Sunday 11 March 2007

£90 million needed for East Yorkshire sea defences

Just spotted this report in the Yorkshire Post about the need for £90 million to be spent on sea defences to protect towns along the East Coast of Yorkshire. This stretch of coastline is the fastest eroding coastline in W. Europe - at a rate of more than 2m per year in places.

Year 10, 11 and 13 know all about this already, but for those who don't... Much of this stretch of coastline is made of boulder clay, which is softer - and therefore less resistant to erosion - than coastlines elsewhere. This means that homes and livelihoods that have been built on the cliffs are at risk of falling into the sea - and many have already done so.

Sea defences are controversial, because they are expensive to construct and maintain, they are not particularly attractive, and it is often said that they might solve the problem in one place, but make things much worse further along the coastline.

There is another article from the Yorkshire Post here, and clicking on the image above will take you to a gallery of some rather alarming photos that have been sent in by readers.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can understand why sea defences are so controversial, because they might cause problems elsewhere but then they might be worth it.

Suzy
10CDr

Anonymous said...

In that area there is a great need for sea defences so if they are needed then i agree with spending money on them.

Lucy.s
9Eho

Anonymous said...

Heyloo, oh er... you said English so er... Hi Miss Ellis!

In my opinion, it's quite a shame this has had to happen. The result of time that made this beautiful world is now crushing it. It does cost quite a lot to sustain the beautiful coastline, but in the long run this may not be the best thing to do.

(Totally off the subject but if you want to read up on that meteor I told you about, here you go: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,21245424-5005961,00.html )

See you tomorrow!
:D
Andrew Clarke
9DSw

Anonymous said...

I think that most sea defences cause problems to the coastline .Sea walls for example dont make the coast look attractive .

Rebecca Croft
10 bki

Miss Ellis said...

Why might it not be the best thing to do Andrew?

Lucy - the erosion that's occuring is natural (albeit worsened, according to some people, as a result of rising sea levels)... Is it up to us to try and control nature?? Would we be so bothered if we hadn't built in the area?

Anonymous said...

Heyloo again,

It may not be the best thing to do because in a few years time, it is going to become more and more expensive and just build up in more and more places and have a bigger impact on 1 place with disastrous outcomes.

Andrew Clarke
9DSw