Coastal Erosion - Good or Bad for Lyme Regis?
Summary
TLDRThe video script provides an in-depth look at the town of Lyme Regis, known for its rich geology and the impact of coastal erosion. The narrator, a local, shares their personal experiences with landslides and the discovery of fossils. The script explores the complex relationship between the town's residents, the value of geological wonders, and the challenges posed by natural erosion. It discusses the balance between preserving the coastline for its natural beauty and the need for man-made defenses to protect infrastructure. The video also highlights the economic implications of tourism, the importance of educating visitors on responsible fossil hunting, and the various perspectives within the community on the benefits and drawbacks of coastal erosion. The speaker reflects on the engineering efforts to stabilize the cliffs and the financial investment in these measures, questioning the long-term sustainability and the allocation of resources. The script concludes with a nuanced view of erosion as both a natural process shaping the region's identity and a force that requires careful management for the well-being of the town and its people.
Takeaways
- 🌊 Erosion and landslides have shaped the geology of Lyme Regis, creating a unique environment for fossil discovery and study.
- 🏠 Landslides have had a significant impact on local infrastructure, with some houses being severely damaged or even destroyed.
- 💰 The cost of managing coastal erosion in Lyme Regis over the past 20 years has been around 60 million pounds, funded by various sources including the EU.
- 🚧 Protective measures such as seawalls and beach nourishment are implemented to slow down erosion, but they are not a permanent solution.
- ⛰ The balance between man-made defenses and natural processes is crucial, and understanding the geology is key to effective coastal management.
- 🐛 Landslides and erosion create unstable habitats that are beneficial for certain wildlife, including rare species like the tiger beetle.
- 🏞️ The Jurassic Coast, including Lyme Regis, is a significant tourist attraction due to its geological and paleontological importance.
- 🏛️ There is a debate about the allocation of funds for coastal defense versus other community needs, such as social care and children's services.
- 🌱 The natural process of erosion is seen as both a threat to the town's infrastructure and a benefit for its unique biodiversity and tourism.
- 🔍 The long-term effectiveness and sustainability of coastal defense projects are questioned, with concerns about their service life and eventual retreat.
- 🤝 Community involvement and cooperation, along with funding and engineering expertise, are essential for the success of coastal protection efforts.
Q & A
Why is Lyme Regis famous for fossils, geology, and wildlife?
-Lyme Regis is famous for these things due to the landslides and erosion caused by the sea on the cliffs, which expose fossils and geological features.
What factors are crucial to understanding a landslide?
-Understanding a landslide requires knowledge of geology, rock mechanics, soil mechanics, the behavior of soft rocks, and the effects of rainfall and water pressure.
What are the three main factors that contribute to a landslide?
-The three main factors are the weight on the back of the slope, support at the toe of the slope, and water pressure within the middle of the slope.
How has coastal erosion affected the southwest coast path near Lyme Regis?
-Coastal erosion has led to the closure of portions of the southwest coast path, forcing it to be rerouted across a golf course and down the main road.
What are the benefits of landslides in the local area?
-Landslides expose fossils, creating a unique attraction for tourists and researchers, and also create unstable habitats that support a diverse range of wildlife.
How has the investment in Lyme Regis over the past 20 years impacted the town?
-Approximately 60 million pounds have been spent on Lyme Regis, which has helped to slow down erosion and protect the town's infrastructure, although it's acknowledged that nature will ultimately prevail.
What is the role of a beach in terms of coastal protection?
-A beach acts as a shock absorber, absorbing the energy of waves and protecting the land behind it from erosion.
What are the challenges faced by engineers when dealing with ancient landslides and the sea?
-Engineers must protect the seafront from the sea's ravages while also stabilizing the slope to safeguard the properties built on ancient landslides.
How does managing the balance between man-made defenses and natural processes on the coast work?
-Understanding the strength of the land, the role of the beach as a shock absorber, and the energy dynamics allows for finding a solution that works with natural processes rather than against them.
