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ABPmer
Quayside Suite
Medina Chambers
Town Quay
Southampton
SO14 2AQ
2002
Managed realignment
United Kingdom
The Wash (Lincolnshire)
0.0924
52.9647
Lagoon
Saltmarsh
66 Hectares
Create a More Natural Shoreline
Reduce Flood Protection Costs
Habitat Creation
Freiston shore managed realignment was implemented in 2002 by the Environment Agency. It was done to enhance the coastal protection and restore saltmarsh. It included the creation of a brackish lagoon behind the landward embankment.
This site had not been claimed from the sea for very long, in 1983 the HM Prison Service (HMP) had claimed it from the Wash for arable farmland. The embankment that had been built in the early 1980s, to enclose this area, protruded into the Wash and was exposed to erosion, resulting in the bank being at risk of failure during the 1990s.
In the early 1990s, the RSPB noted the unsustainable nature of the realignment and began the process of addressing the situation. They approached the Prison Service in 1996 who already knew they had a problem and were willing to sell the land. acquired the land and worked with English Nature and the Environment Agency.
The Environment Agency agreed that the best option was to repair and strengthen the original landward defence and to carry out a managed realignment to bring the bank into alignment with the adjacent defences.
Funding was provided under a package of EU supported measures (5b programme) which provided for improved flood protection and the eco-tourism developments (including new car parks). The project included a five-year monitoring programme.
The seaward bank was then breached at 3 locations in 2002. The seawall breaches were initially 50m wide with 2m wide x 1m deep channels within. These breaches expanded rapidly due to the strong flows through them. For further details see the references below.
As part of this scheme drainage ditches and creeks were dug. The landform was relatively flat and uniform though and that led to the development of saltmarsh habitat that was dominated by sea purslane. In September 2012, the RSPB, who manage the site, added some scrapes and creeks (see photos). This was done to increase the morphological complexity of the landform and enhance the biodiversity of this habitat and, especially, the potential value for feeding and roosting birds (e.g. avocet, redshank and twite),
ABPmer
Quayside Suite
Medina Chambers
Town Quay
Southampton
SO14 2AQ