| |
Coastal defence emergency works - guidelines
Emergency works
It is possible to provide guidance, which will help to overcome the damage
to shingle habitat during planned
operations. However, it is much more difficult to prevent damage
when emergency repair work takes place, especially when storms occur and property
(and life) is threatened. There are two other points which are important:
|
Summary Guidance - emergency sea defence operations include:
- early identification of potential problems, presence of stable mature
shingle vegetation, rare plants or animals including invertebrates
and breeding
birds will help ensure that these interests are taken into
account;
- under emergency circumstances not only is good, accessible information
required on the nature of the interest likely to be affected, but this
also needs to be available to those undertaking the work. This requires
contingency planning including the establishment, in advance, of close
working relationships with relevant utility companies, regulatory and
other authorities (especially local Environment Agency staff).
|
Many of the above points are contained in the "Good Practice Guide for
working on Vegetated Shingle beaches" produced by the West Sussex Vegetated
Shingle Project (http://www.pebbledash.org.uk)
to help those planning work on shingle areas.
Vegetated shingle identification guide
An A5, waterproof, colour identification guide has been produced jointly by
the West Sussex Vegetated Shingle Project and East Sussex Coastal Biodiversity
Project to enable easy identification of the shingle communities to be protected,
by contractors working on site.
Recommendation: These guides have been distributed to all Environment
Agency offices nationally with shingle coastlines, and have been widely distributed
around the south-east beyond East & West Sussex via the two relevant coastal
groups and Standing Conference on Problems Affecting the Coast (SCOPAC, ).
Similar guidance should be made available to organisations operating in other
areas with significant vegetated coastal shingle.
|
|
