Slapton Sands Case Study

Question 1

What coastal management was done at Slapton?

Answer 1

• beach nourishment in 2015
• cost £250,000
• took 27,000 tonnes of shingle from north end of beach and moved it south to reduce erosion and protect the sea wall
• however it was washed away in one night leaving locals furious as their taxes payed for it and delivery of sediment disturbed the village
• council members said it was meant to happen to redistribute sand evenly

Question 2

What was done at Torcross

Answer 2

• 1980 a sea wall was built
• a scheme was also put in place by South West Water Authority, it strengthened the beach by installing defences 310 metres in front of houses. Defences consisted of row of sheet piles that ran 8 metres into the shingle and sat 5 metres in front of the sea wall (cost £330,000)
• sea wall was lengthened by 9 metres in 2000 and lasted 36 years
• 2016- storm destroyed sea wall so new one was built with sheet piles with reinforced concrete beams (cost £2.4 million)
• the Environment agency checks condition of sea wall every 24 months after periods of bad weather

Question 3

What was done at Beesands

Answer 3

• 1992 rock armour in front of sea wall built which cost £3 million and was expected to last 100 years
• 2014 it was replaced when rock armour was destroyed as part of a long term solution
• 130 metres of boulders in front of the village were newly installed and they reused material from old ones meaning it only cost £95,000(cost effective)
• however they heavily reduce access to beach, dangerous for children as slippery when wet and high maintenance costs

Question 4

What happened to the A379 and what was done?

Answer 4

• 2001 storms undermined 200 metres of the road restricting access to the villages
• 12 months later road was repositioned leaving locals angry as it took a long time
• road moved back 21 metres
• 12,000 tonnes of shingle used from strete gate to build bastions in front of road to protect it
• many felt the money was poorly invested as road will disappear in time anyway and there was a lack of funds to begin with

Question 5

What does the Slapton line partnership do

Answer 5

• provides support to community
• consists of Devon County Council, Natural England, Environment Agency and more
• they speed up agreement of what to do in response to events and plan future measures
• 2006 the community worked with the partnership to produce s plan on how to adapt to changing coastline including contingency planning and local diversions