13th March 2010 Options
Change at the Cuckmere Estuary is inevitable.
Sea levels on the south coast of Britain are predicted to rise by over a metre during the next century, and the frequency and intensity of storms caused by climate change is expected to increase.
As well as the problem of sea level rise and the threat of flooding, human intervention in the past has led to a number of problems at the estuary. The meanders are silting up, because there is no flow through them. The shingle is not naturally being replenished, leading to the erosion of the beach. And the man-made river walls and flood banks are coming to the end of their useful life.
In December 2008 the Environment Agency published its decision, under its Flood Risk Management Strategy, to withdraw maintenance of the river banks. Under government guidelines, public money cannot be spent on rebuilding and enlarging the sea defences, as there are no homes at risk of flooding in area. They produced a short factsheet following publication of the strategy:
Environment Agency 2009 factsheet on flood risk management of the Cuckmere Estuary
Timetable for change
The current maintenance of the river banks will be withdrawn in April 2011. By then, the Cuckmere Estuary Partnership aims to have developed a long-term management plan for the estuary which fully reflects the views of local residents and businesses.
Options
There are now three broad options for the estuary: seeking an alternative approach to maintaining the defences; working with nature to manage the change; or doing nothing and letting nature take its own course. More information about different approaches is available below.
The Cuckmere Estuary Partnership favours working with nature rather than against it, but is completely committed to talking to local residents and businesses to agree the best solution for the estuary.
This page has the following sub pages.