Published: Tuesday, 31st October 2023
The current west Norfolk coastal management policies are to be scrutinised by the borough council’s Environment and Community panel.
In addition, the Leader of the borough council is to write to the Environment Agency and to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to seek support and reassurance for the borough’s coastal residents.
The current management approach in south Hunstanton to Snettisham area involves annual beach recycling (moving material from the Snettisham Scalp northwards to ‘top-up’ the shingle ridge) and intermittent beach recharge (bringing new material onto the beach). The Environment Agency has reluctantly concluded that the beach recharge will not be able to go ahead due to multiple constraints. However, their regular monitoring data shows that beach levels are stable and therefore a beach recharge is not currently needed. The annual beach recycling will continue to be undertaken for as long as technically, financially and environmentally feasible.
The combination of the ridge increasing in height and rolling back and the small beach recharge proving undeliverable, in line with the Shoreline Management Plan and Wash East Coastal Management Strategy (which provide the strategic intent for managing this area of coastline), has resulted in the Environment Agency reviewing how this frontage may be managed in the future.
The first step is a technical review by highly-regarded coastal engineers at Jacobs to assess whether the trigger levels identified in the Wash East Coastal Management Strategy (WECMS) have been reached and whether a full review of the strategy is required.
Cllr Terry Parish, Leader of the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk, said:
“As a coastal resident I’m well aware of our sea defences and have, for many years, written and spoken about them.
“The Environment Agency are the lead organisation when it comes to shoreline management, but we have worked closely with them and other partners to develop a Shoreline Management Plan (SMP 4) which covers the Wash coastline and the borough council and a Wash East Coast Management Strategy (WECMS). The EA regularly monitor the data for these plans, and this is showing that now is the right time to carry out a technical review of the natural sea defence, the shingle ridge, that runs between Heacham and Snettisham. Over time this has been pushed back by the natural action of the sea. As a result, some residents have been digging into it as it has been encroaching on their properties.
“I’m aware that the EA, the lead agency in this area, are engaging with residents who have weakened this natural defence, to explain why they need to stop this activity. The EA has also brought forward a technical report on the defence to help identify what happens next in the area.
“There is no doubt that this is a complex situation which needs to be examined by council officers and members of the council’s Environment and Community panel. It will take some time to undertake a thorough review which considers all the data and the views of the experts and enables us to evaluate the costs and implications of any options or proposals. In the meantime, I have committed to writing letters to the Environment Agency and the Secretary of State to see what support and reassurance they can give to our coastal residents in the borough. Those letters will be signed by all group leaders at the council, as this is an issue that clearly concerns us all.”
Cllr Sandra Squire, Cabinet member for Environment and Coastal at the borough council, added:
“Beach levels in the area are currently stable and the annual beach recycling, carried out in early spring each year, will continue with funding in place for this. The technical review report will help the EA, its partners and us to identify what happens next. Once we have the recommendation from that report and the findings from our Environment and Community Panel, together with a response from the secretary of state, we will be in a position to really engage with local people on what will be happening in the area."