Comparing Coastal Management in the South Coast

Located on the south coast of England, Barton-on-Sea and Highcliffe both experience high rates of erosion and thus coastal management has been implemented to protect the cliff top and the buildings beyond. Both situated in sediment subcell 5F, PDZ1 (Poole and Christchurch Bay’s Coastal Group, 2011) (see Fig. 1.1) the area experiences a southwesterly prevailing wind reaching a highest average speed of 30.7 kph in February and lowest of 15kph in April in 2020 (World Weather online, 2021) forming waves of an average height of 4-6ft (Magic Seaweed, 2021) with a large fetch making them more destructive causing high levels of erosion. With Barton-on-Sea being made up of Becton and Chama sand formations and Highcliffe, Barton clay formation (BGS, 2021) as shown in Fig. 1.11, this weak and poorly resistant cliff material means that high rates of cliff retreat occur because of mainly hydraulic action and abrasion. During the winter this causes outputs to be greater than inputs as erosion rates are greater than deposition causing cliff retreat. By being in a dynamic equilibrium system, in order to self regulate this imbalance it undergoes a negative feedback loop (M.Raw et al. 2016) through an increased input of sediment from the erosion of the cliff up drift at Bournemouth thus building up the beach and preventing further erosion. 

However, due to the coastal management implemented at Sandbanks and Bournemouth through the building of 53 groynes at Bournemouth and the ‘Long groyne’ at Hengistbury Head (BCP Council, 2019), a reduced amount of sediment inputted into the system has occurred meaning that sediment cannot build up the beach at Barton and Highcliffe, promoting further erosion and weathering causing increased cliff retreat. To combat this the Dorset and Hampshire County Councils have used different approaches to coastal management with Highcliffe (Dorset) taking a ‘Hold the line’ stand and Barton-on-Sea (Hampshire) using a ‘Managed Retreat’ strategy (twobays, 2021). As said in the SMP for Christchurch and Poole bays 

‘ The combination of groynes and periodic beach recharge aims primarily to maintain beach widths, retain sediment within the cell and to prevent the hard linear structures being undermined.’(GJL Guthrie, J Ridgewell, 2011 p.7) 

and by using these predominantly hard engineering techniques it aims to reduce the overall rates of erosion in both Barton and Highcliffe.

In Barton-on-Sea, the Hampshire County Council have adopted a Managed retreat strategy which involves protecting certain areas of cliff top with rock groynes and rock armour which run both perpendicular and parallel to the coast for 2.25km (GJL Guthrie, J Ridgewell, 2011) as well as using cliff drainage systems, implemented in 1973 and costing £200,000 (IM West, 2013), to relive the soft clays and sand cliffs of water thus preventing the slumping of the cliff which is “the main driver of slope instability and cliff recession at this location” (JGL Guthrie, 2011 p.12). The areas of managed retreat of the cliff are shown in Fig. 1.3 where the sea is allowed to naturally erode away the cliff providing a much needed sediment input into the system. As you can see the areas of which this retreat has occurred are of little economic importance and include the Barton Golf Course and farmers fields whereas the parts of cliff which have been protected include residential areas and small businesses, vital to the economic prosperity of the town.

However some of the management has been ineffective at stopping erosion of the cliffs, in particular the regrading of the cliff which has been built with a steeper angle than the naturally stable angle of the cliff, making them too steep and more prone to erosion from slumping (JGL Guthrie, 2011). Coastal management began in the early 1960’s but overall cliff stabilisation wasn’t reached and during the winter of 1974/75 cliff collapse and landslides, as seen in Fig. 1.5, occurred over the works with the “clifftop receding 5-10m over a 150m front” (IM West, 2020) leading to properties being lost. More recent cliff collapse has also led to further destruction and uprooting of coastal management in the cliff, including the 2003 landslide, where drainage pipes and corrugated iron sheeting had been ripped apart from the landslide as shown in Fig. 1.4 (IM West, 2013).

