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Policies - Shoreline Management PlansHall Road West to River Alt Pumping Station (M.U. 8/3)SMP recommended policy "Selective Hold the Line/Do-Nothing/(or retreat)" From Crosby to Altcar, the coast is under the influence of the River Alt, which locally intercepts the natural southward drift of beach-building sediments. During the early part of the 20th century, the river changed its course; having previously discharged seaward from Altcar in a westerly direction, it moved to the south and began to erode the coast. Residential seafront properties at Crosby had to be abandoned as the coastline was slowly carried away despite attempts at artificial hardening. The River Alt was finally brought under control in 1936 by the construction of a training bank, 1 kilometre north of Hall Road, that directed the discharge seaward and away from the coastline. From 1936 to the mid-1970's the eroded coastline was reinstated and hardened by the tipping of demolition waste, builders' rubble and tin slag from local smelting factories. Coast protection works were undertaken in the 1970's to protect the developed land between Seaforth and Hall Road West, leaving the undeveloped coast north of Hall Road West still susceptible to erosion. Hightown was mainly developed as a dormitory settlement during the late nineteenth and early 20th century. The settlement is built on land formerly covered with sand dunes, with typical ground levels at least 2 metres above the highest tides. In the immediate agricultural hinterland, ground levels are lower than the highest tides and land drainage is effected by ditches that discharge to the pump-assisted River Alt. During the 1960's, a private housing development was proposed extending along the coast towards Crosby, but it was opposed locally on the grounds of, amongst other things, inadequate coast protection. The development was allowed at a Planning Appeal in 1969, that established the principle of a financial contribution towards the cost of future coast protection work. A sum of approximately £1 million has accrued from the developers' contributions for future coastal defence. The coast between Hall Road West and Altcar is eroding at between 1 and 2 metres a year. The material eroded from the hardened coast at and near the Training Bank contains high levels of waste that is being slowly but continuously dispersed across the adjoining shore. This waste includes brick and concrete rubble, former fly-tipped waste and metal-smelting slag that has a measurable level of radioactivity. The River Alt Training Bank has deteriorated and settled over the years. It was repaired and reinforced in 1949 and 1969 but has since deteriorated to a condition that in places is not much higher than the adjoining shore. Just north of the Training Bank, there is a narrow strip of tipped land that is now only 50 metres wide and is eroding at about 1 metre per year. The Environment Agency has had to protect its Far Moss drainage outfall with rubble, to prevent undermining. If coast protection work is not undertaken here, the sea could break through into the West Lancashire Golf Club by 2050 and would then threaten the Southport to Liverpool railway. The clubhouse of the Blundellsands Sailing Club is located on the landward bank of the River Alt, which at this location is shifting its course landward. Club members have in the past (ca. 1980) placed large concrete blocks on the shore, forming a hardened promontory around the seaward flank of their premises. However the shore on both sides continued to erode, undermining and threatening to topple these defences. Works were recently (circa 2000) undertaken on these defences to extend their life but unless further intervention is undertaken the clubhouse will soon have to be moved inland or abandoned. The sand dune coastline fronting the residential property at Hightown is also starved of sediment by the presence of the River Alt and it is eroding at 1 to 1.5 metres per year. If the present rates of erosion continue, the rear gardens of properties nearest to the sea could be threatened by 2050. The construction in 1937 of the Alt Training Bank was a successful solution to the erosion of the Crosby shoreline. However, the Bank is now seriously eroded and in need of reconstruction. It has not prevented the erosion of the coastline to its north, where there is increasing public awareness of the need for action.
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