Homes of 20 000
residents will begin
to fall in 20yrs.
Golf Course will be lost in
around 10 - 20 yrs.
Roads like Grave Road will be
lost to the sea, disrupting access
to and from the town.
Valuable agricultural land will be
lost & habitats for wildlife.
Beach will be completely
eroded - lack of tourism.
Coastal Management
- Minehead
Problems
1990's flooding
Beach erosion - stopping tourism.
Management
0.6 metres curved sea-wall to reflect wave power.
Rock Groynes to prevent
longshore drift.
Rock Armour to reduce impact
of wave before sea-wall.
Beach Replenishment,
built up beach by 2
metres.
Results
Saved an estimated
£8.7 million. Cost was
£12.3 million but costs
to infrastructure from
flooding that would
occur without the
defences would've
been around £20
million.
Effectively
slows erosion
of beach and
reduces
flooding.
Protects tourist
site of Butlins.
Coastal Habitat
- Keyhaven Marshes
Habitats & Species
Cord Grass - long
rooted, lives in salt
water.
Sea Lavender -
flowering plant that
lives in salt water.
Wold Spider -
lives underwater,
feeds in low tide.
Ringed Plover
- Feeds in the
salt marshes
Oyster
Catcher -
lives and
feeds in
salt
marshes.
Management for Protection
Rock armour and beach replenishment on the
spit to reduce erosion and reduce impact of
waves on marshes. £5 million spent in total.
Became an SSSI to reduce human impact and protect marshes biodiversity.
Issues
Salt Marsh Retreat. This is due
to Hurst Castle Spit becoming
starved of sand (Groyne
construction downstream) This
spit shelters the marshes.
Marshes losing 6 metres every
year as a result of being trapped
between waves and a sea wall.
Storm surges
washing away 60 -
80 metres of marsh.
Tourism eroding it further - trampling/boating.
Characteristics
Tidal mudflats, Low Marsh,
High Marsh and Marsh Upland
Change and become more
plants and animals as you
progress away from marshes