Bacton sandscaping saves £3 million in flood damage

Six years since a pioneering coastal defence project was implemented on the Norfolk coast, local people say their lives have been transformed with improvements to mental health, tourism and property prices. The £19m sandscaping project was designed to stop Bacton gas terminal from falling into the sea. Enough sand to half-fill Wembley Stadium was dredged and pumped ashore to rebuild the beach. A new study has found it has already prevented £3m of flood damage in the villages of Bacton and Walcott.
'The wind ruled our lives'
In 2018, the future of the village of Walcott hung in the balance. With no beach left because of coastal erosion it was at risk of being swept away by the sea. Pauline Porter, chair of the parish council, says people left the village after 70 properties were damaged during a storm and tidal surge in December 2013. "The wind ruled our lives. If there were high tides you stayed close to the village in case your needed to rescue your pets or valuables. It was a way of life."There was no beach. You had a good drop of 12 to 14ft most of the time and as fast as the steps were made longer to reach the beach, the faster the beach disappeared."We used to have three to five flood evacuations a year, but since sandscaping we haven't had one. "Had it not been for sandscaping the village would have been lost under the sea."
In 2019, two million cubic metres of sand were dredged and pumped ashore to raise beach levels by up to seven metres. The £19m project was mainly funded by the owners of Bacton gas terminal, which handles a third of the UK's natural gas supplies, with £5m coming from public funds. The sandscaping project has a 15 to 20 year design life. Six years on, the sand has moved up and down the coast as well as offshore, creating a small bar that dissipates the energy of the waves.
'I feared for the business'
For years the Kingfisher Cafe could not get flood insurance. Since the sandscaping it can once again. Owner Graham French says he used to wonder if he was going to lose the business."If it had not been for the gas terminal we would not have benefitted from the sandscaping scheme."We now feel we can invest in the business and customers have been coming back."
'£3 million of flood damage prevented'
A draft report prepared for the Crown Estate has found that between 2019 and 2023 the sandscaping has prevented serious flooding in the villages on at least one occasion, saving £3m in damage to properties. It also concluded that it is likely to have prevented erosion of the B1159, the main access road to the gas terminal. A survey of residents carried out by the University of East Anglia found mental health and investor confidence in the area had improved.
The project's designer says it has bought time. Jaap Flikweert from Royal HaskoningDHV says beaches from Mundesley to Happisburgh have built up more than they thought. "We expected the bulge of sand would erode quite rapidly but it has also moved elsewhere." He says the study for the Crown Estate has also put a value on the savings to the nation due to people not being out of work or needing to use the NHS services for poor mental health."In just a few years we estimate it has brought another £3-4m of benefit. It is really good to see that the scheme does its job."
'Nature-based solutions'
The man who co-ordinated the project says it is not a solution for all communities fighting coastal erosion. Rob Goodliffe, who is coastal transition manager at North Norfolk District Council, says it has demonstrated the benefits of nature-based solutions to sea level rise."Any scheme has to stack up economically but you cannot necessarily pick this up and drop it into another area."The owners of Bacton gas terminal were approached by the BBC but declined to comment.
Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Telegraph