What is the primary focus when it comes to protecting Lyme Regis?
-The primary focus is on protecting the local people's livelihoods, properties, and infrastructure, as the town has a significant level of development.
What are the concerns regarding the longevity and future of the coastal protection project in Lyme Regis?
-There are concerns about the service life of the coastal defenses, which may need to be rebuilt after 60 years, and whether the investment will be sustainable in the future.
How do local opinions on coastal erosion vary, and what are the different perspectives?
-Opinions vary widely, with some seeing erosion as beneficial for tourism and fossil discovery, while others view it as a threat to infrastructure and property.
Outlines
🏞️ Impact of Landslides on Lyme Regis
The first paragraph introduces Lyme Regis as a town known for its beaches, fossils, geology, and wildlife. The speaker, who grew up there, explains how landslides have shaped the area's coastline and discusses the importance of understanding geology, rock mechanics, and soil mechanics to comprehend landslides. The paragraph highlights the three factors that contribute to a landslide: weight on the back, support at the toe, and water pressure in the middle. It also touches on the emotional impact of landslides on residents, including the speaker's own experience with a house collapse due to a landslide.
🏃 Fossil Hunting and Erosion's Effects
The second paragraph focuses on the significance of fossil hunting in Lyme Regis and how coastal erosion affects the area, including the closure of parts of the southwest coast path. The speaker acknowledges the benefits of landslides for fossil discovery but warns against the dangers of climbing cliffs. The paragraph also discusses the positive and negative effects of landslides on local wildlife, the role of tourism in the local economy, and the importance of educating tourists on responsible fossil hunting. It concludes with a description of the beach's function as a shock absorber for wave energy.
🏗️ Coastal Defenses and Engineering Challenges
The third paragraph delves into the engineering efforts to protect Lyme Regis from coastal erosion and landslides. It describes the construction of a new seawall and the challenges of balancing man-made defenses with natural processes. The speaker explains the principles behind effective coastal defense, such as not adding weight to the back of a landslide, not cutting the toe away, and managing water pressure. The paragraph also mentions the various schemes implemented by the local authority to protect the coastline and the importance of understanding the land's strength and energy application.
🌿 Balancing Nature and Human Interests
The fourth paragraph explores the dilemma of protecting local land and livelihoods versus allowing nature to take its course. It discusses the significant investment made in Lyme Regis' coastal protection over the past 20 years and questions whether it's money well spent, considering the area's historical importance and the potential for future erosion. The speaker expresses doubts about the long-term effectiveness of the coastal defenses and suggests that managed retreat might be necessary in the future. The paragraph also touches on the various opinions within the community regarding coastal erosion and its impact on the town.
🏡 Property, Insurance, and Future Prospects
The fifth paragraph addresses concerns about property ownership near the cliff edge and the impact of erosion on property value and insurance. It discusses the positive effects of coastal erosion on the local economy, particularly through tourism and fossil hunting. The speaker shares a personal change of perspective on coastal erosion, recognizing its benefits after speaking with various community members. The paragraph concludes with reflections on the complexity of the engineering, geological, and geomorphological challenges faced in the Lyme Regis coastal protection project and the importance of working with nature.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Lyme Regis
💡Erosion
💡Landslides
💡Fossil Hunting
💡Coastal Defense
💡Wildlife Habitats
💡Tourism
💡Infrastructure
💡Managed Retreat
💡Seawalls
💡Geology
Highlights
Lyme Regis is famous for its beaches, fossils, geology, nature, and wildlife due to the erosion caused by landslides.
Understanding landslides requires knowledge of geology, rock mechanics, soil mechanics, and the effects of water pressure.
A landslide occurs when the stress applied to a hillside exceeds the strength the hill can withstand.
Landslides have significantly shaped the coastline of Lyme Regis, creating a 'Mecca' for landslide studies in Europe.
Landslides can cause damage to infrastructure, such as houses falling off cliff edges, which has led to insurance issues.
