Main Question

What plans may be implemented to reduce the effects of coastal erosion ?

• Resource A

  
  

  The Holderness Coast (East Yorkshire) has the greatest erosion rate in Europe. The cliffs are soft glacial till and are exposed to the waves. There is a long fetch for waves across the North Sea, which means that they have a great deal of energy and are often destructive in nature. The waves can even have travelled from the Arctic when the winds blow from the North-east. The most common erosional processes are hydraulic action and corrasion at the base of the cliffs, which cause them to collapse.
  
  Longshore drift transports sediments South along the coast. Some of the sediment may reach the Wash in East Anglia and the Netherlands. Deposition has created Spurn Head spit in the Humber estuary. Up to 2 million tons of sediment are eroded and transported annually. As the beaches are narrow, they provide little natural defence for the coast.
  
  The annual erosion rate is 1.5 - 2.0 metres but may be greater in some places. Since Roman times the coast retreated over 4 kilometres and 30 villages have been lost.
  
  As sea levels rise and the frequency of stormy weather increases the threat to the coast is likely to increase.

• Resource B

  
  

  Changes to part of Holderness coast 1854 – 2010.

  
  

  

  
  
  

  

  Source: https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/dspace-jspui/bitstream/2134/11209/7/150YRS.pdf
  
  MONTREUIL, A-L. and BULLARD, J.E., 2012. A 150-year record of coastline dynamics within a sediment cell: Eastern England. Geomorphology, 179, pp. 168 - 185.
  
  This item was submitted to Loughborough’s Institutional Repository (https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/) by the author and is made available under this Creative Commons Licence.

• Resource C

  
  
  

  East Riding Council, Yorkshire’s Policy.
  
  Protect some areas.
  
  The main towns - Bridlington, Hornsea and Withernsea, in addition to important infrastructure, e.g. the road at Mappleton and the gas terminal at Easington.
  
  Not all the coast is protected:
  
  Defences, e.g. sea walls and groynes are expensive, short term options and affect the environment and landscape. It is not feasible to defend 85 kilometres of coastline.
  
  How is it decided which areas should be protected ?
  
  In 2011 the government received a Shoreline Management Plan for this coast. The Shoreline Management Plan sets out four different policy options for each area up to 2105:
  
  

  1. 1. Hold the existing Line, e.g. Mappleton, Bridlington, Easington.
  2. 2. Advance the Line (this has not been adopted for this coast.
  3. 3. Managed Realignment (planned retreat), e.g. Spurn Head.
  4. 4. No Active Intervention. This is what happens along most of the coast.

  
  
  
  
  

  Policy 2 does not operate on the Humber coast. In the areas where policies 1 and 3 have been adopted, defences are maintained or improved. Only those areas of the coast where local and wider economic, social and environmental benefits outweigh negative impacts are protected. Where policy 4 has been adopted no investment in defences by individuals or organizations is allowed.
  
  

  How does the council support areas without defences ?
  
  Advice and guidance. Subject to conditions there will be support for residents and businesses to:
  
  

  1. • Apply for planning permission to rebuild further from the coast if their property is under threat - “rollback”.
  2. • Re-supply services to increase the sustainability of their properties - adaptation.
  3. • Move from homes threatened to ones further from the coast.
  4. • Apply for funding from the East Riding Coastal Change Fund to assist with the above measures. This can include a relocation packages, demolition and recovery costs, \ contribution to “rollback” costs (e.g. architect fees and removal costs), assistance with adaptation, e.g. relocation of drains, paths.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  There is no compensation available if a person loses private property or land as a result of coastal erosion.

• Resource D

  
  

  

  
  

  Source: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3980675
  Copyright Pauline E and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
  
  

  

  
  

  Source: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1370541
  Copyright Dr Patty McAlpin and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
  
  

  

  
  

  Source: http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/01/37/05/1370541_84b60711.jpg
  Copyright Ben Brooksbank and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.