How can my home or business be saved?

This exercise was written during the summer of 2001 to link Geography and Citizenship in KS3.

¨ Background

¨ Enquiry question

¨ Objectives

¨ Resources

¨ Web links

¨ Suggestions for learning activities

¨ Appendix – newspaper article land uses in Corton

Background

Corton is a village situated north of the coastal town of Lowestoft. It is sited on a low cliff composed of Drift deposits of sands and boulder clay, deposited by glaciers and rivers during the Pleistocene. From the base of the cliff upwards the 3 main layers are the North Sea Drift (sandy boulder clay with many erratics from sources to the north), Corton Sands and the Lowestoft Till (sands and gravels). Coastal erosion has been occurring there for a long time.

Present day sea defences consist of groynes, a sea wall, wooden revetments and large concrete blocks just offshore. During the winter of 2000/2001 the cliff collapse situation worsened due to above average rainfall and onshore winds which combined to cause the cliff face to slip and the sea defences to be undermined. Access to the beach from the north end of the village is impossible now as the latest collapse destroyed the path and a fence has blocked public access from the south. The main street in the village runs parallel to the clifftop and is now very close to the top of the cliff!

At Pakefield Middle School I have adapted DfEE KS3 Geography Unit 8 ‘Coastal environments’ for our Year 8s. The following exercise can be used as a Suffolk example of cliff collapse occurring NOW!

Enquiry question:

What can be done to prevent the loss of my home and local community?

Objectives

a) To use internet and media resources to investigate an issue.

b) To understand the need to resolve conflicts fairly.

c) To find out about the role of local government in local issues.

d) To understand the causes and effects of cliff collapse.

i.e. drawn from NC requirements for Geography, ICT and Citizenship.

Resources

A historical map of the area can be found at: www.old-maps.co.uk/ .In Search request Corton, Suffolk. Centre the 1889 map just below Bleak House at the top of the map – Bleak Houses have gone as the coastline has receded! Get-a-map at www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk could be used and Ordnance Survey Interactive Atlas CD-ROM .

Better quality O.S. maps of the area are on the Mapview and Suffolk data CD-ROM, obtainable from David White at County Map Services, Suffolk County Council (01473 583161) Using this program you can zoom right in to individual buildings on the clifftop.

LATE NEWS:

In September 2001 Suffolk CC has produced a MapInfo resource on CD-ROM. This involves:

· Digital map data (with zoom and writing facilities)

· Complete aerial photos of the entire County

· Victorian and early 20^th century maps

Contact David White for details.

Aerial photographs of the village can be found on

www.waveney.gov.uk/mapinfo/aero/56.html and /58.html.

Numerous newspaper articles have been in the local press, for example Lowestoft Journal (especially the photograph on p.7 of the June 29^th, 2001 edition and front page of June 22^nd 2001), Eastern Daily Press (www.edp24.co.uk) and the Waveney Advertiser. The newspaper article used below was found on www.advertiser-online.co.uk/news/22_06_01/cliff.asp. A class set can be printed or get pupils to find it themselves on the internet and print it. Baker’s Score is the path down to the beach at the northern end of the village that has had to be closed.

Public meetings have been held in Corton. The main contact on Waveney District Council is Paul Patterson, Senior Assistant Engineer in the Coast Protection Team.

Plenty of textbooks have information on methods to control the rate of cliff collapse. I use Hodder and Stoughton’s Rivers and Coasts with KS3 pupils. Other sources are Longman’s Think Through Geography 1, p.81 and Hodder and Stoughton’s Thinking Geography, p.39.

Weblinks

The following sites may be useful:

http://www.learn.co.uk/glearning/secondary/topical/ks3/coastalerosion (lots of information for teachers and activities for pupils)

http://www.bennett.karoo.net/topics/coasts.html

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk

http://www.maff.gov.uk/corps/consexer/shore/shore2.pdf

http://images.google.com

http://www.jlake.freeserve.co.uk (Jeff teaches Geography at Kirkley High School and has some photographs of the coastline at Corton on this site.)

http://www.eastcoastlive.co.uk/lowestoft/corton.htm (street map of Corton)

Suggestions for learning activities

Ø Read the newspaper article ‘Corton cliff collapse’ by Kay Taylor from the Waveney Advertiser, dated 11 July 2001. Discuss what happened? when? where? why? how is it affecting local residents and businesses? what can be done to prevent it?

Ø Establish the location of the cliff collapse using atlases and maps.

Ø Discuss the causes of the cliffs receding at Corton. Pupils will need to find out about how weathering and erosion shape cliffs but particularly the role of rainfall and weakening of cliff-faces by man, in this case Anglian Water’s sewage outfall pipe.