3 hours ago

• Telegraph

The charming corner of Norfolk rejecting the second homes tax

Norfolk is known for its quaint villages, beautiful beaches – and for being an epicentre of the backlash against second home owners. Much of this ire is focused in a quiet corner of North Norfolk, in the village of Burnham Market, in an area widely known as Chelsea-on-Sea. Here, almost 10pc of properties are second homes. In 2023, villagers voted to stop properties from being turned into holiday homes through the planning system, and then the council hit owners with a 100pc tax surcharge. Almost all of Norfolk penalises second home owners with higher council tax – except for one area which, by contrast, greets them with open arms. Welcome to Wymondham, in the heart of South Norfolk. It is far less flashy than its northerly counterparts. Its medieval streets are littered with thatched cottages, timber-framed properties and a historic abbey. The high street is packed with independent shops, and the cobbled market cross hosts a farmer's market every Friday. There is the annual Wymondham duck race, when hundreds of rubber ducks are launched down the river on May Day. Wymondham in Bloom transforms the high street during the summer months. It is the kind of place where everyone knows everyone – the locals can point out the Airbnb and second home hotspots. Yet they are welcoming of these visitors, as the high street cries out for more business. 'We need second home owners,' says Nicky O'Grady, a Wymondham local and owner of the Enchanted Willow flower shop. 'We need the footfall, and want the town to become more discovered. Second home owners can often afford to spend money and buy local produce. You can't just rely on locals for business.' 'Taxation for taxation's sake' While its neighbours have doubled tax on second homes, South Norfolk Council chose not to, deciding that it would have been 'taxation for taxation's sake'. The 100pc council tax premium on second homes was introduced by 230 councils across the country on April 1. It means a second home owner in Wymondham will pay £2,258 for a Band D property in council tax. Across the border in Great Yarmouth or North Norfolk, the same second home would attract a bill of more than £4,000. There are 667 second homes in the district, which is dwarfed in comparison to the 5,973 in North Norfolk. Yet local authorities with as few as six second homes – including Sandwell Borough Council in the West Midlands – have introduced the levy. The town hall resisted this attack on second home owners, saying it didn't believe in 'taxation for taxation's sake'. So the area remains an attractive second home destination, with the Norfolk Broads National Park nearby. Kyrena O'Brien, of local estate agency, TW Gaze, said the market in Wymondham is 'really active at the moment', with lots of interest from buyers. 'Wymondham is the most sought-after area in South Norfolk, it's getting more and more popular. The town is very welcoming of Airbnbs and short-term lets. It's getting busier, and that's a good thing.' She adds: 'This is the perfect place if you can't afford to be right on the sea, but you can get there quickly. It's also really easy to get to London via the A11 and has good train lines from Norwich, so it's a good place for a second home.' It's still an affordable place to buy, with median house prices just above the national average, at £300,000. 'We need the footfall' As is the case in so many small towns, its high street has struggled. Wymondham residents, Karen and Michael Graham, both 64, have seen an increasing number of businesses shut up shop over the years. 'The high street used to have wonderful butchers and fishmongers, etc,' says Karen. 'Second homes mean tourists are coming in, which helps the economy. We need the footfall.' Michael says that instead of buying in Chelsea-on-Sea, second home owners should set their sights further south. 'There are lots of places here that are extremely nice.' Their sentiment is echoed by local businesses. O'Grady, who runs the flower shop, says the town is 'lovely, but undiscovered', and adds that she can't 'just rely on locals for business'. 'We love tourism here. We need the second home owners. We want the town to become more discovered. I worry about the high street,' she added. Her shop, which is one of its oldest buildings, recently received royal approval when Princess Ann took a bunch of the Enchanted Willow's flowers on a visit to the local hospital. A change is coming The South Norfolk council area stretches from Diss in the south to the outskirts of Norwich, and creeps east towards the coast, bordering Great Yarmouth. As local government funding wanes, this second home tax haven may cease to exist next year. Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Budget hiked employer National Insurance contributions, indirectly costing councils an extra £1.13bn this year. And the spending review fell 'well short of filling the projected £2.2bn funding gap faced by county and unitary councils next year', the County Councils Network said. South Norfolk District Council has suggested that it may have to bring in the levy because of a lack of government support. Daniel Elmer, the council leader, said: 'South Norfolk Council took the decision not to increase council tax on second homes this year as we do not believe in taxation simply for taxation's sake. 'Unfortunately, due to the reduced support from central government and the current financial situation, we have had to agree to introduce the increase from next year so that we can use the added revenue to help reduce the overall tax burden for our residents.' This move may not be wholly supported by Wymondham's locals, however. Buster Smith, South Norfolk born-and-bred, says: 'There is nothing in Wymondham now. It's just charity shops. We need people here!'