 At Highcliffe on the other hand, Dorset County Council have used a hold the line strategy where the majority of the Dorset coastline from Highcliffe castle to the county border at Chewton Bunny. This stretch of coastline protects the majority of houses in the Highcliffe area and because of this the council have invested in long term, hard engineering defences to combat the erosion of the cliff. The management includes 9 rock groynes stretching 0.9 miles which are shorter spaced than at Barton (JGL Guthrie, 2011) as well as newly built drainage systems which drain the cliffs of rainwater quickly and efficiently to prevent slumping. The management at Highcliffe is newer and in better condition than Barton but relies heavily on regular beach replenishment and maintenance (JGL Guthrie, 2011) something that the Hampshire Council Council do not feel is necessary to implement at Barton-on-Sea. In the future the groynes at Highcliffe are set to be shortened with the rocks left over used to strengthen the revetements (JGL Guthrie, 2011)  in order to further protect the cliff whilst also allowing the transport of sediment down drift to Barton-on-Sea and Hordle.

I chose to compare these two sites (see Fig. 1.6) as they both suffer from high rates of erosion and both have implemented hard engineering strategies to combat it. In particular, I wanted to assess the difference that the county council makes to how a coast is managed and therefore showing how much a council prioritises land. As the sites are next to each other they are faced by very similar geomorphic processes which influence the physical landscape of the system such as erosion, deposition and weathering. Another similarity between the sites which ensures a more accurate comparison is geology, with both sites made from clay and sand cliffs, weak, unresistant rock which is very susceptible to erosion. This study is required in order to demonstrate how effective different management techniques are and to show how County councils can directly affect how the coast is shaped and who will suffer from coastal retreat. This investigation will link to key concepts; systems, equilibrium, sustainability and resilience where by the south coast sediment cell 5F will be viewed as a closed system in dynamic equilibrium and it will compare how sustainable and resilient the management in place is to deal with the issue of rising sea levels and an increase in coastal erosion and weathering in the future. I hypothesise that Highcliffe will have more effective coastal management as it is a more popular area for tourists as well as it being further up drift meaning that it receives more sediment inputs from the west. Also I believe that Dorset invests more heavily in coastal protection and this can be shown with examples such as Bournemouth and Sandbanks.

1.11 Coastal landscapes can be viewed as systems

-Christchurch bay is a system in dynamic equilibrium with a mixture of inputs from cliffs and fluvial deposition from Christchurch Harbour as well as outputs and processes.

1.12 Coastal landscape systems are influenced by a range of physical factors

-Barton-on-Sea and Highcliffe are both shaped through erosion and weathering which affect the position of the cliff and the beach below.

1.41 Human activity intentionally causes change within coastal landscape systems

-Coastal management at both Barton-on-Sea and Highcliffe has been implemented with the intention of reducing cliff erosion and retreat and this study will be investigating how effective the decisions made by the councils have been.

1.42 Economic development unintentionally causes change within coastal landscape systems 

-Economic development updrift at Sandbanks and Bournemouth has meant that vast amounts of coastal defences have been built, limiting longshore drift and the transport of sediment to Barton-on-Sea and Highcliffe thereby increasing the rate of erosion and cliff retreat.

To support my arguments and back up my claims I needed to collect a lot of primary data and I did this through a variety of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods.

Firstly I measured the beach profile by using a 30m transect and measuring at every change in gradient. I then repeated this 5 times at each site in the area below the cliff which the defences are supposed to protect. I decided to measure beach profiles as they can be easily performed and compared between my two sites to show how coastal processes such as hydraulic action and longshore drift shape the coast, by building up a steep beach profile or forming a shallow one as seen in Fig. 2.2. Therefore by analysing my beach profiles I can assess how effective the management put in place has been, with steeper beach profiles perhaps suggesting lower rates of erosion being present therefore being a good indicator of effective coastal management. However the steepness of the beach profile is also affected by a wide range of factors such as the time of year with seasonal change causing steeper or shallower gradients. The gradient of the beach profile also does not fully determine the levels of erosion faced by a beach as sediment size, depth of groynes and number of beach cusps can determine the differences in erosion between sites. For my investigation I chose sample sites that were next to the major groyne at the beach, which also covers the area of cliff with most amenity value for both tourists and local members of the community, as protecting these sections of cliff is the councils’ top priority when implementing coastal management and hence should be where the defences are most effective and resistant to erosion.

