Cuckmere Estuary – Post Pathfinder meeting.
Meeting Minutes (6th October 2011)
Location:
Pump Barn, Seven Sisters Country Park
Present:
Andy Robertson - AR
Richard Mann - RM
Des Abbott – DA
Rodney Castledon – RC
Joanna Newton – JN
Phil Belden – PB
Tezel Bahcheli - TB
Jill Rosser – JR
Michael Ann – MA
Steve Ankers – SA
Graham Kean – GK
Chris Wick – CW
Mark Lamb – ML
Rob Cunningham – RC
Zara Luxford – ZL
Mike Murphy – MM
Councillor Stephen Shing - SS
In Attendance: Andy Arnold – AA
Peter Amies – PA
Tom Schindl – TS
Apologies:
1.
Carolyn McCourt - CM
Jane Cecil - JC
Tony Whitbread – TW
John Foxley – JF
Alan Edgar – AE
Councilor Jon Freeman – CJF
Elaine Webster - EW
Agenda point
Minutes of the previous Project Board meeting (26/7/11)
Action
Due
Correction: the EA spent approximately £50,000 – £60,000 p.a. on
maintenance of the estuary prior to April 2011, not £5,000 – £6,000.
AA
Done
Otherwise, the minutes were agreed as a true and accurate record.
The National Park Authority: is developing its Management Plan, and
the consensus view achieved through the Pathfinder project will help to
inform the Plan.
1
Agenda point
Engineering costs: PA to provide a link to the Motts McDonald report
that was used to determine the potential maintenance costs for the
flood defences within the Cuckmere estuary.
Action
Due
PA
Oct.
Meeting with the Minister: AR will continue to pursue a meeting.
AR
2.
Engineering requirements & costs to maintain the flood defences,
& funding opportunities
The key objective of the existing EA flood risk management strategy is
to avoid flooding upstream of the estuary, by keeping the mouth of the
estuary free-flowing. To do so the EA will, if needed:
-
carry out re-planking of the training walls (but not carry out major
repairs), and minor works to the groynes;
Clear shingle from the river mouth (but not necessarily recycle
this on to the west beach, if this isn’t practical).
If the training walls become damaged beyond minor repairs then the
EA would remove them, to reduce the risk of flooding upstream, and
would then keep the mouth clear by the most cost-effective means
possible, until the mouth became self-cleansing.
PA
Funding is theoretically available to the EA for up to 15 years from
2011 to carry out this work, by which time the assumption within the
Strategy is that the river mouth would be self cleansing.
The Strategy does not envisage the EA carrying out any repairs if
there’s a breach of the beaches or the river banks.
No current funding stream will pay for the total estimated cost of
£480,000 for replacing the flood defences within the estuary.
Need to clarify:
1. when the training walls might fail;
2. whether the cost of repairing or re-building the training walls is
likely to be less than the cost of having to keep clearing the river
mouth once the training walls are no longer in place to keep the
shingle from the west and east beach out of the mouth;
3. what ‘maintaining the defences’ entails, over and above what
the EA will carry out to keep the river mouth clear;
4. whether the EA’s current budget to keep the river mouth clear
can be used as match funding;
5. what costs the Flood Risk Management Strategy took into
PA
PA
Task &
finish
CW
CW & AA
2
Agenda point
account (eg. Potential damage to the A259?), as the full picture
of costs and benefits needs to help inform the business case
that’s put forward to funders;
6. which organisations have what responsibilities and liabilities
within the estuary;
7. what contingency budget is required, in case a breach occurs.
Action
Due
AA
Task &
finish
Task & finish working group (CW / PA / RM / GK / AA) to be set up to:
1) determine prioritised list of actions required;
2) associated costs;
3) cost-benefit of the actions.
If anyone else would like to join the group then please contact AA
asap.
3.
ALL
The output from the task & finish group can then be used to inform the
discussion with DEFRA, and possible funding via the Coastal
Communities Fund, which is expected to open for business later this
year.
Friends of Cuckmere:
All agreed that:
1. the proposed ‘Friends of Cuckmere’ should seek to combine
with the proposed ‘Friends of Seaford Head Nature Reserve’, to
form a larger, non-political community-based network. MA to
propose this at the Nature Reserve’s AGM next week and report
back. A letter will then be sent to all those who signed up to join TS
the ‘Friends of Cuckmere’ by the end of the year to find out what
they would like the group to do and what they can bring to the
group.
2. the existing post-Pathfinder group has a responsibility to
maintain the momentum gained under the Pathfinder project and
so will continue to meet in its current form. The group will aim to
remain flexible enough to evolve as required, for instance to
develop a formal constitution and elect a chair.
4.
Nov.
Next steps:
1. the task & finish group to aim to complete the tasks listed above
within the next month.
2. meeting with DEFRA to be arranged once the task & finish
group has completed its tasks, but at the right time to aim to
Task &
finish
AR
Oct.
Nov.
3
Agenda point
influence the development of DEFRA’s Coastal Communities
Fund.
3. MA to pursue the establishment of a joint ‘Friends of’ with the
Nature Reserve, to be followed by a letter to prospective
members before the end of the year.
4. next meeting: possible dates to be circulated for mid November.
5.
Action
Due
MA
Oct.
AA
Oct.
DA & PA
Asap
AOB:
DA & PA to discuss damage to sheet piling in front of the Coastguard
cottages.
Any information on the possible causes of a recent large-scale pollution ALL
incident in the Cuckmere river to be provided to CW.
Asap
4