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
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
Customer Contact Unit Defra
I was fully aware you can't stop the advance of the sea however, I do feel that something that could slow it down is worth the investment and we are talking here of a very small investment indeed. 30K.
ReplyDeleteThe EA tend only to talk in millions which personally annoys me considerably because they never seen to appear to be looking at "alternatives" which just delay erosion instead of saying it's not viable.
How about a bit more support to the pilot projects like this one costing (dare I say it) peanuts compared to the usual EA project scheme. The key here is to do it and then have a University MONITOR the project from start to when it fails - fantastic thesis for a student - so you can document for HOW LONG the scheme was viable for and this way useful research is completed for the use on other possible projects which could be cost effective (to use the EAs own words) before the erosion goes too far.
We all were taught "a stitch in time" and if this pilot scheme is measured correctly in the future it could be implimented before the erosion got to the ES's millions of pounds project which often is not feasible for so many coastal areas.
Perhaps I am not a fan of the EA because they just seem inflexible as large organisations so often are but I do have a question for them I will record here...
If this 30K project delays by a considerable time the erosion of the cliff face what will you say then?
Delay = How long is a piece of string, a day or a year or ten years.... You don't know till you try and that's the golden words YOU TRY...
I have just had a letter from Karen Nicolaysen , replying to my attempt to bring Angela Leadsom into the picture regarding EA inactivity in Somerset and the inbuilt bias towards eco-enviro projects costing millions . It was all blah . As at The EA, DEFRA will undoubtedly have an inbuilt bias towards the previous status-quo which will take some shifting : I draw everyones attention to the discussion in the media regarding unwillingness within the civil service to move BREXIT forward , as a direct parallel.
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