I made 5 individual profiles, each 10m apart along the beach, giving me a 50m coverage of the beach to increase reliability. My sampling strategies were mainly systematic and stratified as they gave me a good representation of the overall beach while I measured each peak and trough of the beach berms leading 30m towards the cliff. I measured the change in the gradient using a clinometer and 2 ranging poles situated on the trough and peak of the beach and then measured the angle difference as shown in Fig 2.1. I would then record the exact site at which my data was collected using 'What3Words' so that I could geolocate my data accurately. Some limitations that I faced included the tide which began to come in when I was taking my later profiles and so it was difficult to get an accurate measurement from the beach to the first peak. I minimised the effect of this by working quickly and effectively in order to complete all profiles in enough time. Also by using systematic sampling and by measuring at 10m intervals, I may have missed certain, more distinct changes that I could not record, potentially giving an unrepresentative view of the overall beach profile.

Other quantitative measurements I made included a coarse sediment analysis as by comparing sediment size I could establish how sediment size affects the rate of erosion and hence investigate if rates of erosion were statistically different meaning that the coastal defences are more at one site over the other. As both sites are in high energy coastal environments sediment size generally should be larger but as beach profiles steepen, sediment size increases as larger sediment is chucked to the top of the beach. When beach profiles are flatter, sediment tends to be smaller as pebbles and sand are rolled up and down the beach when they are then broken into smaller pieces (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2021). To perform my investigation, I measured 10 pebbles, each 5m apart along a transect of 30m perpendicular to the beach and next to the main groyne at both sites using a pair of calipers. I measured the length and recorded them before inputting my data into graphs for easy comparison of trends. A total of 10 stones per 5m gave me a good amount of coverage from beachfront to the back of the beach enabling me to see if any sorting occurred and I will construct a statistical t-test to identify if there is a significant difference in size of sediment and therefore can contribute to my hypothesis that the management at Highcliffe is more effective than at Barton-on-Sea. With my measurements I will calculate an average from the three axes to find the sediment size and all my data will be presented in graphs down below along with the location of my data in Fig. 3.23 and Fig. 3.24.

For these measurements, I used an effective combination of systematic and random sampling. By using a 10x10 quadrat and a random number generator I could randomly select a row and column and hence a stone eliminating human bias as much as possible. Systematic sampling was also used as it gave me a good even coverage of the beach allowing for a reliable and also accurate set of data. The limitations I faced were mainly time constraints as it took a long time to measure each axis for all the stones carefully but I overcame this by working as quickly but effectively as I could. Also once I had the quadrat square there was still an element of human bias as to which stone I could select, potentially inhibiting my results but I reduced this by looking away from the quadrat and blindly selecting a stone. The ethical considerations I took into account during this study included, making sure that every stone I measured was put back in the same place to ensure that my study did not have any lasting effect on the coastal processes by moving sediment. I was also very polite to beach users and made sure to not disturb them and ruin their beach experience.

Another form of data collection I used was surveys as I wanted to assess the human impact of coastal management as well as the opinions and views held by the local people on the defences in place. I wanted to discover how the defences affect the local community both with their experience of the beaches but also their opinions on whether the management is sufficient for the future, in order to tackle issues such as rising sea levels. To do this I used Survey123 to put together questions that the public in turn would answer, see Fig. 3.42 (above) for example of questions asked. As you can see these surveys were phrased politely with all questions being optional to answer if people did not want to share certain information. I decided that for me to get a larger sample size of local people I needed to take a different approach to traditional in-person interviews. By using local community Facebook groups such as 'Lymington Rumour Control', I could obtain answers faster, easier and safer for both the public and me, in regards to Covid-19. I wanted to get answers from locals only, as they are used to the area and have experienced how the sites have changed over time, meaning they have a more accurate view of how effective the management has been. Most answers were geolocated to where the person was taking the survey but this wasn't essential as I knew some people would rather not disclose their location. Some limitations of this method of surveying are that I do not have a set sample size as the surveys may not have the same sample size thus not providing a fair and equal assessment of the opinions of local people but by using this form of surveying I have gained a much larger sample size making my data much more reliable. Another limitation that I could not change was that by using a digital form of questionnaires I excluded people who did not have access to the internet or a digital device potentially affecting the validity of my data.

