1. Mappleton (Holderness coast, East Yorkshire)
In 1991 two rock groynes and some rock armour were installed on the beach at Mappleton.
Benefits:
The cliff behind the beach has now stopped eroding completely (you can tell this because it has vegetation growing on it), so the village is will not get destroyed (like 23 have along this coast since Roman times).
The B1242 goes close to the coast at Mappleton, and is now protected from erosion. This is the main road along the Holderness coast, linking Hornsea and Withernsea and many hamlets and farms between. Many people and businesses would be negatively affected if the main transport route was eroded, so this is a key benefit – probably the main reason the defences were installed.
Costs:
It cost £2m – for just one small village of about 50 houses…
Although it has not been proven that the defences at Mappleton were a direct cause, it seems that erosion down-drift at Cowden has rapidly increased since Sue Earle’s dairy farm has now completely disappeared into the sea. Because the rock groyne(s) at Mappleton intercept the longshore drift, this means that less sand and shingle now reaches Cowden, making the beach there thinner, reducing friction and meaning that destructive waves now crash into the base of the cliffs there, especially at high tide.
Suggest also general explanation that hard engineering STOPS nature so can’t be sustainable in the long run