Stronger Shores funding boost of £6.9 million for South Tyneside to safeguard coastline from floods, erosion, and climate change

 By Kevin Clark

January 30, 2023

The Stronger Shores programme, which will examine how marine species including seagrass meadows, kelp forests, and oyster reefs help safeguard coasts and lower the cost of maintaining current coastal protection, has received money from the borough council totaling £6.9 million.

In order to improve water quality, reduce erosion, structural damage, and wave impacts, and to safeguard against pollution and climate change, experts will test innovative restoration techniques.

The project is supported by Newcastle University, University of Plymouth, Tees Rivers Trust, The North Sea Wildlife Trusts, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), and Groundwork North East & Cumbria (GWNEC). It is funded by the Department for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Affairs as part of the £150 million Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme, which is run by the Environment Agency.

Lead Transport Member for South Tyneside and Chair of the Local Government Association's Coastal Special Interest Group is Coun Ernest Gibson. One of our greatest resources is our shoreline, but over time, significant natural areas have been destroyed, he noted.

"Flooding, erosion, and storms are threats in many regions, and climate change will further exacerbate this. Communities, man-made coastal defences, and environments might all suffer if we do nothing.

The installation, maintenance, and replacement costs of traditional man-made coastal protection measures are frequently high. Although they provide security, sand dunes and salt marshes are also under danger due to pressures from development and increasing sea levels.

Marine ecosystems, on the other hand, can serve as natural barriers to protect coasts, improve social benefits, and lower maintenance costs for already-existing coastal protection.

"A realistic, cost-effective strategy"

Stronger Shores offers chances to strengthen ongoing conservation programmes by exchanging resources, knowledge, and information with other organisations, according to Mark Dinning, Head of Conservation for Durham Wildlife Trust.

The project would investigate how to restore seagrass fields along the coast of North East England: "This is a practical, value-for-money approach that can save money, assets, and infrastructure in the future if we can establish a successful model for others to follow - not just in the North-east but throughout the UK and beyond."

Stronger Shores has a "great potential to help communities become more resilient to the consequences of flooding and climate change," according to Simon Wilson, Area Flood and Coastal Risk Manager for the North East at the Environment Agency.

"Climate change is already taking place, and its effects on people, communities, animals, and the economy will be seen in the future.

Finding long-term solutions to safeguard communities throughout South Tyneside and the rest of the nation will depend in large part on Stronger Shores.

Under the terms of a Creative Commons licence, this article has been taken from THE SHEILD GAZETTE. Go here to read the original article.