Friday, November 27, 2009

Shoreline Management Plan: Consultation 2nd December

Wednesday 02 December

Wareham Town Hall from 10.00am to 2.00pm

Swanage Town Hall from 3.00 to 7.00pm

More info at: http://www.twobays.net/about_smp.htm
and... http://www.twobays.net/draftsmp2.htm#Consultation_Response_Form_

(Seems Consultation lasts until 17 February 2010)

Shoreline Management Plans
set out the policy for managing our coastline and our response to the threat of coastal flooding and the risks of erosion for a pre-determined length of coast. It is a high level non-statutory policy document that aims to balance those risks with natural processes and the consequences of climate change. It needs to take account of existing defences and the natural and built environments, and be compatible with adjacent coastal areas.The plan identifies one of four shoreline management policies:

Shoreline Management Policy options:

Hold the Line - which means maintaining the existing line of defence as it is or changing the standard of protection

Managed Realignment - which means allowing the shoreline to retreat or advance in a controlled or managed way, either because that is the best approach for a particular stretch of coast, or because the benefits of protection are clearly out of scale with the financial costs.

No Active Intervention - (do nothing) means that no investment will be made in coastal defences or other operations other than for safety purposes

Advance the Line - which involves the building of new defences on the seaward side of existing defences

5 comments:

The Postman said...

This has only just been issued to Councillors, so sorry about the very short notice...!

Anonymous said...

I suggest the third option - no protection from coastal erosion. This will save money and resolve the Pier Head controversy!

Anonymous said...

I lived in North Norfolk before moving to Swanage. I will tell you now that you cannot prevent the sea from altering the shore forever. Swanage is fortunate to have a bay, which greatly reduces the effects of wave action.

Rising water levels is another issue. Should global warming cause sea levels to rise, then Shore Road and everything at that level in the town one day will be under water. You can see the slope the other side of Shore Road; once that was a cliff which the sea reached it at high tide. I suspect that Shore Road was once dunes - an extension of the natural beach. If so, it the road is an artificial intrusion that nature will reclaim one day - perhaps 50 - 100 years from now, depending upon whose prediction you choose to believe.

In the meantime, by keeping the level of sand high on the beach, a lot of wave energy is dissipated. The beach should continue to be 'recharged' every decade or so, as was done a few years ago. An artificial reef further out could also help wave erosion as sea level increase; decommissioned and 'clean' ex-military ships can be sunk there as done off the Florida Keys ( http://www.bigshipwrecks.com/ ); a spinoff benefit would be a fantastic diver's reef.

Building more and higher sea walls is pointless if the sea level truly rises. Rebuild and maintain what you have; plan for the eventual loss of Shore Road, Pier Approach, and lower Station Road in 50-100 years. The town centre will simply shift to higher ground. Humans have the capacity to readjust to nature's demands, given the will.

The Postman said...

Interesting display. Documents are available on the website: http://www.twobays.net

..but looks like hard work to plough through. The following seemed like key documents to me. But if you find others, please post the links:

Swanage Bay (Peveril Point to Handfast Point):
http://www.twobays.net/swanage_bay.htm

Durlston Head to Peveril Point: http://www.twobays.net/durlston_bay.htm

Anticipated erosion
http://www.twobays.net/appendixC.htm
> DUR1 to SWA2 No Active Intervention

Anonymous said...

swanage needs to be protected it is a lovely area and should be looked after becuase it wont be around forever.
in my opinion we need more protection because we dont want to lose a lovely place like swanage