Agency changes sea wall stance

THOUSANDS OF acres of low-lying farmland along the East Anglian coast could be abandoned to the sea.

This is because the Environment Agency is developing what it calls an “exit strategy” for sea wall maintenance.

The region is to pilot a review of spending on sea defences in the light of a DEFRA warning that future budgets are unlikely to cover the costs of defending low grade land.

This will be the case if global warming forecasts of a rise in sea level and increased storms are accurate.

Landowners will have the option of carrying out sea wall maintenance themselves.

Just under £19m has been made available in the Anglia region this year for sea wall maintenance along its 600-mile coastline.

A further £40m has been allocated for replacement of old sea walls.

DEFRA has suggested the Environment Agency should review its spending plans to ensure there is enough money available for priority schemes.

It identifies priority schemes as those defending homes, infrastructure and coastal nature reserves designated as of international importance by the EU.

The first spending review will involve the Crouch and Roach estuaries in Essex.

But the whole of the Anglian coastline will come under scrutiny over the next five to 10 years.

Stephen Worrall, a member of the Environment Agency‘s national flood risk policy team, said some difficult decisions would have to be made. 

“Budgets are tight and we have to look carefully at how we invest in these walls and identify where cost exceeds benefit.”

Mr Worrall said no compensation would be paid because sea wall maintenance was a permissive power of the agency, not a statutory duty.

Both the NFU and Country Land and Business Association are alarmed by the “exit strategy”.

Paul Long, East Anglia director for the CLA, said compensation was essential, together with meaningful consultations and careful planning.

“If sea walls are allowed to fall down on their own we are not going to get the environmental benefits being sought,” he said.