Daily Mail​

13 hours ago

• Daily Mail​

Pensioner is hit with £24,000 electricity bill... and ordered to pay back £2,000 a WEEK

A pensioner has been hit with a whopping £24,010 electricity bill for a house that is hardly used thanks to an allegedly faulty meter. Lin Lawler, who owns Grange Farmhouse in Hainford, Norfolk, uses the five-bedroom house and adjoining annex as a holiday rental for just over 100 days a year. But despite the limited use, energy supplier SmartestEnergy has issued the huge bill for the past year's consumption - and will cut off her power unless she agrees to pay it back at £2,022 per week, she claimed. Ms Lawler, 70, said: 'I just can't afford it. They've got their hands around my throat and their hands in my pocket.' Ms Lawler's holiday let - which is available for £2,195 for seven nights - is situated on a 50-acre farm with a koi pond. She was stunned when she started receiving monthly bills totalling thousands of pounds and complained numerous times to the company's customer service team, she says. In February of this year, the company charged her £3,217 for a month's worth of electricity. Ms Lawler got in touch with the Energy Ombudsman who was unable to find enough evidence to show the meter was over-recording. But despite the limited use, energy supplier SmartestEnergy has issued the huge bill for the past year's consumption - and will cut off her power unless she agrees to pay it back at £2,022 per week, she claimed Finally, she says a customer service call handler 'slipped up' by admitting that the company was unable to communicate with her smart meter. In October 2024, engineers were called out to inspect the meter. Ms Lawler recalled: 'One of them said the readings were like that of a factory and I should only be paying about £200 a month, not thousands. 'He said he was condemning the meter as it was faulty and not communicating properly.' The meter was replaced in March, and her bills immediately dropped. This May, she was charged £183, compared to £1,675 the year before. However, SmartestEnergy is still demanding the full £24,000, has cancelled her new cheaper contract, and installed a pre-payment meter. Ms Lawler said: 'If they cut me off, I'll lose my bookings, my income - everything. They'll bankrupt me.' Broadland and Fakenham MP Jerome Mayhew called it 'a crazy case' and pledged to support Ms Lawler. He said: 'I have contacted Smartest Energy to make sure that this case is properly investigated and my team will continue to support Ms Lawler until she gets a successful resolution.' A spokesman for Energy Ombudsman said: 'Energy Ombudsman offers a free and independent service to help resolve disputes between energy suppliers and consumers. 'In the initial complaint we determined that usage at the property was relatively high, but there wasn't enough evidence to show the meter was over-recording. 'We therefore recommended that Ms Lawler request a meter accuracy test. 'Following the completion of the remedies it is clear that Ms Lawler remains in dispute with the supplier and therefore we're now going to look at the matter again.' SmartestEnergy was approached for comment.

BBC News

19 hours ago

• BBC News

Norwich music store closure brings fear for industry's future

A drum salesman said he is "heartbroken and devastated" by the closure of a city music shop. Professional Music Technology (PMT) went into administration in June. It first opened it's Norfolk store in Anglia Square, Norwich, in 2008, before moving to Botolph Street in Interpath said rising costs, dwindling margins, and the cost of living had led to "challenges too difficult to overcome" in keeping it Moss, who worked as the store's percussion expert, said that the music store industry was "definitely and gradually dying." Mr Moss first heard the news on the day the store went into administration. "It was pretty heavy, it completely came out of the blue. We had no idea it was going to happen," he said. He added that the closure created a "void" for musicians in the county. "Youngsters would come in and get inspired. The whole community could come in and see instruments in person," he said."It's going to have a massive impact on Norfolk." Norwich-based sound engineer and tour manager, Dylan Barber, said music stores like PMT were "paramount" in helping him get into the music industry. The 24-year-old bought his first guitar from the store and said he was worried about the impact music shop closures will have on the music industry."There's nothing quite like the physical element of picking up an instrument and feeling connected to it," he said."The fact that there's less of that available presents as a bit of a stark warning that we need to do something if we want to keep the industry flowing." Interpath said: "Our immediate priority is to provide support to those employees who have been made redundant." Mark Hedges of Cookes Band Instruments in St Benedicts St said while his own business was thriving, he was "sorry" to see PMT close. "They're all passionate people who love music and want to pass on their knowledge," he said. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.