I decided to measure beach profiles as they can be compared between the two sites to show how the different coastal processes shape the coast and hence build up a steep beach profile or form a shallow beach profile. Looking at my data for Barton (Fig. 3.1 and Fig. 3.13), I can see that the beach profile along Barton-on-Sea beach has a very shallow gradient which suggests that the waves which interact with the coastline are “high energy, destructive waves (that) remove sediment offshore and create flatter beach profiles” (Raw et al., 2016). The data collected shows that the rates of erosion are constantly high and thus the management in place has not reduced this because the negative feedback loop of building up the beach has not taken place. Due to the lack of management, the beach has built a shallower beach profile in order to reduce the levels of sediment outputs from destructive waves.

Compared to Barton, the beach profiles at Highcliffe (Fig. 3.12) are much steeper showing that the beach has been built up meaning that despite the destructive waves the system has undergone self regulation through a negative feedback loop, from a flatter beach, the shallower water and increased friction has led to an increase in deposition causing this steeper beach profile. The difference between this and Barton-on-Sea is that at Highcliffe there is enough sediment for the beach to build and steepen, from the regular beach nourishment that takes place, where sediment dredged from shingles bank is rainbowed onto the beach, similar to that of Sandbanks but on a smaller scale. This steeper beach profile also suggests an increase in the dissipation of wave energy through the revetements and the trapping of sediment via the rock groynes which shows how the management has intentionally influenced the processes throughout the system.

I chose to conduct a coarse sediment analysis as you can define how much the coastal processes affect the beach with smaller, finer sediment formed from high energy coastlines which cause flatter beach profiles linking in with the previous point of measuring beach profiles. As you can see with all the graphs in Fig. 3.2 and Fig. 3.22, they show a slight trend of sediment length and size being larger at Highcliffe as well as showing the trend that sediment size increases as you move away from the sea. In order to see if there was a difference between my mean values I conducted a t-test to test for a significant difference. When calculated for sediment length by t value=0.0332 which was less than the critical value at a 0.05 significance level. Because of this I had to accept the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference in sediment length and size between Highcliffe and Barton despite the visual trend shown in the graphs. 

This conclusion can be made because of the constant beach replenishment from Shingles Bank meaning that the sediment at both Highcliffe and Barton-on-Sea are too similar in size and have not been on the beach long enough for coastal processes to erode them at different rates. However from the data for sediment size it shows that sediment is larger at Highcliffe than at Barton indicating that the management in place at Highcliffe is more effective at reducing sediment erosion from attrition and hydraulic action than at Barton-on-Sea. This is due to the difference in beach morphology. From a study by the University of Hawaii at Manoa, larger sediment was found on steeper beach profiles as pebbles were deposited to the top of the beach and therefore may have experienced lower rates of erosion than smaller sediment on flatter beach profiles. The flatter beach profile meant that pebbles were rolled up and down the beach and through attrition, broke into smaller pieces (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2021). This links to my investigation and therefore could mean that Highcliffe has larger sediment as it has a steeper beach profile and therefore could experience lower rates of erosion than at Barton, which has a flatter beach profile and smaller sediment. This therefore could mean that Highcliffe experiences lower rates of erosion consequently having more effective coastal defences than Barton-on-Sea, however the sediment size and beach morphology are also influenced by a wide range of factors and so rates of erosion may not be a definite reason as to the difference between the sites and this would have to investigated further in order to establish a definite cause.

