'Government must keep funding coast defence projects'
By Jon Welch (Eastern Daily Press, 17 April 2008)
The government must continue to fund coastal defence projects to prevent the "completely unacceptable" loss of 25 square miles of the Broads to the sea.
That is the plea from the Broads Society which said it was "extremely concerned" to learn of proposals being considered by government conservation advisers Natural England that, if adopted, would lead to thousands of acres of land, hundreds of homes and some of Norfolk's top wildlife sites being surrendered to the sea.
The society, which has 1,600 members, said three of the four proposals outlined in a draft Natural England report would result in a large area becoming an "embayment" of the North Sea.
It is against proposals to cease maintaining coastal and flood defences, allowing them to be breached by the River Thurne and the sea, and also opposes the controversial "option four" that would involve flooding an area stretching as far inland as Potter Heigham and Stalham.
Even holding the line - maintaining existing defences in their present position, the current policy of the Environment Agency - would ultimately have the same effect since they would eventually be undercut by saltwater, it argues.
The society said it had "considerable reservations" about the remaining option - adapting the line by allowing some areas to flood while protecting others - arguing that this could be extremely costly and visually intrusive.
Instead it is proposing a new, fifth option, calling on the government to provide the Environment Agency with the funding it needs to fulfil its commitment to continue feeding the beach in front of the sea wall between Eccles and Winterton with sand and shingle.
It is also urging the Environment Agency to commission a wide- ranging study into ways in which the sea wall can be strengthened or protected to ensure it remains in a sustainable condition for much longer than currently foreseen.
Dr Martin George, a committee member and former chairman, said: "The area that would be lost under three of the four proposals is an integral part of the Broads - a region that has been afforded the status of a national park - and the society considers it completely unacceptable to allow part of it to become an open estuary."
He said if any of these proposals were adopted, it would result in the loss of several hundred homes and thousands of acres of farmland at a time of growing worldwide food shortages.
Five broads, plus important plant and animal life, would be lost.
Dr George added: "We believe that it could well prove less expensive to provide the sea wall which currently fronts this section of coast with additional protection against the scouring effects of the sea than to construct a completely new line of defences to the rear."
Pledge is welcomed
The Broads Forum has welcomed the Environment Agency's commitment to continue to maintain coastal defences protecting the Broads for at least the next 50 years.
But the forum, which provides advice to the Broads Authority on key issues, said there was a need to press the government to ensure that appropriate resources continue to be available to maintain the defences.
Steve Hayman, coastal manager for the Environment Agency, told the forum's meeting last week that a further £7m of work was scheduled to take place over the next two years to continue the protection of the coast. The Broads Authority supported the agency's bid for this money.
Members of the forum, which meets in public and represents many interests from across the Broads, stressed the unique value of the Broads, recognised in its status equivalent to that of national park.
Members highlighted the importance of keeping the public informed and involved in discussions on the potential impact of sea-level rise and policies on coastal defence.
Jonathan Bowman, forum chairman, said: "The recent coverage in the press demonstrates the importance of debating these issues in public so that those with the greatest interest in such matters, those with houses and businesses in the area, are properly involved."
Kerry Turner, chairman of the Broads Authority, said: "The Broads Forum is exactly the type of arrangement that can help in furthering this vital dialogue amongst all interested groups and individuals. Climate change poses for all of us significant challenges which we owe to ourselves and the future to meet as best we can."
Online petition for PM
An online petition to save the Broads is among the fastest-growing on prime minister Gordon Brown's 10 Downing Street website.
More than 1,100 people have signed up to calls from the Pike Anglers Club for sea defences to be maintained. It claims some of Britain's finest pike fisheries are under threat from Natural England's proposals.
"The Upper Thurne and its Broads have produced some of the largest wild pike caught anywhere in the world," a spokesman said.
The PAC claims visiting anglers provide revenue to chalet owners, boat-hire firms and other businesses through the winter.
The petition is at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/savethebroads/
# Another protest petition has been launched. The Stalham with Happing Partnership, which works to regenerate the area, has sent forms out to 20 parish councils in the area, including the villages of Hickling, Sea Palling and Horsey. The petition calls on the government, Environment Agency and North Norfolk District Council to honour its public pledge to "hold the line" of sea defences for the next 50 years.
There are four additional demands, including that so-called "option four" is clearly and publicly rejected and existing sea defences be examined in detail to ensure that they are made "fit for purpose" to cope with an inundation on the scale of the floods of 1938 and 1953.
The petition also urges the Environment Agency to revisit the idea of a Yare Barrier at Yarmouth to protect the Broads.