Agenda item

To receive a presentation from Martin Davies, Environment Agency.

The Chair welcomed Martin Davies from the Environment Agency to the meeting, who provided a presentation on Flood and Coastal Risk Management at Dawlish Warren and Exe Estuary. During the presentation, the following points were made -

·         the Flood and Coastal Risk Management Strategy was initially developed in 2014, projecting changes to rising sea levels and climate change predictions for 100 years;

·         in 2014 the Strategy originally planned for a 700mm sea level rise but had since been updated to plan for a 1-meter rise over the next 20 years due to changes in guidance, climate predictions, and legislation;

·         completed and ongoing projects included: Exmouth, Topsham, Star Cross and Cockwood, and Clyst St. Mary;

·         open coast resilience was being delivered with typical flood defence schemes which required some site changes for habitat creation, which the Exe Estuary was designated area for compensated habitat creation;

·         Dawlish Warren had undergone significant changes over time, with images presented, showing shifts and erosion patterns;

·         current monitoring indicated ongoing erosion trends, sand movement and the dominant wave direction and coastal processes, which contributed to erosion and defence challenges;

·         erosion and defence strategies included continual beach lowering, and outflanking the relic gabion baskets;

·         potential damage would primarily affect the western bank and the mainline railway, with declining impacts further up the estuary;

·         the scheme was reviewed in 2020, which acknowledged larger changes than was first predicted and the next strategy update would include a consultation;

·         there was a legal requirement to improve the condition of the Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and dune features through the removal of some defences;

·         the smaller exposed geotube required patch repair and the larger geotube was undamaged and mostly buried providing further resilience;

·         the current Environment Agency policy for failing relic gabion baskets was to do nothing, allowing them to fail over time and to removed failing groynes as the beach continued to lower;

·         most of the local community preferred visible defences which contrasted with the ambition for broader maintenance and sustainable defences;

·         collaborative work was being undertaken with Network Rail, notably a project to set back power banks to create habitat in front of the railway; and

·         there were plans to review management positions at Dawlish Warren and assess business cases for Topsham and Powderham.

In response to questions and points raised, Martin Davies advised: -

·         the exposure of geotube and gabions interfered with natural processes, which had a negative impact and there was ongoing debate about the responsibility for relic gabions;

·         it would be difficult to predict and model channel changes and sediment movement due to historical and future scenarios;

·         there was no Council budget available for the Harbour Board to look at additional modelling, but annual surveys were undertaken which were shared with the Port User Group;

·         the original flood defence plans for Topsham were envisaged as an embankment, but were reconsidered for property-level protection and was now led by Exeter City Council, focusing on community involvement and economic assessments;

·         the strategy included a review of economic, technical, engineering, and environmental aspects to determine feasibility and impact of projects;

·         the strategy would also involve engaging with relevant communities and groups, including flood risk groups, to discuss and refine plans;

·         the strategy aimed to complete by 2027-2028, covering the entire area discussed in presentation slides;

·         there were legal requirements to include comprehensive assessments of economic, technical, engineering, and environmental impacts in the strategy; and

·         reporting back to the Exe Estuary Management Partnership would occur annually through the normal channels.

The Chair thanked Martin Davies for his presentation. A copy of the presentation is appended to the minutes.