Seawall lowered to protect Havergate Island in Suffolk

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-46157417

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A seawall is being lowered in a bid to protect a nature reserve from storm surges resulting from climate change.

The RSPB project at Havergate Island, on the Suffolk coast, and will see a 2,132ft (650m) section of the defence reduced by 17.7in (450mm) to allow the sea to flow into lagoons in a controlled way during high tides.

The reserve is important for nesting birds including avocets and terns.

Increased storm surges have damaged the seawall and washed away shingle banks.

The RSPB said the increasing frequency of such high tides was down to climate change.

The material taken from the seawall will be used to create a gently sloping bank inside the wall down to the lagoon, which will be sown with native coastal grass.

Aaron Howe, RSPB sites manager, said: "Decreasing the height of the seawall may seem like a counter-intuitive way to protect Havergate Island's wildlife from the sea, but doing allows us to direct the water into the island's lagoons when there is a tidal surge before it reaches the point of overwhelming the seawall.

"This also has the effect of relieving some of the pressure on other seawalls in the estuary during these extremely high tides."

Havergate Island