyndall Forum : 'How do we create a Sustainable Coastline?' — That was the title for the Tyndall Centre Forum held at the University of East Anglia on 10th September '08. It was attended by 63 invited guests including MARINET and members of our Coastal Group.

Abandoning the best of Norfolk to the Sea — In addition to the Environment Agencies countenanced loss of the Cley Marshes, by failure to maintain the 500 year old shingle sea defence bank, we now have the abandonment of two more internationally acclaimed wildlife site, the RSPB's Titchwell, probably England's finest bird reserve, and the National Trust Blakeney Point, acclaimed as one of the ten of the UK's finest coastal beauty spots.

Mankind's faltering efforts to protect coastal idylls from raging waves — Jerry Berne of Sustainable Shorelines Inc. sends us this item from the Times Environment News of 3rd May '08. His response follows on.

Felixstowe TV film on beach-build — Peter Waller advises that the work in attempting to restore the seriously dragged-down beach at Felixstowe can now be seen as a short video made by Felixstowe TV here and another film here.

Losing The Broads? — The BBC website has a short film available showing the implications of the threat by the government to cease to maintain the coastal defences that protect the Norfolk Broads and its villages. To see go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7371468.stm

Protecting RAMSAR sites from SMP induced Coastal Erosion — Information on the legal protection of RAMSAR sites if government abandons Norfolk Broads to marine inundation.

Waves of destruction Rising seas are changing Britain's coast dramatically. Norfolk is the first low-lying area to face a stark and cruel new choice — plough millions into doomed defences, or abandon whole villages to the invading waters. This article appeared in the Guardian on Thursday April 17 2008

Simple Basic Facts on Erosion

Report on the November 2007 North Sea Surge — More Norfolk Coastline Loss Normally one does not expect North Sea Surges to appear before the end of February. But already we have already experienced one at the end of September and another now a far worse one on 9th November 2007.

Executive Summary of the Norfolk Green Party's comments under the public consultation procedures on Norfolk's Shoreline Management Plan , dated 11th November 2007

Ongoing controversy over the SMP As it still stands, DEFRA's Shoreline Management Plan will mean the abandonment of much of the East Anglian coastline to the sea due to lack of funding provision for adequate defences.

MARINET members' comments on the SMP situation on Norfolk's east coast
Controversy exists in communities along the Norfolk coastline following an "instruction" from DEFRA to Great Yarmouth Borough Council that the Council should accept the current version of the Shoreline Management Plan for Kelling to Lowestoft Ness, Norfolk, or be denied the opportunity to bid for a grant of funding for any sea defences.
MARINET members have accused Defra of blackmail. See below for the full text of the public statements by MARINET members.
Letter from Mike King, (Gt. Yarmouth FOE) to the Eastern Daily Press
Letter from Pat Gowen (MARINET) to Gt Yarmouth Borough Council

DEFRA publishes coastal risk management proposals 'Making Space for Water' — August 2006

Official submission by MARINET in response to DEFRA's proposals — October 2006

Submission by Pat Gowen in response to DEFRA's proposals — October 2006

DEFRA Consultation on Coastal Erosion & Risk Management — Response by Pat Gowen to DEFRA's December 2006 'Consultation on Outcome Measures and prioritisation approaches for flood and coastal erosion risk management' — March 2007

Papers on Coastal Protection — Many papers are produced at conferences, mainly by coastal consultants themselves. Two of these produced at the 2004 Coastal Engineering Conference are of interest inasmuch as they discuss other factors in recognising coastal erosion due to offshore aggregate dredging extraction. Abstracts are provided plus the full PDF reports are available on the links provided at the end of each text.

Beach Recharge — is this policy destroying our beaches and wasting our money?

Why Canute Failed — A Treatise on Sea Defences

Shoreline Management Plans

Our Disappearing Coastline is an original document on the causes and effects of shoreline erosion first written on 24th October 1995 resident on the North Sea Action Group's website. Although in part superseded by later and more topical information, it contains many points of historical value worth study.

DIY Dune System Build your own marram dunes

Graph of Dune Loss at Winterton-on-Sea