The aim I wanted to achieve with my surveys was to assess what the public attitudes were towards the management of the coast which in turn can be very influential towards how councils finance projects for coastal management. Fig. 3.42 shows all questions for the Barton-on-Sea survey, which are also very similar to those of the Highcliffe one, and I will now go into more detail as to why I chose to ask the questions I did. Firstly with question 1, 2 and 3, I wanted to make sure that all those who answered were locals meaning that they have experienced first hand how the coast has changed with the introduction of coastal protection and can therefore provide a better informed opinion on the effectiveness of the projects at both sites. Question 2 was asked not only as a way of cementing the respondents but also as a means of geolocating my data as the survey was taken online. Question 4 on shoreline management plans is also a very interesting question as it can gage how many members of the public read the SMPs and therefore how can show how important they are to locals. Then from question 5 - 12 it tends to ask similar questions on the public attitudes surrounding the appearance and impact that the management has on the beach and the public experience of the beach thereby affecting rates of tourism and the economy of the whole town. The final 3 questions are on how the public feel about the future and their opinions on what should or shouldn’t be implemented in the future. This is key as management should be long term and capable of dealing with new problems such as rising sea levels and increased extreme weather events.

Analysing my data from Barton-on-Sea first I can see that from Fig. 3.41, that most people taking the survey live within 15 minutes of the site as the majority of answers were from locals in Lymington and Barton-on-Sea. The next question on the SMP is a more split question with more people saying no than yes. This is both positive and negative as it shows that the majority of people are not aware of or do not read the council's SMP but that some do, showing that it does carry some importance through the local community. The fact that lots people don’t read the SMP is concerning as it can really impact the local coastline for all and this could be something that the council could improve as with increased connectivity with the local community can lead to better public relations and opinions towards the management at Barton. Looking at the data for the looks and descriptions of the management 63.6% of answers found the site's appearance to be ok with more leaning towards the unappealing side 22.7% compared to 4.6% in appealing. This shows that on average locals aren’t too fussed with how the management looks but quite a few think that it ruins the beauty of the beach as a whole. In terms of describing the defences there is a mix between positive and negative views with the largest word being ‘Ineffective’ showing that this is the most common opinion of the local community towards the coastal protection.

This leads into the next set of answers on the effectiveness of the coastal defences with 47% of people finding them ineffective whilst only 18% found them to be effective. This demonstrates the overall negative view of the local people towards the Hampshire County Council’s stance and implementation of coastal management. However, when asked about accessibility answers tended to be more positive with 18 ranking the access a 3 and 14 ranking it a 4, this is very interesting as despite the ineffectiveness of the coastal defences people feel that they don't massively impact their experience of the beach. This more positive view is also repeated with 45% of people finding the defences to be ok in terms of safety and a further 25% finding them to be safe showing the view of the general public is not as negative when it comes to affecting the aesthetic and amenity value of the beach meaning that the management doesn't seem to affect tourism rates as much as I initially thought, something which the council has taken into account. 

However this positive view is short lived when it comes to the sustainability and effectiveness of the coastal defences at Barton-on-Sea with 50% of responses feeling that the management is only short term and will not be effective for the future, a common theme through the survey. This is further emphasised by 41% showing the defences to be unsustainable and 43% that the features implemented are cost ineffective echoing the views from previous answers on effectiveness against erosion. Finally I asked two questions about the future and locals unanimously voted rock groynes as the most popular type of management to implement in the future (55%) with a sea wall and beach reprofiling coming in at 30% and 25% respectively. The use of expensive, hard engineering techniques were deemed the most popular amongst locals however due to the cost of building and maintenance I feel like these views despite being insightful are somewhat unrealistic because of the budget, as well as how much Hampshire values the land that is protected.