Around 60 million pounds have been spent on Lyme Regis in the past 20 years to manage landslides and their effects.
Fossil hunting is a major attraction for tourists visiting Lyme Regis, despite the risks of coastal erosion.
Coastal erosion has led to the discovery of amazing fossils, contributing to the area's fame in the scientific community.
Landslides create unstable coastal areas that provide unique habitats for rare and endangered species.
Tourism, particularly fossil hunting, is a significant income source for Lyme Regis, despite the challenges posed by coastal erosion.
Major landslides can attract large crowds of tourists hoping to find fossils, which can have both positive and negative effects.
Educating tourists on responsible fossil hunting can mitigate negative impacts and promote a positive experience.
The beach serves as a natural shock absorber, protecting the land behind it from the energy of the waves.
Sea defenses, such as seawalls and rock armor, have been built to protect the town from the impact of waves and erosion.
Balancing man-made defenses with natural processes is crucial for effective coastal protection.
The East Cliff phase four protection works in Lyme Regis include a massive seawall and extensive engineering to stabilize the slope.
Protecting the local land and livelihood is prioritized over ensuring nature takes its course in areas with significant infrastructure.
The longevity and efficiency of coastal protection projects are important considerations, with a focus on sustainable solutions.
Transcripts
[Music]
lyme regis this is the the town that I
grew up in and it was out there on those
beaches that I got my love for fossils
and geology and nature and wildlife and
the reason why the town is so famous
for all those things is because of
landslides because the cliffs are
eroding by the sea and that begs the
question erosion is it good or bad for
the town
but if you're gonna understand the
landside you need to know the geology
you need to know the rock mechanics you
need to know the soil mechanics and how
soft rocks deform you know are they
brittle are they ductile can you push on
the boat like plasticine or do they
break that sort of question but you need
to know what rainfall does what water
pressures are you know and so on if you
be able to briefly outline how a
landslide sit the case there are three
things about a lunch slide one is the
weight on the back the other is support
at the toe and the other is water
pressure in the middle and that all
applies to the strength of the hill so
the way they work is is whether you are
applying of stress to the hillside that
is greater than the strength of the hill
can withstand you know so if I come and
push you I'm bigger than you and I'm
likely to knock you over even though you
resist I mean you can dig your feet in
like a rugby front row forward but I'm
gonna take it because the stress is
bigger than the resistance so a
landslide is all about that
and how key have they been to shaping
this coastline absolutely here right
here oh absolutely
no no this is landslide Mecca this is
why I spent my life down here working
some of the best landslides anywhere in
Europe lands landings only a problem
where it's interacting with houses an
infrastructure and where it's going to
cause a problem for example houses
falling off the edge of the cliff sir
came back from school that day and the
house was creaking and groaning and the
whole place has moved about five inches
but it was enough to bring the ceilings
down and the floors up
[Music]
the house was wrecked completely it must
have been quite emotional and quite a
big deal to see your house collapse my
mother's hair went white over the over
the next few years you couldn't insure
against landslides in those days you can
now it was called an act of God
so they were left completely finished by
it the house had to be sort of brought
down manually because it was so
completely standing although wrecked
[Music]
well think over the last 20 years
there's something around 60 million
pounds spent on Lyme Regis which
considering the size of community is an
awful lot of money I mean I think you
know even a project of this size at the
end of the day it's a it slows things
down as best it can but at the end of
the day it's mother nature who's going
to win it's not good for the perhaps the
future of the town because if this if
there was a major slip like there has
been in the past then obviously that
would that would make a massive
difference to people's confidence in
investing in local businesses and and in
buying properties here
do you think fossil hunting is one of
the main attraction the saliva
definitely definitely it's a you know
for people when they're coming to Lyme
Regis they're coming for fossil hunting
they're coming lots of them were walking
the southwest coast path and again
there's there's an example of something
that the coastal erosion is affecting
quite a lot we've had the path from here
to Seton was closed in portion for quite
a long part of last summer and been read
averted the path from here to charming
now goes across the Golf Course and down
