Introduction

The Coastal Protection Act is currently administered by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (opens in a new window) and is broadly intended to allow coastal authorities to carry out major new or replacement schemes, whilst routine maintenance and general husbandry of the coast is regarded as a non-statutory local function. The Act makes no specific provisions for amenity or conservation works and is confined solely to defence structures. There are however numerous other regulations and European Directives that ensure environmental considerations play a major part in the design and construction of any new scheme or maintenance works.

Management of the Christchurch Coast between Mudeford Sandbank to the West and Chewton Bunny (Highcliffe) to the East is guided by the Poole and Christchurch Bays Shoreline Management Plan (SMP), which was first approved in 1999.

The council administers 10.3km of coast,  including a considerable length inside Christchurch Harbour. On the coast outside the harbour, there are 50 groynes, 4km of sea wall, 2km of vulnerable cliffs and three hectares of special salt-tolerant grass sward. The 1990 value of these defences was estimated at £8m and they protect, conservatively, about £100 million of real estate in the front line.

In front of the formal defences, there are about 4km of beaches, most with a high amenity value and on the defences themselves a heavy concentration of tourist attractions, such as beach huts, cafes, sailing and bathing stations, etc.

It is against this background of necessary defence, coupled with amenity value, that coastal works are conceived and carried out.

Coastal Defence Works

Coastal works are divided broadly into two categories, (i) capital schemes, such as new or replacement sea defences, and (ii) maintenance works, that is, the day-today repairs necessary to keep the defences in good order.

The council completed a 25 year capital programme in 2000, which has effectively stabilised the whole of the Christchurch coastline outside the harbour. Table 1 and 2 attached illustrates the schemes carried out.

Maintenance works are not subject to the Act. They include a wide variety of tasks such as the routine repair of defective groynes, cleaning sea-walls, painting handrails and grass cutting. A major review of this service identified forty substantial routine functions.

Storm damage is often an unplanned extra burden on these programmes. If the damage is small, the maintenance revenue budget absorbs the cost, but in the cost of major catastrophes such as the winter of 1989/90, costs are capitalised and repairs are carried out under the Act.

There is a conscious effort to correlate capital schemes with routine maintenance to optimise both the financial resources, although the wide complexity of tasks and the frequent necessity to absorb storm damage makes this difficult sometimes.

• Coastal protection in Christchurch - the future

  Although the whole of Christchurch's coast is at a reasonable standard and there are no pressing disaster areas, there will always be a need to renew defences as they reach the end of their useful life and this in itself will generate the need for a continued capital commitment.

• Coastal Engineering Team Leader
  Name: Steve Woolard
  Email: engineering@christchurch.gov.uk
  Tel: 01202 495095
  Full details for Steve Woolard