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Policies - Natural Defences Objective : To maintain and encourage the use of dune based sea defences in appropriate locations. Soft Sea Defences The Sefton beaches, dunes and marshes together with other sea defences provide a barrier against the inundation of 77km2 of low-lying, mainly agricultural, hinterland. A breach of these defences, if allowed to proceed unchecked would result in flooding which would affect agriculture, infrastructure and development. Although this would constitute a very rare event of extreme severity, and emergency action could mitigate the damaging effect of any flooding, the threat does, nevertheless, exist. A dune based sea defence is much preferable on the undeveloped coast to any manmade system. Artificial defences have a limited life span and are costly to construct. By their nature they are comparatively fragile and when they fail under storm conditions, the consequences can be sudden and catastrophic. In contrast the dunes, if carefully and sensitively managed, are often self-sustaining. If their condition is monitored, erosion and weaknesses can be better predicted. Dune Erosion and Accretion The sometimes dramatic erosion witnessed at Formby Point has tended to overshadow a steady accretion along much of the coast with rising beach levels at Crosby and Southport. The long term management aim for accreting shores is to encourage natural dune growth. Dune growth will be enhanced only in areas where recreation pressure has disrupted foredune growth or to aid rapid recovery of sea defences after storm events. New dune formation on beach areas and against sea walls will be monitored. Only in situations where the build up of sand threatens roads, structures or amenities will intervention work be carried out. The division between accreting and eroding foreshores is somewhat arbitrary since the very nature of the coastline is one of constant change. An understanding of the coast as a whole is a pre-requisite to planning a co-ordinated approach to shoreline management. By trying to work with, and not against, nature much can be done to alleviate the negative impact of recreation pressure, to recognise and protect natural dune-building processes and to accept natural erosion but keep it within the scale of the landscape. Home Page - Top www.seftoncoast.org.uk

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