Environmental disaster as Southend's foreshore retreats (From Southend Standard)
Get involved: send your pictures, video, news and views by texting ECHONEWS to 80360, or email us Click here for details »
Environmental disaster as Southend's foreshore retreats
7:00am Friday 5th October 2012 in Echo News
Councillor David Norman on a newly exposed causeway
SOUTHEND’S treasured foreshore is rapidly disappearing - and no one appears to know why.
Experts from Southend Council and the Environment Agency are on the verge of panic as the town’s iconic mudflats are stripped from the shore.
In just the last six months, an estimated 2ft of silt and sediment - one of the richest habitats on the planet - has vanished into the estuary waters.
The rapid erosion has threatened the area’s status as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, as well as the livelihoods of the fishing community and the structural integrity of Southend’s landmark pier and coastal defences.
Some believe it could even undermine the relatively fragile base of sediment and clay upon which Canvey sits. David Norman, who first became a Labour councillor in the 1960s and grew up in Leigh, said: “The scale of the change is absolutely frightening.
“It is now like a lunar landscape out there. For as long as I can remember, the mudflats have been there.
“Now they are simply disappearing.”
The depth of the mud which covered the estuary has naturally varied over the years as a result of the prevailing weather conditions.
But since the start of the spring, experts have noticed a consistent decline which has now left many parts of the north bank of the Thames completely bare. Some of the worst erosion has been pinpointed between Thorpe Bay and Leigh.
The mudflats, which have been compared to the rainforest floor in terms of the amount of wildlife they support, are a thriving habitat for insects, cockles and wading birds.
Forming a vital link in the food chain, they also support fish, such as the Dover sole, which are a valuable catch for the south Essex fishing industry.
The Environment Agency and the council have launched a joint investigation to try to find out what has happened to the foreshore, and whether the erosion can be stopped before it goes any further.
But they admit they are baffled by the speed of the decline. Steve Bewers, of the Environment Agency, said: “This year has seen a significant loss of mudflats along the north bank of the estuary.
“We would welcome information as to when the mudflats started to decrease, to see whether it coincided with any particular event, such as the rather uncharacteristic weather conditions which have occurred over recent months.”
Comments(32)
tatersalad
says...
7:29am Fri 5 Oct 12
notinwestcliffanymorIf your no expert, just leave it.
e wrote:
Well i'm no expert ( haven t even been on the flats for 20 years) but could the dredging for the superport increase water flow during tidal highs and lows effectively stripping the mud ?
Russ13
says...
8:17am Fri 5 Oct 12
Let's not forget even 150 years ago, our part of the Thames looked completely different.
The Thames is a living entity, it's evolved over time and will keep doing so, that's a fact.
Although if it's putting Canvey at risk it can't be all bad ;-)
j-w
says...
8:32am Fri 5 Oct 12
notinwestcliffanymorLOL! I can magine them reading this comment and going "Oh yeah!"
e wrote:
Well i'm no expert ( haven t even been on the flats for 20 years) but could the dredging for the superport increase water flow during tidal highs and lows effectively stripping the mud ?
But as Russ said the Estuary has Changed, just look up Milton Port!
r6keith
says...
8:37am Fri 5 Oct 12
notinwestcliffanymorI'm with you on this one.I heard a story years ago about waste barges from London dumping waste in a large hole in the Estuary after a few years of this they calculated it must be nearly full so t dived to inspect , it was empty ! All the rubbish had been washed away somewhere else. So maybe this silt is just filling in the new hole.
e wrote:
Well i'm no expert ( haven t even been on the flats for 20 years) but could the dredging for the superport increase water flow during tidal highs and lows effectively stripping the mud ?
Cockle
says...
9:00am Fri 5 Oct 12
Back in the 1800's there was a light tower on the edge of the Maplin Sands, when it eventually fell down the surveyors looking to replace it found that the sands had moved it some distance from its original position by something like a mile IIRC.
