It has cost £40million and taken four years, but the flood defence work at Jury’s Gap and Lydd Ranges have finally been completed. An official opening ceremony was held at Lydd Community Hall last month.
The work, which has seen the installation of new groynes next to the firing range at Lydd and thousands of tonnes of shingle relocated to the beach east of Jury’s Gap, is part the Environment Agency’s plan to manage flood defences. It was approved in 2010 as part of the Folkestone to Cliff End strategy, which also includes the current work on the tidal walls on the outskirts of Rye.
A spokesperson for Environment Agency said; “With much of Romney Marsh below high tide level, 14,500 homes, 700 businesses as well as nationally important, critical infrastructure are at risk of flooding. Lydd’s sea frontage is vulnerable to erosion and has suffered from the effects of recent storms Dennis and Ciara, particularly at Jury’s Gap.”
Work on the defences has been based at Jury’s Gap with over 390,000 tonnes of shingle moved to the beach, and thirty-three new groynes installed. The 1km sea wall has been boosted with hundreds of boulders brought in by sea.
Image Credits: Environment Agency .
Many thanks to the Environment Agency and its partners for their vital work on our local flood defences! I look forward to the completion next year of the important tidal walls project near Rye. But constant vigilance is the price we must pay to protect ourselves from devastating flooding, because a tiny gap in the flood defences would let the sea pour into Romney and Walland marshes. This part of England has been in a never-ending battle with the sea. Old Winchelsea submerged and was abandoned in the 13th century as the result of storms. Eastward shingle drift and the sometimes haphazard behaviour of Channel currents pose other challenges. Despite the EA’s stalwart efforts, there may come a time when the marshes may have to be left to the sea again — and Rye may once again become an island.
The previous letter would not read rosier had it been written by the Environment Agency
The magnificent heritage in terms of beautiful, historic, church buildings on the Marsh are of significant national – and, I would say, international importance. Much of the land on the Marsh was reclaimed from the sea, using a system of ditches and sluices. That back-breaking work gave us the landscape that we know and love today; many of the Marsh churches are built on reclaimed land. Why they were built, the way they were built (frequently in stages – and to accommodate changes in royalty and religion) tell the story of our ancestors. It’s the story of these isles, mapped out on the Marsh – and anything that can be done to protect those buildings and secure them for the future, should be done.