Pevernsey Bay

Pevernsey Bay

1. Wherte is it located?

   • Stretches from Eastbourne in the West to Bexhill in the East
   • On the Sussex Coast
   • South-East England

2. What is happening and why?

   • The shoreline management plan (SMP) recommends that for this area for the present and long term is to hold the line and protect the coast
     • Reasons
       • The immediate inland area has over 100,000 properties
       • The area has significant number of commercial premises, including several caravan parks
       • The main coastal road (A259) and railway network are close to the coast
       • The Pevensey levels, an environmentally sensitive area (site of special scientific interest and Ramscar Wetland site of international importance) would be flooded with salt water if the coastal defences failed
       • The area has a large quantity of high value agricultural land

3. How is the area being managed?

   • Beach replenishment and profiling
     • 20,000 cubic meters of beach being lost per year due to dominant waves from the north
     • Sediment replaced by dredging from the ocean floor
     • Once on beach, bulldozers move sediment to give beach a natural profile
   • Beach recycling
     • 2-3 times a year, sediment moved from eastern end of coast, deposited in the west
     • Counteract LSD
   • Beach reprofiling
     • Storms cause sediment from higher parts of the beach to be moved lower down
       • Nearer the sea = removed by wave action
     • To reduce this, beach is regraded by moving material back up
   • Groyne Replacement
     • 2000, 150 groynes in the coastal defence area, many are damaged
       • Many replaced by smaller but more strategically placed groins
   • Wooden Retaining walls
     • Built at landward edge of the beach, allows build up of shingle, prevents sediment blowing onto coastal roads

4. Success?

   • Soft not hard engineering = sustainable as works with natural processes
   • Most effective defence is to maintain the beach, achieved, as it absorbs wave energy
   • Scheme working with agreed budget, and cooperating with locals and DEFRA