the main road rather than its original
original pathway but yes fossil hunting
is always always going to be classically
of interest and we we actually get quite
a lot of international visitors who come
here looking for fossils do you feel
there any benefits to landslides in the
local area yeah there are lots benefits
obviously it's a great benefit to me to
have landslides because we have all
these amazing fossils that we find here
and without the landslides we simply
wouldn't discover them that's not to
suggest that people go climbing the
cliffs it's very very silly thing to do
it's really dangerous lots of really
sticky mud waiting get stuck lots of
rocks falling but without the landslides
coming down and sea washing those
fossils out of the rocks then we
wouldn't discover all these amazing
things so we get some of the most
amazing fossils in the world found here
what are the positive and negative
effects of the landslip on wildlife in
the surrounding area one of the most
obvious effects of the round slip is the
whole of the coast between cydnus and
West Bay is highly unstable which
creates wonderful habitats for small
mini beasts and the charity bug life
gets very excited about some of the excu
animals that have to be found here
tiger beetle which is limited to this
area and there about a hundred species
that are nationally scarce and make use
of the land slick and the soft muds
where they can burrow and sunbathe
given that tourism is the one of the if
not the biggest income factor for Lyme
Regis do you feel it has an overall
positive effect I think we have positive
and negative effects we had some very
big landslides back at Christmas which
drew in somewhere between about 500 to a
thousand people within a couple of hours
and it was very very high tide very
stormy conditions and we have people
swimming fully clothed with backpacks on
around the land slips trying to find
fossils because they saw landslides on
the news you can find fossils and that
to them was I'm going to go there and
find all this treasure and maybe make
millions out of it who knows what they
were thinking they quite clearly didn't
have a clue so I think fossil hunting in
some ways can have a negative effect but
if people are educated if people come
and visit the Heritage Center the Lyme
Regis Museum places along the coastline
where you can get you know good
information about how to go about doing
things correctly on our beaches then it
could have a very positive effect and as
you said it's fossil hunting here is one
of our biggest sources of income
we can say the case is very difficult to
manage very new it is dynamic very
difficult there are one or two things
you could say instantly dominant waves
coming from Southwest West the big waves
the ones that are going to do the damage
are going to move the shingle oh and we
haven't talked about that if we we
haven't talked about what the beach is
made of no do you know what a beach is
but its material deposited by waves
that's the belt up like the time okay
where do like where does the material
come from it comes back from the land
it's the cyclotron the Griffin how does
it get from the cliff to the beach what
falls in land slips off all the land
slips erosion hey would you say that key
lancet the key to forming the coast then
yeah okay so what is a beach I mean
we're sitting on a big what is it yeah
is it it's not really the land it's not
really the season it's a store of mucky
material that's been ripped off the land
and it's been stored here for a while
what's its function
I wouldn't say has a function it has a
function tell me what try and think into
what has it got a function when the sea
hits it what does it do it absorbs the
Seas energy and protects land behind a
best answer today
I mean that's really advanced thinking
what it does it's a shock absorber you
take all of that sun's energy which you
know you bring through into the wave and
it comes up on a beach and on this
little wave runs up the beach and what
happens to all that energy it drains
into the beach or it moves the beach up
and down a bit it doesn't work it uses
the energy yeah and what does the beach
do it says thanks very much give me
another one and another wave comes and
it is thanks reamer and all that energy
the whole energy of the planet dies on
the shore no it's a shock absorber and
if it wasn't there we wouldn't be there
the land wouldn't be there we're at Gunn
cliff which had some of the oldest sea
defenses in the town and as a boy I can
actually remember when the waves used to
go crashing over the top of the
buildings over there and in the 1990s
the engineers built a new seawall and
put rock armor in front to protect it
and now we have a really strong sea
defense to protect this part of the town
it's always been done around the coast
in order to protect it stopped elastics
from happening since the late 1980s I've
been whole range of different schemes
which has been put into effect by West
Dorset District Council who are the
local authority responsible for coast
protection around here and we did a
series of phase two schemes so if they
is two and three of the works to protect