Citizenship: Could be opportunity to consider social/economic/health consequences of this. Consult pupils/local residents on how they feel about it. If they want to change this, how could they go about it? Chance to look at methods of effecting change e.g. local council, letters to newspaper, MP, pressure group etc.

Ø Produce a map of Corton showing building and land uses (see Appendix below). Discuss how the cliff collapse might affect residents and businesses in the village.

Ø Investigate ways of preventing further cliff collapse. Waveney District Council does intend to protect the village rather than opting for managed retreat.

Citizenship: Pupils may wish to consider whether it is appropriate for the council to do this in the sense of whose responsibility is it? Shouldn’t residents have thought about this sort of thing before purchasing houses? If the council spends money here, whose money is being spent? How does the council get its money? Is it morally and ethically proper to use taxpayers’ money in this way?

Ø Ask pupils to select a home or business in Corton that is close to the clifftop. They should compose a letter by the homeowner or business owner to Waveney District Council to express their views on the cliff collapse. Discuss what the letter should contain, i.e. who you are, where exactly you live, what are your concerns and how do you suggest the council should deal with the problem.

Citizenship is about developing responsible and active members of the community. The students do this as a real activity rather than "imagining" the views of residents. Using the information they have gathered, decide what action they think needs taking and take it from there.

Sue Westoby, Geography Co-ordinator, Pakefield Middle School, Lowestoft

Appendix

1. Newspaper article ‘Corton cliff collapse’ by Kay Taylor from the Waveney Advertiser, dated 11 July 2001. Full article with photograph can be found at:

www.advertiser-online.co.uk/news/22_06_01/cliff.asp

This article is reproduced here with permission from Mr.G.Eagling, Managing Director of Anglia Advertiser.

Waveney Advertiser, June 22^nd 2001

Kay Taylor reports

The Corton cliff drama heightened last Saturday night when a large section of the cliff crashed to the beach below.

The collapse took place following heavy rain and is just another blow for the residents of Corton.

Over the years they have seen the cliff slowly slide into the sea, with the village creeping closer to the cliff’s edge with every fall.

Local people have been left angered because no one seems to want to take responsibility for the cliff collapse.

David Martin, the part-owner of The Rising Sun Caravan Park, situated at the end of Baker’s Score, said: “This is definitely the largest fall of the cliff side to have taken place.

“We’ve already taken the precautionary measure of making caravans that are close to the cliff edge easier to move in an emergency, but this is no consolation to caravan owners on the park. Already I have had many concerned owners on the phone wondering if their property is safe.

“I am very despondent about the whole situation because Waveney District Council say it’s Anglian Water’s fault and visa versa. Everyone is just passing the blame on to someone else and in the mean time, nothing is being done about the collapsing cliff.

“Businesses like mine are trying to encourage people to come into and invest in the area, but with this on-going saga hanging over us, we’re fighting a losing battle.”

Andrew Mackintosh, public affairs manager for Anglian Water, said: “Heavy rain over the weekend caused the cliff to collapse on top of our sewage outfall pipe. This caused the pipe to block and back up on itself, resulting in sewage spilling out of man-hole covers onto the streets of Corton.”

However, Waveney District Council have a completely different story to tell.

Paul Patterson, Senior Assistant Engineer in the Coast Protection Team at the Council, said: “The damage to the cliff was caused by water leaking from a sewage pipe belonging to Anglian Water. Heavy rainfall has been suggested as a contributory factor, but the main cause is the leaking pipe.

“Waveney District Council have two options to choose from to try and prevent further collapses in the area. One is to carry out emergency holding repairs to attempt to stabilise the exposed cliff face. The other option is to bring forward the planned coastal protection work as a longer term solution. We are also looking at putting more money into the Baker’s Score area to prevent more damage to the village.

“We are currently discussing our options to decide what is the best course of action to take and will inform the relative parties as soon as we have come to a decision.”

reserved. Terms and conditions.

2. Land uses along Corton Street on the seaward (east) side

From junction with Corton Long Lane, heading north to Bakers Score:

Azure Seas Caravan Park and Cliff House

Corton Hut (public house with eating and entertainments facilities)

Corton Village holiday camp owned by Warners, chalet accommodation

Residential (cottages, bungalows and short rows of terraced houses)

Corton Beach Holiday Village, chalet accommodation

Residential (terraced houses)

At Bakers Score which is now closed to vehicles:

Wy Wurry Caravan Park

Residential (detached house extremely close to clifftop!)