What The Residents Want At Birling Gap
- Why residents what sea defences at Birling Gap
- What they want and how it will work
The residents are having a problem at Birling gap. The cliff has retreated a lot since 1926 and the cliffs are slowly retreating back and the cliff is moving closer and closer to the houses. The residents are demanding sea defences because if they don’t they will eventually lose their houses. The cliffs as they’re eroding away due to the waves. There is nothing reducing the impact of the waves and it is hitting against the cliffs.
Why was the boulder barrier proposal unsuccessful?
The boulder revetment proposal was unsuccessful because sea defences cost a lot of money and there is not that many residents living there. The council does not want to spend money on sea defences because it would not be worth it. There are ten properties are being risked of erosion. This includes a hotel, a bed and breakfast, seven residential houses and a boathouse. Overall, combining the prices of these buildings the value is round about 380,000. The properties range from 4 to 30 metres from the cliff edge. The rate of the erosion is approximately 0.7m/year. Another reason why the proposal is unsuccessful is that it would effect the environment. This is mentioned by the English Nature and the Sussex downs conservation board. They believe that a coastal protection scheme may have an impact on the environment. They do not want the coastal protection scheme to wreck the visual landscape, geological features, and natural processes. It would also cover the lower part of the geological exposure and reduce the natural supply of flint to the beach. It would affect the use of the beach and safe access along it.