Without a doubt the dredging of the deep water channel for Milton Port will effect the tidal flows, it's the laws of physics and nature. A lot of work and research was done on this back when they were proposing Maplin Airport; there were all sorts of predictions about the effect on tidal flows and speeds and I believe one was that there would be an increased scour and longshore drift effect.
Mind you, if the sands have now eroded to expose 19th century hards then surely levels have only returned to19th century levels, just the pace which is a little worrying.
Having seen Leigh Creek silting up over the last few years perhaps that's where it's all gone.............
Russ13
says...
9:25am Fri 5 Oct 12
For years, human waste from London and adjacent settlements was pumped into the Thames.
Maybe that acted as some kind of fertilser which encouraged the silt that we came to know.
IIRC, the sewage pumping stopped in the late 80s early 90s so this could be the effect of no "fertiliser" for the last 20 or so years?
j-w
says...
9:27am Fri 5 Oct 12
"The manor of Milton Hall includes Milton-hamlet, which extends to the-beach, and is said to have formerly been a parish, and to have had a church, the remains of which were visible some years ago, near low water mark, in the estuary of the Thames. This hamlet is now a pleasant western suburb of Southend" http://www.historyho
use.co.uk/placeP/ess
exp11a.html
perini
says...
9:54am Fri 5 Oct 12
j-w wrote:It was Milton Island which had 2 churches on it so it was a considerable size. One of the churches (Eastern end) stood approximately where the pier-head is now. and the western end was approximately in line with the Leisure centre/westcliff casino. That was one of the two islands off Southend. Don't forget though, at that time the water came to the bottom of Hadleigh castle but the Southend fore-shore extended about 200ft further out to sea than it is now.
Cockle, so as not to confuse people, The Milton port I was talking about was the land that used to stretch into the Thames at Southend (or before if you wish) a few hundred years ago. "The manor of Milton Hall includes Milton-hamlet, which extends to the-beach, and is said to have formerly been a parish, and to have had a church, the remains of which were visible some years ago, near low water mark, in the estuary of the Thames. This hamlet is now a pleasant western suburb of Southend" http://www.historyho use.co.uk/placeP/ess exp11a.html
v.randy
says...
9:59am Fri 5 Oct 12
It just a bit of sand.
It might even reveal some interesting things which would be a big improvement as currently that stretch of beach is rather dull.
notinwestcliffanymore
says...
9:59am Fri 5 Oct 12
aduksquack
says...
11:32am Fri 5 Oct 12
I wouldn't be surprised if the same is happening to Southend's foreshore as the Thames is dredged for the new superport.
jayman
says...
11:52am Fri 5 Oct 12
this ties in with the time scale of the erosion. I'm not saying that the dredging has not had an effect but there are many factors.
the estuary has been changed by human activity. the Thames is highly industrial and developed.
most of the sediment ended up on the mud flats due to quarrying activity further up the river..
Russ13
says...
12:25pm Fri 5 Oct 12
v.randy wrote:Are you serious?
Come on it's hardly important. It just a bit of sand. It might even reveal some interesting things which would be a big improvement as currently that stretch of beach is rather dull.
It is important as the whole eco-system of the area has/will change which could have wider reaching and unknown consequencies.
Or perhaps you're unable to see further than the end of your nose?
sjreynolds143
says...
12:54pm Fri 5 Oct 12
aduksquack
says...
12:58pm Fri 5 Oct 12
sjreynolds143 wrote:It isn't the beaches they're talking about, it's the mudflats further out. They've dropped by two feet.
Thorpe Bay beach dropped by about 2 ft last year. Not this year. I had associated it with the Council mending the breakwaters, which they did just before the start of the season, but dredging could possibly equally be to blame.
Cockle
says...
1:42pm Fri 5 Oct 12
j-w wrote:Yes, j-w, confused Milton with the super-port in my post; meant to say the dredging for the super-port deep water channel.
Cockle, so as not to confuse people, The Milton port I was talking about was the land that used to stretch into the Thames at Southend (or before if you wish) a few hundred years ago.
