Post by iainburrit on Jul 15, 2008 20:55:15 GMT 1
Description of the settlement:
The town of Jaywick has developed piecemeal over the years on a site that was originally inter-tidal marshland until it was drained for farming.
Photograph SC06 shows surface water standing behind the seawall.
Prior to the 1953 East Coast flood disaster many of the properties were of temporary construction. On the night of the 1953 surge tide the whole town was flooded and 35 people lost their lives.
Since 1953 there have been numerous flood defence improvements schemes to keep pace with beach loss and wave damage. Finally in the late 1980s a major capital scheme was undertaken to construct rock groynes and beach recharge to create an artificial beach in front of the town.
Massive rock groynes and artificial beach recharge protect Jaywick from waves, but the old seawalls are still relied upon for protection from surge tides.
Since this scheme completion the town has attracted grants and external funding to redevelop and expand the housing and infrastructure, increasing the population now living behind an artificial sea defence. All surface water drainage has to be pumped out of the area.
Development issues:
— Jaywick was former tidal marsh and lies behind an artificial sea defence. These defences will have to be maintained over the next 100 years or more if major risk to life and property is to be avoided.
Photograph SC03 shows the defence wall.
— Holding the line will become increasingly more difficult and expensive for public funds as sea level rise and increasing storms attach this frontage.
— The adjacent rural seawalls are where the 1953 breaches occurred that flooded the town. These walls have been improved but remain a serious source of risk.
— This is an example of temporary buildings constructed on old marshland becoming permanent desirable homes in a location of increasing flood risk, without any strategic planning decision being made about future sustainability.
— This does not represent sustainable development but is still being allowed.
Description of the settlement:
Canvey Island is now an intensively developed town lying wholly below normal high tide level. The lowest part of the island lies at its centre, creating a bowl effect. All surface water drainage has to be pumped over the seawall.
In 1953 there were only 31,000 residents in the whole of the Castle Point Borough. That year the East Coast floods killed 58 people on Canvey Island. The current population of Canvey Island is now a massive 36,000 with approximately 86,000 in the Borough. There are only two routes on and off the island that will become blocked in the event of tidal overtopping. The island is also home to major oil storage facilities again lying below high tide level.
The tidal defences have benefited from being part of the Thames Tidal Defence programme and are currently among the highest standards of defence anywhere in the United Kingdom. The need to maintain the level of protection along the Thames into the next century is now the subject of the Thames 2100 project. Already seawall levels exceed the rooftops of some properties on the island!
Development issues:
— When the walls are one day overtopped by a major tidal surge, the 36,000 residents will be placed in a life-threatening situation.
— The emergency infrastructure would probably be unable to cope with a major failure of the tidal defences.
— Redevelopment continues unabated and leaves future public funding committed to having to maintain an unsustainable coastal town.
— The defences benefit from forming part of the Thames Tidal Defence frontage, but would this level of risk be acceptable if the defence standards were similar to other coastal towns?
— A Strategic Flood Risk Assessment for South Essex is currently being undertaken by Thames Gateway South Essex, this covers Canvey Island. The SFRA will provide Castlepoint BC with information on consequences of a flood occurring at Canvey Island to assist them in making decisions about future development and emergency planning
The town of Jaywick has developed piecemeal over the years on a site that was originally inter-tidal marshland until it was drained for farming.
Photograph SC06 shows surface water standing behind the seawall.
Prior to the 1953 East Coast flood disaster many of the properties were of temporary construction. On the night of the 1953 surge tide the whole town was flooded and 35 people lost their lives.
Since 1953 there have been numerous flood defence improvements schemes to keep pace with beach loss and wave damage. Finally in the late 1980s a major capital scheme was undertaken to construct rock groynes and beach recharge to create an artificial beach in front of the town.
Massive rock groynes and artificial beach recharge protect Jaywick from waves, but the old seawalls are still relied upon for protection from surge tides.
Since this scheme completion the town has attracted grants and external funding to redevelop and expand the housing and infrastructure, increasing the population now living behind an artificial sea defence. All surface water drainage has to be pumped out of the area.
Development issues:
— Jaywick was former tidal marsh and lies behind an artificial sea defence. These defences will have to be maintained over the next 100 years or more if major risk to life and property is to be avoided.
Photograph SC03 shows the defence wall.
— Holding the line will become increasingly more difficult and expensive for public funds as sea level rise and increasing storms attach this frontage.
— The adjacent rural seawalls are where the 1953 breaches occurred that flooded the town. These walls have been improved but remain a serious source of risk.
— This is an example of temporary buildings constructed on old marshland becoming permanent desirable homes in a location of increasing flood risk, without any strategic planning decision being made about future sustainability.
— This does not represent sustainable development but is still being allowed.
Description of the settlement:
Canvey Island is now an intensively developed town lying wholly below normal high tide level. The lowest part of the island lies at its centre, creating a bowl effect. All surface water drainage has to be pumped over the seawall.
In 1953 there were only 31,000 residents in the whole of the Castle Point Borough. That year the East Coast floods killed 58 people on Canvey Island. The current population of Canvey Island is now a massive 36,000 with approximately 86,000 in the Borough. There are only two routes on and off the island that will become blocked in the event of tidal overtopping. The island is also home to major oil storage facilities again lying below high tide level.
The tidal defences have benefited from being part of the Thames Tidal Defence programme and are currently among the highest standards of defence anywhere in the United Kingdom. The need to maintain the level of protection along the Thames into the next century is now the subject of the Thames 2100 project. Already seawall levels exceed the rooftops of some properties on the island!
Development issues:
— When the walls are one day overtopped by a major tidal surge, the 36,000 residents will be placed in a life-threatening situation.
— The emergency infrastructure would probably be unable to cope with a major failure of the tidal defences.
— Redevelopment continues unabated and leaves future public funding committed to having to maintain an unsustainable coastal town.
— The defences benefit from forming part of the Thames Tidal Defence frontage, but would this level of risk be acceptable if the defence standards were similar to other coastal towns?
— A Strategic Flood Risk Assessment for South Essex is currently being undertaken by Thames Gateway South Essex, this covers Canvey Island. The SFRA will provide Castlepoint BC with information on consequences of a flood occurring at Canvey Island to assist them in making decisions about future development and emergency planning