The particular area of coastline I studied in detail is on the South-East coastline of England and includes various sites along it. These include Camber sands, Dungeness and St Mary's bay. Authorities worked on a reactive basis
Referring to a named stretch of coastline, examine the success of management policies in dealing with coastal erosion and flooding
Roughly a quarter of the English coastline has been developed for housing, industry or leisure purposes. At these sites coastal management has been introduced to protect the coast from flooding and coastal erosion. The particular area of coastline I studied in detail is on the South-East coastline of England and includes various sites along it. These include Camber sands, Dungeness and St Mary’s bay. Authorities worked on a reactive basis, often ignoring natural processes. They attempted to control the effects of erosion and flooding, with little attention being paid to the implications of individual schemes or other sections of the coastline. This often led to the need for more protection works down-drift of original schemes, increasing the costs of coastal defence. However attitudes to coastal management have changed due to rising sea levels. Coastal managers now work with the knowledge of sediment movement with defined cells.
In Romney marsh the area is flat and is a very marshy area which is about 2-3m above sea level. The land is being used for pastoral and arable farming. There is also a small number of houses there (small villages) and a lot of drainage ditches surround the area and these act as a protection as they hold the water and drain it back out. In Romney marsh there is a lot of gravel extraction and a few other materials have been extracted, however not much is being done to protect the coastline at the moment. In Camber sands however it transforms into a sand dune ecosystem where the beach acts as a coastal defence and protects the surrounding area. This is because when the wind blows it blows sand up the wide beach and this forms sand dunes some of the highest dunes are 5m high. The land is used mainly for the formation of sand dunes and it is a SSS’I (site of special scientific interest). There are a few services around the area which include pubs, bars, seasonal amusements and a golf course. There are also small numbers of houses around the area. The dunes are the main form of defence here and they protect Camber from flooding this is because the sand absorbs the water and does not let it rise over the dunes.
