Posted by Stella Gooch
The Wolferton Creek to Hunstanton Key Stakeholders Sub-Group was formed in early 2010 as a result of The Wash Shoreline Management Plan (SMP). To see fuller details of the final Wash Shoreline Management Plan covering the coast from Gibraltar Point to Old Hunstanton go to: www.eacg.org.uk/smp4.asp
The Key Stakeholders Sub-Group was formed to ensure that local interested parties such as caravan site owners, beach bungalow owners, land owners and parishioners could be fully involved with the relevant authorities to look at options for the future management of the coast, including how it could be funded, and agree a preferred option.
Two projects have been set up to support and inform the work of the Sub-Group:
- the Environment Agency’s Review of Coastal Management between Old Hunstanton and Wolferton Creek and
- The Borough Council’s Pathfinder Project.
The Coastal Management Review will cover the coast from the end of the cliffs at Old Hunstanton to the River Ingol outfall at Wolferton Creek. It will be a joint Environment Agency and Borough Council project to look at the whole frontage and develop an integrated plan for the future management of the sea defences and adjacent land. The project will review the erosion of the cliffs at Hunstanton, look at likely causes of the erosion, options to reduce it and the likely impacts and cost of each option. It will also look into the suggested importance of cliff erosion as a source of sediment for the beaches at Hunstanton and further south.
Future defence management strategies between Hunstanton and Wolferton Creek will also be examined. It will consider whether the current management practices, such as annual shingle recycling, are still appropriate. It will take into account likely impacts of sea level rise and the availability of national and/or local funding. This is where the review links to the Pathfinder project. Other considerations could include an increased frequency of evacuation from the flood risk area and environmental impacts.
If current management practices are found not to be appropriate for the future consideration may need to be given to changes in the line of the defences and land use changes.
The Review is still in its very early stages and we are keen to involve local people in the development of the high level management options. So far the Environment Agency has worked closely with the Borough Council and their consultants RPA Ltd with the engagement work they have been undertaking (see below). We will be holding meetings with representatives from the key Stakeholders Sub-Group in December and will be reporting to the full Sub-Group at the end of February.
We are keen to hear your ideas and you may put these to us by either contacting your representative on the Key Stakeholder Sub-Group, as detailed below, or the Project Manager, Pippa Lawton by email at philippa.lawton@environment-agency.gov.uk.
The Pathfinder Project
A Defra consultation on Coastal Change Policy suggested that work was needed to identify the implications for local authorities and communities of managing adaptation. This led to the launch of the Pathfinder Programme. On the 1st December 2009, Defra announced the names of 15 coastal change pathfinder authorities that would receive financial support to investigate ways of adapting to coastal change in partnership with local communities. North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) and its partners (including the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk (BCKLWN)) were successful in securing £3 million of funding to test possible approaches to managing coastal change.
The Pathfinder Project for Wolferton Creek to South Hunstanton is being managed by BCKLWN and is being undertaken by Risk & Policy Analysts (RPA). It aims to:
- evaluate the options for establishing an equitable mechanism for securing business and private contributions towards the long-term cost of coastal flood defence and
- investigate the policy, practical and financial implications of alternative actions such as the potential rolling-back of tourism facilities and other adaptation measures.
It is essential that stakeholders are involved in identifying, comparing and choosing the best methods for future management of the coast. It is also important that businesses, caravan and holiday home owners, and local residents all have an opportunity to provide their views on:
- the approach and level of contributions that may have to be paid to help towards the long-term cost of coastal flood defence and
- suggested adaptation approaches and how they might work along the Wolferton Creek to South Hunstanton frontage
To give everyone an opportunity to provide their views, RPA have prepared a short questionnaire. This asks for feedback and opinions on:
- what activities people have done in the area this year
- what people like most about the area
- whether local businesses and people should help pay towards the cost of coastal flood defence or whether more attention should be given to adapting to future flooding
- who should be expected to contribute towards the cost of coastal flood defence
- how much people might be willing to pay if they had to contribute and
- how the area should adapt to flooding if it is not possible to raise enough money to maintain or improve the defences
More information on the Pathfinder Project and how to be involved can be obtained from Peter Jermany (BCKLWN), by email at peter.jermany@west-norfolk.gov.uk, or from Teresa Fenn, Project Manager for RPA, at teresa.fenn@rpaltd.co.uk.
The buzz at Heacham Library this month is actually all about computers rather than books as we launch a series of Internet Taster sessions. We are very lucky to have formed a group of Internet Champions who have volunteered to help the many of you to whom the internet is a whole other world. We aim to demystify the internet and offer a support network to help you tutor yourself. We already have a waiting list which we are working through. If you have not already done so you can register your interest at the Library.
and adults.
