C Gomersall
A natural kind of defence
How might managed realignment work in practice and what are the real benefits of the
approach? A trip to Abbotts Hall Farm may provide some answers, says Lesley Smeardon
I
t’s a typical late summer’s day on
an Essex farm. High, wispy clouds
meld into the blue sky, with only
the occasional plane flying
overhead to disturb the idyllic
skyscape. A mesh of farm tracks criss-
cross the 700 acre farm, while sheep
lazily munch their way through the
abundance of grass. Intermittently,
collared doves burst out from bushes
filled with ripening blackberries and
crickets buzz in the reedy grass nearby.
And out in the distance, a mass of
intertidal saltmarsh sprouts on what
was once agricultural land, flourishing
from the new blanket of seawater now
bathing this land. For this is no
ordinary farm in Essex. This is Abbotts
Hall Farm, a large scale, high risk
experiment in coastal realignment and
sustainable farming.
The project beginnings arose out of a
need for a less expensive solution to
coastal defence than the existing
policy of repair to the crumbling sea
walls which currently protect most of
the 400 miles of Essex coastline. “The
8 The edge Autumn 2005
cost of sea wall repair here is
astronomical, not to say politically
unacceptable and an alternative
solution was needed”, says Graham
Game, Development Manager with
the Essex Wildlife Trust – the NGO
that owns and manages the farm.
“The Environment Agency, having
already piloted a couple of small-scale
coastal realignment schemes in the
area were looking for a test site much
larger. At the same time we were
considering sustainable solutions to
the flooding problem, keen to stop
talking about how landowners should
manage their land but to put in
practice a working, successful model.
When Abbotts Hall came up for sale, it
provided a perfect test site, bought by
us in 1999 along with partnership
organisations: WWF-UK, English
Nature, the Environment Agency, and
Heritage Lottery Fund.”
Today, the sea wall has been breached
in five places, allowing the tide in and
out which has successfully encouraged
coastal marshes to grow on the 200
acre strip of arable land behind the sea
wall. The saltmarsh as well as creating
a wildlife haven now exists as a natural
flood barrier. “We were giving back an
area of saltmarsh that had disappeared
over years, a victim of ‘coastal squeeze’
caused by the harsh sea wall defence”,
adds Game.
Good for wildlife, good
for people?
While the saltmarsh is undoubtedly
good for wildlife, supporting a wide
range of birds, plants and fish, how
popular is the project among the local
community and its fishing and oyster
industries? “One of the biggest
concerns prior to the sea wall breach
came from local oystermen and
fishermen regarding sediment flow
and suspended sediment damaging
the often fragile habitats of fish and
oyster”, says Game. “Key to the
project’s success was involving this
community from day one who, while
sceptical, were open to the
experiment. Intensive monitoring
including sensors put along the
 “The project beginnings arose out of a need for a less expensive
solution to coastal defence than the existing policy of repair to
the crumbling sea walls which currently protect most of the
400 miles of Essex coastline”

estuary and Salcott Creek and tweaks
to the system, such as putting ledges
up to control tidal speed have meant
that local fishermen and oystermen
have not experienced any decline in
their catches. As well as these local
industries, we have also ensured that
the parish council is represented on
our management committee.”
Farming the land
While the local fishing industries may
have been won over by the
experiment, what about the county’s
landowners who perhaps stand to lose
the most from such schemes? Here,
demonstrating new profit-making
options was key. Schemes, such as
harvesting sea asparagus, otherwise
known as samphire, and selling to up-
market restaurants in London as well
as local delis has demonstrated that
harvesting technique is low impact,
handpicked by volunteers”, says Game.
“Not only have we shown a market for
the samphire but we have tapped into
an existing fishing supply chain,
putting the picked samphire on the fish
lorries for delivery.”
But what of these landowners who are
not blessed with the grants and
volunteers that the Essex Wildlife Trust
have? As Game replies, “we’ve had
landowners visit the site and enthuse
about what we’re doing here but always
the same question is asked: where do I
get the money from to do this?”
And there’s the rub. While Abbotts Hall
has provided a fantastic large scale
experiment demonstrating the benefits
that can be had from managed
realignment, landowners need to have
of coastal flood defence funding, the
total costs to Government of managed
realignment in suitable areas must be
more favourable than the bottomless
pit of coffers needed for ongoing sea
wall repair. Perhaps, in time, the
political will for a lower cost coastal
alternative to hard sea wall defence in
those areas suitable for such an
approach will become evident. In the
meantime, Abbotts Hall Farm
continues to do what it does best:
demonstrating to all who wish to see,
a low cost, natural flood defence
method that has the backing of both
local community and industry.
Abbotts Hall Farm is situated in the centre of a 25
km section of Essex coast between the Colne Estuary
and the Blackwater Estuary. For more information
about the project contact the Essex Wildlife Trust:
Tel 01621 862960 or email: admin@essexwt.org.uk

there are other markets out there to be access to realistic compensatory

capitalised on. “The season for payments to help them to create such
samphire is short, between the end of schemes. If seen, not as yet another Brent geese on the flooded saltmarsh
June and mid August and the landowner subsidy, but as one vital part at Abbots Hall.

C Gomersall

The edge Autumn 2005 9