No News Yet

I am sorry to say there is no news as yet and I fear that the window of opportunity to do the work this year has faded away due to the heavy rain we have recently had - I could be wrong but we are still waiting for all the red tape to be sorted out and in the meantime more of the cliff erodes away...
I wonder how many other erosion groups feel about the delays we are having!
If you have a Google account you can add a comment and we would be pleased to hear from you...

Copy Of Letter From DEFRA - Always talk in "round millions" wish we could...

Dear Mr Bruce

Thank you for your email of 18 September to the Secretary of State about Eastchurch Gap Cliffs. I have been asked to reply.

Erosion of the Isle of Sheppey cliffs has accelerated over recent years and the Sheppey Coastal Protection Group has suggested using geotextile matting to help stabilise the cliff. Under the Coastal Protection Act 1949, Swale Borough Council (SBC) is responsible for managing coastal erosion and is providing £30,000 to fund this work. The Environment Agency has not been involved in this proposal as no central government funding has been sought.

In December 2014, the Environment Agency attended a meeting with the residents, Gordon Henderson MP and SBC to discuss the current situation. Since then, the Sheppey Coastal Protection Group has put forward proposals to install geotextile matting along the cliff. The proposal is that new trees and vegetation will help to stabilise the soil. SBC has put forward £30,000 for this local pilot scheme. As these measures will not remove the excess water, these works may not provide significant long-term benefits for the residents at Surf Crescent.

The clay cliffs in Fairlight, East Sussex have the same problem with saturation causing them to slump. The only technically viable solution to stabilise these cliffs has involved:

installing pumping stations to help de-water the cliffs and reduce slumping
removing all surface water and sewerage pipes discharging onto the cliff, and installing a significant sea defence (rock armour) at the toe of the cliff.

These works will cost around £4million and protect 140 properties. The scheme has received significant local contributions from partners and the community.

The Environment Agency administers funding bids and reviews the technical feasibility of any proposals. To gain government funding for flood and coastal risk management, a scheme must demonstrate that the benefits of any action outweigh the costs. The coastline on the north of the Isle of Sheppey is mainly rural and with only a small number of houses and caravan parks at risk. Unfortunately, the financial value of the area at risk does not outweigh the costs to build and maintain the measures required.

The Environment Agency will continue to support SBC in its investigations to manage coastal erosion in the future.



Yours sincerely

Karen Nicolaysen
Customer Contact Unit Defra 

Special Dragons Teeth Plants On The Cliffs

This was interesting after reading about it in the local paper (see last insert)...
UPDATE. 7/10/15.  Negotiations are still on-going with Natural England.
but the way its going we have sadly lost the summer slot to do the work...
Fingers crossed everyone... Peter

Local Paper 30th Sept 2015

Just an update - click on the image to open up full size to read...