UK Coast Quickly Crumbling Under Rising Seas, Stronger Storms, But Little Aid For Sinking Towns

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These existential threats are not confined to Looe. The British coast is crumbling into the sea at an accelerating rate, with huge chunks of cliffs and beaches being swept away in storms each winter. According to the Committee on Climate Change, sea levels around Britain could rise by at least a metre over the lifetimes of today’s children.

Yet smaller coastal communities such as Looe only qualify for limited government funding for flood defence, which is targeted at more densely populated areas. Councils are expected to look to private businesses to make up shortfalls. But the environmental food and rural affairs select committee found this year that it has become increasingly difficult to attract such contributions, with only £50 million secured from private sector sources since 2015. “The money that is available for schemes in small places like Looe falls quite far short of what is actually needed,” says Marks.

It is not just housing at risk when a place suffers from repeated flooding – the economic impact of a fast-changing coastline cannot be underestimated. In the warmth of Looe’s harbour office, Tina Hicks, the town’s first female harbour master, is busy preparing the accounts for the port, including its fish market, which sees more than £1.5m worth of fresh fish landed on the Cornish coast sold to restaurants in London and other cities every year. She says the floods disrupt the market and could ultimately force it to close: “We are getting dirty flood water coming up through the drains. I’ve got photos of people paddling to get to the market – it happens all the time.”

Hicks worries that flooding could eventually drive tourists and shops away, with 22% of businesses already considering their long-term future in the town, according to the council. “At the moment we are a vibrant community but we are struggling,” she says. “You go out and mop up after each flood, but you get to a point where you think: how many more times can this be done?” Environment Agency engineers have drawn up four schemes to protect the town over the last 20 years but none have been implemented due to lack of funds. This year Cornwall council backed a new plan to build a tidal gate but the £41m project would only be entitled to £3.7m of government funding.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/01/climate-crisis-leaves-british-coastlines-inches-from-disaster