✅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

How much rock was imported to build the Beesands rock armour?

Answer 17

2-4 tonnes

Question 18

Why was the rock armour put in place at Beesands?

Answer 18

To try and stop the wall from being undercut and collapsing again

Question 19

What happened to the Torcross sea wall in 2016?

Answer 19

It collapsed

Question 20

How much was spent by the South Hams council on emergency flooding funding?

Answer 20

£250,000

Question 21

How much did repairs to the wall in 2017 cost?

Answer 21

£2.4 million

Question 22

How much steel and concrete was used to reinforce the wall?

Answer 22

713 tonnes of steel and 221m3 of concrete

Question 23

How much shingle was washed away from Torcross in 2015?

Answer 23

27,000 tonnes in one night

Question 24

How much did the shingle at Torcross cost?

Answer 24

£250,000

Question 25

How much shingle was lost from the Slapton Line in the storms of 2000/2001?

Answer 25

5m from a 1000m stretch of beach

Question 26

What was initially used to protect the road after the 2000/2001 storm?

Answer 26

3000 tonnes of rock armour, later removed due to damage to the SSSI

Question 27

Why was Hallsands destroyed?

Answer 27

Due to dredging of shingle in the early 20th century from the sediment cell, which is virtually closed

Question 28

What are the long term issues with these management strategies?

Answer 28

The intensive management may cause damage to vegetation and should the barrier be breached, the Slapton Ley lagoon may be destroyed. The strategies are also incredibly expensive to maintain

Question 29

How much sediment transport occurs on the beach at Slapton?

Answer 29

Next to none.