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Brief overview of some strategies

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good and bad things about different sea defences.

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A scheme to combat flooding by surrendering land to the sea will be completed on Monday on the south coast.

The £28m "managed realignment" at Medmerry in West Sussex has seen the building of 7km (four miles) of new sea walls up to 2km inland.

By letting the waters in, the Environment Agency says the risk of flooding for hundreds of homes will be reduced.

The surrendered land will become a wetland habitat for many species.

The sea has long been a threatening presence on the flat land of the Manhood Peninsula that juts into the English channel on the coast between Portsmouth and Worthing.

It's an important change in approach, you can only keep building bigger and bigger defences for so long
Andrew Gilham, Environment Agency

Caravan parks in Selsey and Bracklesham Bay have been flooded a number of times in recent years, as the shingle defences have yielded to the surging seas.

Breach birth

Since 2011, the Environment Agency have been working on a plan that they believe curbs that threat.

The project is billed as the country's largest ever coastal flood realignment scheme, but it has required the destruction of the existing sea wall at Medmerry and giving back to the sea some of the land nearest to the coast.

"We have made a hole in the sea wall," the Environment Agency's flood and coastal risk manager, Andrew Gilham, told BBC News on a visit to the site.

The scale of the job

450,000 cubic metres of earth have been dug up on the site

7km of new earthen defences have been built from the soil

60,000 tonnes of rocks have been imported by ship to reinforce the works

10km of new drainage ditches and ponds have been installed

Two car parks, four viewpoints and 10km of cycle paths and bridleways have been constructed

350 homes, two holiday parks and a water treatment works will have increased protection

"But before doing that we've actually built 7km of new defences further inland from the coast. What we've been able to create here is an area that can absorb the energy of the waves and reduce the flood risk to people."

Although the new walls are much closer to local communities, the Agency says homes are much better protected as a result, with the development able to withstand a once in a thousand year flood.

The change is partly being forced on the Agency because of EU legislation that requires compensation for the loss of wildlife habitat through development. The Medmerry scheme makes up for the loss of similar conservation areas in and around the Solent.

"It is not politically driven," said Mr Gilham.

"But the benefit of creating the habitat here is not only to reduce flood risk in this area but also to reduce flood risk to communities in Portsmouth and Southampton.

A working model

Abbotts Hall Farm is owned by the Essex Wildlife Trust and managed retreat was pioneered there in 2002.

Located on the Blackwater estuary, a wall keeping out the waters was breached to create 80 hectares of wetlands and intertidal habitats.

According to Karen Thomas from the Environment Agency it has been a huge success, particularly in mitigating the flood risk further up the river in populated areas.

"It's a really great site to take the pressure out of the tide. On big surge tides it is not going up and overtopping other defences," she said.

The new marshland is an important breeding ground for birds and for 10 different fish species.

"What we are trying to do here is create sites of sustainable wildlife so that people and animals have this in the future as a legacy," said Ms Thomas.

"If we weren't able create habitat here we wouldn't be be able to do those defences."

The scale of the £28m development is enormous. Between the new earthen walls and the sea stand 183 hectares of land that the Agency says will rapidly become a saltwater marsh, with potentially huge benefits for wildlife in the area. It will be managed by the RSPB.

"Even in construction, we're seeing lots of migratory birds using this area," said Andrew Gilham.

"It is already starting to be used by the wildlife. It's a massive nature reserve and a massive opportunity on the south coast."

Local people are hoping that letting the sea in will not only protect their homes but boost the local economy as well.

Alan Chamberlain is the estate manager of the newly renamed Medmerry Park holiday village. His business, located next door to the new habitat, is actually below sea level.

"In the past we have been very close to flooding, and now we've got a one-in-one-thousand-year protection, one of the best in the country actually," he told BBC News.

"For us it's a win win, it will encourage visitors to the site, birdwatchers and those interested in nature."

The new development is facing its first big test on the day it opens as it will see one of the highest tides of the year. But the Environment Agency are fully confident it will pass with flying colours.

Medmerry is one of a number of managed realignment projects that the Environment Agency are involved in. Andrew Gilham says it's part of a new approach.

"Rather than fighting it, we are working with nature," he explained.

"It's an important change in approach, you can only keep building bigger and bigger defences for so long. We have to ask if we can make better use of public money.

"Certainly the habitat we are creating here is important to the broader ecosystem and the broader economy of the country by encouraging people to visit remote areas."

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Sea surrender plan to ease flood fears on south coast - BBC News

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A scheme to combat flooding by surrendering land to the sea will be completed on Monday on the south coast. The £28m "managed realignment" at Medmerry in West Sussex has seen the building of 7km (four miles) of new sea walls up to 2km inland.

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BBC - GCSE Bitesize: Management strategies

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A secondary school revision resource for GCSE Geography on the management of coastal areas.

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(watch out for the loud intro!!!)

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Soft Engineering - How Do We Manage Our Coastlines - GCSE Geography

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(watch out for the loud intro!!!)

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Hard Engineering - How Do We Manage Our Coastlines - GCSE Geography

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What is Coastal Management Intro.

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Powerpoint Slides on different forms of Coastal Management

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Powerpoint Slides on different forms of Coastal Management

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COOL GEOGRAPHY Coastal Management Techniques - 

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COOL GEOGRAPHY Coastal Management Techniques - 

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How human beings manage the coastline and the consequences of that management