Coasts Case Study - Slapton Line Management

Question 1

What is the Slapton Line?

Answer 1

The fragile shingle bar which runs between Slapton Ley and the sea

Question 2

Where is Slapton Sands?

Answer 2

Kingsbridge, South Devon, UK

Question 3

Why is the shingle barrier under threat?

Answer 3

Erosion rates are increasing

Question 4

Where are coastal management strategies installed around the area?

Answer 4

Slapton, Torcross and Beesands

Question 5

How long is the shingle barrier?

Answer 5

7km

Question 6

What defences are in place at Torcross?

Answer 6

A Sea wall

Question 7

When was the sea wall at Torcross built?

Answer 7

1979

Question 8

What happened to the Torcross sea wall in 2001?

Answer 8

It was partially destroyed by a storm and large amounts of sediment were washed away

Question 9

What happened to the sea wall at Torcross in 2014?

Answer 9

The wall collapsed during a storm and the beach was built up again in order to protect it

Question 10

What happened to the Slapton Line after the 2014 storm?

Answer 10

The worst affected section of the road was realigned

Question 11

What length of the road was realigned in 2014?

Answer 11

200m

Question 12

How much shingle was transported from the Strete Gate area to Slapton?

Answer 12

12,000 tonnes

Question 13

What was created on the beach at Slapton for protection?

Answer 13

Shingle bastions

Question 14

How effective were the shingle bastions?

Answer 14

Only for the short term, as up to 45% was washed away in a storm in 2008

Question 15

What defences are in place at Beesands?

Answer 15

A sea wall and rock armour

Question 16

When was the rock armour put in place at Beesands?

Answer 16

2016

Question 17

What is the Start Bay coastline?

Answer 17

A sediment sub-cell on the southern coast of England.

Question 18

What are the most heavily managed areas?

Answer 18

Torcross and Beesands, both have sea walls protected by rock armour

Question 19

What was built in 2014 on Slapton Sands?

Answer 19

5 shingle bastions to try and reduce LSD and erosion, however they were soon eroded.

Question 20

How many tonnes on shingle was moved to Torcross from Strete in 2015?

Answer 20

250,000 tonnes. However this was all washed away over night in one winter storm

Question 21

When has managed realignment of the road been occurring since and how many occasions and places of the road?

Answer 21

Since 2001 and the road has been moved inland in 2 places on 2 separate occasions. This is not a long-term, sustainable solution to the issues.

Question 22

Where are the high value areas of Start Bay and how was this decided?

Answer 22

Only Torcross and Beesands are protected as they are the highest value areas.
-This was decided with by a cost-benefit analysis.

Question 23

What is making future management of the area complicated?

Answer 23

The natural processes and climate change.

Question 24

What is the Slapton Line Partnership?

Answer 24

A group taking a SMP approach and considering the view of many stakeholders. They consider the future of the area because of the events and provide support to the community.

Question 25

When and why was the Slapton Line Partnership created?

Answer 25

In 2001 in response to storms which closed part of the coast road and partially destroyed the sea wall and washing away lots of sediment.

Question 26

Who did the partnership bring together?

Answer 26

Devon County Council, South Hams District Council, Natural England and the Environmental Agency.

Question 27

In 25-50 years what will happen to the road?

Answer 27

No matter what is done, it will be breaches and it could be sooner. This is due to coastal erosion and strong storms which happen regularly.

Question 28

Where is erosion via hydraulic power, wave quarrying, solution and abrasion most obvious?

Answer 28

The southern (windward) side of Start point.