How to Help Prevent Coastal Erosion in England
Coastal erosion is sometimes natural, but is being made worse by climate change (and people removing sand and pebbles from beaches, they are there for a reason). In some areas of England, homes are literally being swept away (the Norfolk village of Hemsby has seen people lose their homes). And often the government will not provide any compensation.
The British Geological Survey says there are now around 30,000 homes in the UK, within 25 metres of sliding into the sea. Coastal geologists these days when asked ‘how far is a house from the sea?’ sometimes reply ‘about five years’.
But less funny is that many insurance companies won’t pay out for coastal erosion, as it’s now so common. Yet there are some solutions that could help.
In 1953, a serious storm on England’s east coast (which killed hundreds of people and more on the Continent) led to many concrete sea walls being built. But these measures are clearly not working for Hemsby or the nearby village of Happisburgh (pronounced ‘hayz-bur-ruh) which also has homes in peril.
Eccles-on-Sea had a village before it, lost to the oceans in the late 1500s. After bad storms, ‘sea-bleached skeletons’ of the church and other buildings, appear in the sand.
One disabled man recently lost his house to coastal erosion. With help from Friends of the Earth, he took the government to court, saying they needed to do more on climate action. He lost the case. An appeal is pending.
How Does Coastal Erosion Work?
Each day, tides pull sand out and bring it back again, and this quietly eats away at the coastline. Coastal plants often anchor sand in place, and pebbles too can keep the land anchored. So when people remove pebbles and sand (or destroy coastal plants to say build holiday resorts), this all eats in.
Climate change does not affect coastal erosion directly, but it does increase the frequency of freak weather like storms. And storms can create strong winds and heavy rain, which can cause erosion.
In 1917, a storm in Hallsands (Devon) nearly wiped out the village. But not due to the storm itself, but because most of the shingle beach had been removed, leaving homes vulnerable.
Local young resident Ella Trout and her cousin William were out on a boat, when they saw a shipwreck. They and a local man rescued and saved the lives of nine men.
Climate change is also causing rising sea levels, which means tides are higher, so waves go further inland. The Suffolk medieval town of Dunwich again disappeared into the sea, as the tide cam closer and closer to the land. Ravenser Odd (a historic port town in Norfolk) was lost to the sea back in the 1300s, after fierce weather.
Sea Defences: What Can We Do?
The National Trust (which looks after 800 miles of UK coastline) says that building coastal defences is not enough. In Pembrokeshire (Wales), it’s taken 100 acres of dune grassland out of active farming, and restored reed beds and fen meadows to protect local flora. It’s also trying to relocate buildings, shorelines and habitats to provide new safer homes for wildlife, further away from the sea.
- Seawalls are solid concrete barriers, to form a sturdy wall between the sea and land, offering protection against waves. But they don’t offer a permanent solution.
- Rock Armour is a pile of large stones that absorbs wave energy, before it hits land. But they can sink into softer ground, or get moved by strong currents.
- Rock Berms are similar, but built more as a sloped heap. They catch incoming waves to reduce force, but against they are not permanent and need frequent repairs.
- Dune Planting restores coastal plants, which can anchor sand, actually as natural barriers to soak up the power of storm waves.
- Creating Wetlands creates wildlife-friendly habitats that again absorb the power of waves.
- Beach Nourishment adds sand or shingle back to beaches, that have had them removed in the past for urban developments.
The Dutch Answer to Coastal Erosion?
Reefy is an invention from The Netherlands, which creates an artificial reef to stop coastal erosion. Due to frequent floods on a flat marshy land, Holland has been at the forefront of finding effective solutions to flooding issues.
Good for beaches or rivers, this is stable enough to dissipate 90% of wave energy, whilst still retaining natural habitats for marine wildlife.
A Book on How to Manage Coastal Erosion
New Coast by an American expert on rising seas. Drawing on 40 years of experience at the Environmental Protection Agency, he suggests policy changes at local and national level to restore and protect our coastlines.