The final question, shown in a quote map, on challenges faced in the future was much more open ended than previous questions as I not only wanted to hear in more detail about the views of the locals but also see how well informed they were about the problems that face the coastline and how they can be directly impacted in the future. Quotes included topics on the erosion of the cliff through slumping leading to cliff collapse as well as longer term issues with climate change because of the rising sea levels and increased extreme weather events leading to an increase in erosion of both the cliff and the beach. As well as environmental topics there were also a number of responses concerned about social issues such as the loss of housing and having to redistribute and reimburse local people to housing further away from the retreating cliff. On top of focussing on issues which would directly affect the Barton community, there were a few responses on trying to not affect areas down drift at Hordle and Milford-on-Sea showing a great sense of empathy towards other people in different areas who are dealing with the same problem. As well as addressing social issues, economic problems were raised in regards to the building and maintenance costs of the management whilst ensuring plans are agreed with local community consultation to make sure that everyone benefits. All these points were partially addressed throughout the questionnaire but it is very important for my project to get unbiased views from the ordinary people who will be affected by whichever plan the council decides to implement. 

In order to compare the two sites fairly I also conducted a similar questionnaire which was tailored to the Highcliffe area and despite getting much fewer responses I still managed to gather enough information to provide an accurate comparison between the two areas. To establish that the responses were from locals I used a similar Facebook group for the Highcliffe region and the map in Fig. 3.45 shows that the respondents were based in the local area with some being ex-residents who have since moved away. In regards to the Dorset SMP answers were similar to that of Barton with the majority of answers showing that most people hadn't read it. However as opposed to Barton, Highcliffe residents found the coastal defences to be more aesthetically pleasing with 75% finding looks to be ok and 12.5% appealing and beautiful. The difference between Highcliffe and Barton is further emphasised by management being deemed more effective at dealing with erosion as more than double the percentage of people at Highcliffe voted effective, 37%, compared to Barton, 18%. On the whole, opinions of Highcliffe are much more positive than with Barton in terms of how the management affects people's experience of the beach with 75% of people finding the safety of the defences to be ok, much more than Highcliffe, and 38% rating accessibility 4 out of 5. Questions on sustainability and longevity of the defences however produced mixed results with 63% believing they are only short term compared to only 50% at Barton-on-Sea and 38% sustainable compared to 29% at Barton. 

Throughout the data sets there are similarities and differences between the two sites, when asked about cost effectiveness Highcliffe proved to be the more cost effective with 75% answers of ok in contrast to 32% at Barton as well as a higher percentage in cost ineffective and highly ineffective. Management techniques to implement in the future were very similar with rock groynes and sea wall being the most popular at both Highcliffe and Barton however beach renourishment accounted for 23% in the Barton survey but only 12.5% at Highcliffe. This makes sense as Highcliffe experiences vast amounts of beach renourishment compared to Barton-on-Sea and so locals are less likely to implement more as they feel that it is less effective at preventing erosion with high maintenance costs despite being cheaper and easier to build. 

The similarities between views of local people continued in the final, more open, question on the future of Highcliffe and the challenges it will face against increased coastal erosion from rising sea levels. From the quote map in Fig. 3.46, I split quotes into Environmental, Social and Economic and answers were generally similar to those at Barton-on-Sea with environmental answers describing issues with cliff slumping and erosion as well as continuing longshore drift. Economic answers were also similar to that of the previous survey as they talk about problems with the cost and funding of coastal management, however, the complication of a reduced amount of material required for beach nourishment really stuck out and really addressed an issue which is going to be prominent at Highcliffe. By being reliant on beach nourishment, Highcliffe can leave itself exposed to wave action in its high energy system when this sediment runs out as there are now very few inputs updrift because of management at Hengistbury Head as well as the Bournemouth and Poole regions.

Through my data, I have identified various trends and patterns which contribute to answering the question that ‘Coastal Management at Highcliffe is more effective than at Barton-on-Sea’. Firstly with my beach profiles, I established that Highcliffe on average has a steeper beach profile than Barton demonstrating how the system as a whole has undergone self-regulation to bring about an equilibrium via a negative feedback loop. This links to the key concept of resilience as from a flatter beach profile the shallower water and increased friction causes an increase in deposition of sediment which in turn builds up the beach. From a steeper beach profile, wave energy can be more easily dissipated and hence there may be a reduction in the rate of erosion of the cliff through hydraulic action and abrasion.

