Geography - The Coastal Zone - Rapid Coastal Erosion/Coastal Management - Holderness CASE STUDY

Holderness CASE STUDY

Background The coastline at Holderness is 61km long, it travels from Flamborough Head to Spurn Head Erosion is causing the cliffs to collapse along the coastline, the material is then washed away so the coastline is retreating. About 1.8m of land is lost each year to the sea - in some places such as Great Cowden the rate has been up to 10m

Causes for Rapid Erosion The coast is made of soft boulder clay - less resistant to erosion Long Shore Drift carries material down the coast and some out to sea so the coast is less protected by beaches There is a large fetch so waves build a lot of energy before they hit the shore Global Warming leads to rising sea levels- greater rates of cliff collapse

EffectsSocial People can lose houses, businesses & livelily such as at Cliff House Farm - it went out of business and the owners were forced to leave. Also Balmstone Caravan Park has lost around 30 lards of land and around 4 properties. The Mappleton Village has lost approximately 50 houses so far. Many fields and farmland (around 80,000 m squared) are lost meaning less room to grow food or graze cattle. Roads can be lost making travel and access difficult The gas terminal in Easington is at risk (it is only 25m from the cliff edge). The terminal accounts for 25 of Britain's gas supply Economic Money has to be spent to build coastal defences. £2 million was spent on coastal defences in Mappleton in 1991 Money has to b spent compensating peoples who's houses/businesses are lost Coastal erosion can be discouraged tourists, which can severely effect the economy of small coastal towns. Property prices along the coast are falling sharply for the houses at risk of erosion which makes it hard for people to move out of the area Environmental Beaches can be destroyed and cliffs can collapse which may destroy animal habitats. Sewage pipes in cliffs can be broken or damaged, which can pollute the sea.

How has Mappleton been protected? 11.4km of Holderness coastline has been protected by hard engineering. Bridlington is protected from erosion and flooding by a 7.4km long sea wall as well as wooden groynes There's a sea wall, wooden groynes and rock armour protecting the Hornsea village from erosion and flooding Defences, including two rock groynes, were built at Mappleton in 1991. They cost £2 million and were built to protect the village and a coastal road from erosion and flooding There are groynes to create wider beaches and a sea wall at Withernsea. Some rock armour was placed in front of the sea wall after it was damaged in severe storms in 1992. The eastern side of Spurn Head is protected by groynes and rock armour. This also protects he Humber Estuary behind Spurn Head

What problems do these defences cause elsewhere. Groynes protect local areas but cause narrow beaches to form further down the Holderness Coast. This increases the erosion down the coast eg. Cowden Farm (south of Mappleton) is now at risk of falling into the sea. The material produced from the erosion of Holderness is normally transported south into the Humber Estuary and down the Lincolnshire coast. However the costal defences reduce the amount of material that's eroded and transported south which increases the risk of flooding in the Humber Estuary as there's less material to slow the water down. The rate of coastal retreat has also increased as less new material is being added Spurn Head is at risk of being eroded away because less new material is being added to it Bays are forming between the protected areas, and the protected areas are becoming headlands which are being eroded more heavily which means that maintain the defences in the protected areas is becoming more expensive.