line involved the seafront and here the
engineer's faced a double problem the
sea would hammer against the old seawall
but also the properties here are built
on ancient landslides so the challenge
for the engineers was both to protect
the seafront from the ravages of the sea
and also stabilize the slope to protect
the properties so how would how
difficult is it to get the balance
between man-made defences and natural
processes on the coast it's not at all
difficult if you understand the strength
of the land the shock absorber the
energy you're applying and the things
that muck it up from up there if you get
those rise then you find the solution
and in Lyme Regis the solution is that
you have landslides coming down and
you've got to stop them so you want to
take the water out you've got a seawall
to stop any further cutting away of the
toe because when you have a landslide
that there are three things you don't do
to a landslide you don't put a weight on
the back you don't cut the toe away this
in one in one case you're pushing it and
another you're letting it go and you
don't raise the water pressure inside so
you get the water out you don't build
anything at the top and you put a
seawall or a weight at the bottom of toe
weight to hold it so here we did all
three
and if you look at the front of Lyme
Regis it's got a lovely towait which is
called a beach and the seawall stops
erosion the whole of that cliff is it's
covered in drainage measures and we've
stabilized it as well with two thousand
piles dirty great big lumps of concrete
like my walking stick you know you could
drill them in to pin the thing down and
give it support and you don't allow any
building at the top you don't shift
material about either to change the
balance you know if you think about it
as a cliff is like a seesaw if you put a
weight on the back like that it will
shunt that forward if you take the toe
off the weight up here or move it you
know it's it's quite easy you've got to
get the balance somewhere in the middle
of the slope you know this there's a
neutral point
[Applause]
this is East Cliff phase four of the
Lyme Regis protection works and what you
can see is a massive seawall to defend
the base of the cliff what you can't see
is in the slope behind the huge
engineering works to actually completely
stabilize that slope on the other side
though it's a little bit different we've
still got the sea wall but the landslide
is being allowed to move naturally and
that's partly because it's still a very
valuable wildlife site but it also just
simply reflects the difficulty of trying
to hold the line with a scheme like this
against the edge of the largest coastal
landslide in Europe and the junction is
always going to be messy which would you
say is more important for the area of
Lyme Regis protecting the locals land
and livelihood or ensuring that nature
takes its course as intended the bottom
line answer that question is protecting
this piece of coastline before the local
people protecting nature is very
important for open coasts but where
you've got this level of infrastructure
then we've got no choice
the answer is we should be protecting
those people's livelihoods their
properties and the infrastructure the
services the town
well think over the last 20 years
there's something around 60 million
pounds spent online Regis which
considering the size of community is an
awful lot of money a lot of that comes
from Defra I'm from the European Union
which could be interested in the next
phase of the project but Sam yeah that's
nice where it mainly comes from so would
you say the money in Lyme Regis has been
sent has been spent efficiently and well
I have probably different view than the
council on this I'm I'm surprised we've
spent this much money on such a small
community I know it's important and this
is historical but the fact that you are
protecting a part of the coast that will
probably disappear in time I have my
doubts whether it's money well spent as
far as the tourism the economy of Dorset
is concerned it probably is worth it
but I don't think we'll ever fully
protect it and it has a finite lifespan
there was just whether that money is
balanced against that most fun do you
think your Cavaliers it's difficult have
been being born and bred in Lyme you
know I love the place but some my I have
other concerns where that sort of money
could be spent as where else this money
could be spent well there's lots of
areas we struggle with sitting the
County Council level with things like
adult social care Children's Services so
even the money is factored in for this
sort of defense is there there are
particular areas where people have have
problems you say Coast offenses is quite
a big thing and quite as almost a
show-off project for a council that's
being prioritized too much
I think when money was available in the
past there was no great issue but money
the financial situation the country
found itself in and the cancers in
particular find ourselves in for the
future we have them we have to question
whether that's um worth spending our
money on these particular areas in the
future what you though have to remember
