Should we lose land and homes to the sea?

Is this stretch of coastline affected by erosional processes or deposition?

What evidence is there to support this?

What are the wooden structures shown on the sands and what purpose do they serve?



Read the article from the Independent here



Why are 'stretches of Britain's coastline doomed'?

Lord Smith suggests that the government is not taking environmental issues seriously and cites three projects to support his view. Explain the reasons for the proposed projects and state why these are not necessarily the best from the environmental perspective.



Some parts of the British coastline are so badly eroded they are not worth protecting from the sea, the new head of the Environment Agency has said.
Lord Smith of Finsbury said work was already under way to identify areas of the east and south coast most at risk.



The threat to low lying areas from rising sea levels is highlighted, especially in parts of East Anglia, and Lord Smith refers to 'engineering solutions' being offered in some places. What are 'engineering solutions'?



Lord Smith suggests that the environment agency will have to identify "priority areas" and he warned: "We are almost certainly not going to be able to defend absolutely every bit of coast – it would simply be an impossible task both in financial terms and engineering terms."

How might some communities react to this statement? Who benefits? who might lose out?



For more information and the views of people affected by the issues of coastal erosion, look at the Happisburgh website by clicking here