Going Green: Coastal communities are under threat

Generally, people love living beside the sea and for good reason, there are a lot of health benefits to it, not least the fresh air and reduced pollution compared to cities and the beautiful blue seascape, which is great for mental health.

However, coastal communities are massively under threat because of climate change due to rising sea levels, stronger storms and coastal erosion so it really is a case of buyer beware.

A new report by Aggregate Industries has found coastal erosion is actually worse than predicted– some models on the direction and pace of coastal erosion have underestimated just how bad it’ll be in years and decades to come.

It estimates coastal erosion would cost the UK economy £12bn but what that represents is pretty grim reading and substantial: 1,600km of major roads, 650km of railway lines, 92 railway stations, and 55 historic landfill sites are all at risk from coastal erosion across the UK. And crucially,1.35 million properties, worth an estimated £584m, are at risk of flooding by 2100. Around 9,000 properties in England and over 93,000 residential and commercial properties in Scotland are at risk of coastal erosion by 2025 alone – that’s next year.

In addition, 550 hectares of high quality farm land could be lost to coastal erosion by 2100 reducing further our ability to grow food.

The essential fact we have to remember is that we have to rapidly reduce burning oil and gas to slow global warming as it’s simply not possible to build a sea wall the whole way around the coast as there are cost and environmental issues to take into consideration.

However, there are ways engineering and nature can be used in combination to make a difference. Replacing shingle on beaches in Somerset has been beneficial when natural shingle has been removed by high tides and bad weather.

Hard engineering solutions like sea walls and groynes might have changed the UK landscape a lot but they’re slowing coastal erosion which is making a difference to those behind the wall.

There are also natural ways of working with the environment by creating sand dunes and planting them with vegetation so root systems anchor them in place.

We know people have relocated because of sea level rises and coastal erosion already so your question on whether it’s safe to buy a house by the coast very much depends on where you are and future plans to manage the impacts of climate change. If you’re at the top of a hill and the beach is at the bottom, you’re more likely to be safe than if you’re at the bottom of a hill or on a level by the sea. That said, if you’re considering buying any property by water, speak to surveyors and ask specifically about climate projections, do your research as the national erosion risk map is out of date and make sure you have watertight (pardon the pun) insurance.