with any kind of human engineered
intervention there's this idea of
service life how long will this last
because we know that generally speaking
the service life of coast defenses of
the high quality like this have probably
got about sixty years
so what you then have to say is have you
made a rod for your own back does this
mean that in 60 years time you have to
come back well the engineers of the day
have to come back and do this all over
again
and the likelihood is they will
[Applause]
finding impersonal fences have only a
sixty-year planned lifecycle so what do
you think will happen after that
well III fell to see how we can get more
money in in the current financial
situation to do any more work in the
future
so and then again the shoreline
management plan talks about managed
retreat so I think at the end of these
life's are these defenses it will be a
very different line reaches with a pen
the question of the longevity of the
project is is a good one as you say will
it last 60 will it last 80 will it last
40
I think only time will tell I mean
obviously we've already seen problems
with the land that was covered with the
mesh sheets or measure metalwork
slipping through that and now whether or
not that was planned for or not and that
was just as the project settled for
myself personally half of a 60 year
roadmap a sort of a 30-year ode map
still works for me because I'd like to
be retired by then however the next
question becomes restate ability from a
business perspective you know if if the
project lasts at 60 years but then there
is big issues obviously when you were
asking earlier about would we have
considered buying the place if there was
more challenges with with erosion will
will the person I want to sell it to
want to buy it if those challenges
exists so yeah that's a concern from in
tech from years of sixty-year standpoint
people now feel that if they bought a
property that's the closer to the cliff
edge that the chances are it's not going
to disappear as over the side in the
next
fifty years or so so that that has
helped enormously it's helped people to
be able to ensure their properties
against subsidence and cliff erosion and
that sort of thing which was an issue
before that in for some insurance
companies so that there's been a lot of
positives because of that
this is one of the most difficult
engineering geological geomorphological
problems that I know and because of the
team that Keith Cole put together
because of the cooperation of the town
because of the funding from India in the
early case of Minister of Agriculture
but later on you know from the
Department of the Environment and know
the Environment Agency because of their
support and because of the way we were
all able to talk about it and because on
the way I was able to teach and you know
we all came together as a team and I
think it's worked I think there's
support I think all those things have
worked and the fact is ten years later
the beach is still here that's never
been achieved before at long ridges good
scheme off this week I think coastal
erosion is very good for life because
without coastal erosion lime wouldn't be
the same it wouldn't have the jurassic
coasts it will have the fossils with
have the shots and how the businesses
will have the beach without it it really
would just be another coastal bit of
coast with nothing really there I always
thought coastal ocean was bad for Lyme
Regis just based on that there's a lot
of houses and properties and money
behind the sea defences that as the
weeks kind of gone on I've seen that
there are benefits like the fossils
being enough originally I thought
coastal erosion was a really bad thing
because of the infrastructure I think it
fret from the erosion itself but now
after speaking to many people with
different views I'm feeling it's more of
a positive thing for the town well I
didn't think people
opinions were so varied but there are
people who thought the erosion was good
there were people who thought erosion
was bad there was some that didn't even
care about it whatsoever and thought the
more money should just be put into other
things I think one of the interesting
things about the project was talking to
different people and learning about what
their opinions on the coastal matters
were because it's really a local thing
and yeah I think it was just really
interesting to hear their opinions I
think it's good for Lyme as it allows
the town to be there and the tourism
that it brings is great for line for
example the fossils therefrom found
there it was allows education for the
young people in line that helps being
them being fused by the fossils and
geology discipline I've got a lot more
appreciation about how documentaries are
made and how difficult is and also a lot
about kind of engineering which I wanted
to have a look at and geography so how
the coasts how to maybe plan engineering
works and that's maybe sometimes you've
got to work with nature and with what
you've got instead of just working
against it the whole time
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you
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