A £1 million improvement and extension to the harbour was built in the 1970s to provide a larger area for fishing boats. This has increased the sediment trap effect. The town has built outwards over 150 years and the buildings, the promenade and the wide beach ensure that waves no longer break behind the beach at the former cliff base, as the whole seafront is now artificial.
However, these changes at Hastings have been to the detriment of areas downdrift, i.e. towards the east at Fairlight and Pett Level.
The effects on Fairlight
The coastal village of Fairlight has experienced erosion of its 30 m high, near‑vertical cliffs and the loss of land and homes. The main cause has been basal undercutting followed by mass movements resulting from sub‑aerial processes in the form of slides and slumping; this has led to rapid cliff retreat. High‑energy waves at the cliff foot ensured that eroded material was quickly dispersed, thus encouraging the continual movement of slides above the tidal zone.
Throughout the 1970's, rates of retreat were 0.5‑1.0 m a year. However, there were extreme events, such as the loss of 66 m in one night at Fairlight Cove in December 1979 when heavy rainfall Produced saturated groundwater conditions, mobilising landslides that had been initiated by Winter storms. In 1989, houses at the cliff top were abandoned and the adjacent Sea View road was closed to traffic.
Conclusions
It was believed that the 1970's extension of the harbour arm at Hastings had reduced the sediment input into the coastal system west of Fairlight and had worsened cliff erosion by reducing the width of the beach. With less sand, the base of the cliffs was now exposed to higher wave energies with the result that the rate of cliff retreat had increased to more than 1 m per year by the late 1980's. More and more properties were coming under the threat of cliff erosion and slumping.
What was done:
In 1987 a scheme to protect the base of Fairlight cliff costing £2.5 million was proposed. A grant of 70 per cent would be paid by MAFF and the rest paid by the local authorities. Rother District Council had decided on a ‘do nothing' policy. The local residents who were affected decided to fight this, and appointed their own consultants who reassessed costs and benefits, taking inflation into account when valuing property. The accelerated rate of erosion and the probable loss of 57 homes within 75 years, plus the costs of damage to roads, power supplies and sewerage systems, eventually persuaded Rother District Council to change their view and support the application for grant aid.
The scheme involved the construction of an offshore reef 500 m long, with its crest approximately 20 m from the cliff base. Waves now break offshore, thus reducing their effect on the base of the cliff, which is protected naturally by weathered material from the cliff face. This now appears to be eroding more slowly.
Knock on effects:
The problems created at Pett Level
This low‑lying marshy area east of the small village of Cliff End has been drained since medieval times. It provides rough grazing for sheep and cattle, and there is some summer tourism. Most of Pett Level now lies below sea‑level because of the contraction of sediments over 600 years. With an increase in the height of high tides and the incidence of storminess around this coast there is danger of flooding, which will be increased as sealevels rise with global warming.
The marsh is protected by an embankment maintained by the Environment Agency. Hard defences, including groynes and wooden revetments and a sea wall, protect the embankment. Wave energy is reduced by concrete stepping on the western end. Beach nourishment is provided near Cliff End to protect the embankment from further erosion and to prevent flooding of the low‑lying area. Costs of protection of a mainly agricultural area are increasingly being questioned.