"The manor of Milton Hall includes Milton-hamlet, which extends to the-beach, and is said to have formerly been a parish, and to have had a church, the remains of which were visible some years ago, near low water mark, in the estuary of the Thames. This hamlet is now a pleasant western suburb of Southend" http://www.historyho
use.co.uk/placeP/ess
exp11a.html
Was in a hurry ;-)
perini
says...
2:16pm Fri 5 Oct 12
Russ13
says...
2:19pm Fri 5 Oct 12
perini wrote:Yeah but he probably didn't want to get his shoes too dirty lol
Not too sure about the photo and its caption - it looks like the causeway going from the Crowstone to the Ray, which has been there years!
Nebs
says...
3:26pm Fri 5 Oct 12
Basildon.lad.21
says...
3:50pm Fri 5 Oct 12
Cockle
says...
3:51pm Fri 5 Oct 12
Nebs wrote:Well, if man hadn't intervened with the placing of a sea-wall and a road in the way then that would be the natural order of things.....
Get all the earth from the cliff slip and, rather than build a sea wall at Shoebury, dump it in the estuary to replace what has gone missing.
DEBT*COLLECTOR
says...
4:12pm Fri 5 Oct 12
Eric Whim
says...
4:44pm Fri 5 Oct 12
firedog
says...
5:13pm Fri 5 Oct 12
Eric Whim
says...
6:07pm Fri 5 Oct 12
firedog wrote:blooming cyclists/immigrants/
It never happened when we had a labour government.
Council/Government*
* delete where applicable
Truth Will Prevail
says...
6:29pm Fri 5 Oct 12
Safend Dave
says...
6:48pm Fri 5 Oct 12
I regularly walk out from several points along the foreshore including walking almost the lenth of southend pier underneith the structure, i have seen very little change in 40 years, the only thing that i find that does change is the amount of rubbish dropped/dumped by contractors working on the pier, garanteed after some decking has been replaced or when the new pier train station was built at the end the amount of nuts bolts, screws was unbelivable!!
If anyone want's to know the truth about our shore line and the causeway or the pier or even the damage the oyster pickers are doing! ask a local not these so called experts!!
beaulocks
says...
9:34am Sat 6 Oct 12
Safend Dave wrote:There you go everyone, if you want an experts opinion ask Dave. Not an expert Dave from Safend he'll tell you what you need to know.
This is all rubbish, the causeway in the picture has always been visable, i have been walking along it for 40 years to get out to where i did for bait, yes i do have a licence and i abide by the bylaws, is SBC after a hand out from the super port money for nothing?
I regularly walk out from several points along the foreshore including walking almost the lenth of southend pier underneith the structure, i have seen very little change in 40 years, the only thing that i find that does change is the amount of rubbish dropped/dumped by contractors working on the pier, garanteed after some decking has been replaced or when the new pier train station was built at the end the amount of nuts bolts, screws was unbelivable!!
If anyone want's to know the truth about our shore line and the causeway or the pier or even the damage the oyster pickers are doing! ask a local not these so called experts!!
beaulocks
says...
9:38am Sat 6 Oct 12
DEBT*COLLECTOR wrote:What a crazy post. This is our concerned councilor David Norman .
Is that a photo of UNCLE ALBERT or CAPTAIN BIRDSEYE ?
ALF GARNET to those that know him.
Olivia2847
says...
4:56pm Mon 8 Oct 12
Cockle wrote:Excellent post!
Nebs wrote:Well, if man hadn't intervened with the placing of a sea-wall and a road in the way then that would be the natural order of things.....
Get all the earth from the cliff slip and, rather than build a sea wall at Shoebury, dump it in the estuary to replace what has gone missing.
v.randy
says...
3:40pm Tue 9 Oct 12
Get a life,work in a charity shop and stop imagining that Southend is disappearing it aint good for your health.
notinwestcliffanymore says...
7:13am Fri 5 Oct 12