The beach profile has been intentionally impacted by the management because of the regular beach replenishment which contributes to the building up of the beach and hence a reduction in wave energy and erosion. This is an example of successful management in Highcliffe but has sadly not been reciprocated at Barton due to the immense cost of the operation. This can be shown from the much flatter beach profile I discovered at Barton meaning that there is less build up of sediment and hence storm waves can reach much further up the beach and reach the cliff causing the frequent cliff retreat and collapse. To combat this, Hampshire County Council has built granite revetements to prevent waves from reaching the base of the cliff however these defences have not been sufficiently maintained, unlike at Highcliffe, and are now covered in sediment from the cliff and the beach meaning that during the winter when waves are larger and more powerful, the weak Becton and Chama sand formations they can easily be eroded away which can be shown from the large landslides over the past few decades. 

Linking to beach profiles my coarse sediment analysis also provided a lot of evidence for the effectiveness of management at each site. My data showed that on average sediment size at Highcliffe was statistically larger than sediment at Barton-on-Sea. The relationship between the beach profile and the size of the sediment proved true as by having a steeper beach profile, larger sediment tends to be present. Highcliffe had larger sediment as larger pebbles are thrown to the top of the beach by the high energy waves meaning that they are eroded less through attrition explaining why they are larger in size. On the contrary, sediment at Barton was smaller because of the flatter beach profile as stones are rolled up and down the beach where through attrition they are broken up into smaller pieces contributing to the smaller sediment size.

This difference in sediment size and beach profile gradient may be due to the different types of management strategies that have been introduced at each site and therefore could give an indication as to the effectiveness of the management in regards to how human action has intentionally caused change to the overall beach morphology of the whole system. This is because of the economic development and earlier management implemented at Bournemouth, through the building of the promenade, sea wall and nourishing the beach very little amounts of sediment has been inputted into the system through the natural erosion of the cliff and hence sediment has not been travelling eastwards towards Highcliffe and Barton prompting further erosion from this reduced levels of sediment. As well as this, the building of the ‘Long Groyne’ at Hengistbury Head has trapped what little sediment there was travelling further down the coast. For Highcliffe, this has meant that they have resorted to dredging sediment from Shingles Bank and depositing it onto the beach in order to maintain a natural level of sediment and reduce the already increasing rates of erosion. 

As well as analysing how the landscape system is influenced by coastal management I wanted to also assess the human impacts of coastal management through questionnaires. These have been vital sources of information for my investigation and have provided me with key ideas and views held by the local people which surround the coastal defences and the plans put in place by the local council. The responses from Highcliffe seemed much more positive than those from Barton with respondents agreeing and disagreeing on many different topics between the two sites. For example from both surveys, the majority of people had not read the shoreline management plan for their area suggesting a lack of communication between the local community and the council as very few people were aware of the plans in place. However, views were very different when it came to the sustainability and longevity of the defences showing that at Highcliffe, coastal protection was deemed far more sustainable and suitable for the future in order for it to deal with long term issues on rising sea levels and increased extreme weather events.

One of the most important questions asked in my survey was “In your opinion, how effective are the defences at preventing erosion?” this addressed my whole investigation question and the answers agreed with my hypothesis. On average, Highcliffe was deemed to have ok to effective levels of protection which contrasts to Barton where nearly 50% of answers voted for ineffective. This shows the difference in the views of the locals towards the effectiveness of protection in their residential areas and once again provides evidence to support the statement that ‘Coastal management at Highcliffe is more effective than at Barton-on-Sea’.

In conclusion, I partially agree with the statement as coastal protection at Highcliffe is more effective than at Barton by there being lower rates of erosion because of larger sediment and steeper beach profiles which have all been brought about from the coastal management implemented by Dorset County Council. However, the benefits of the management at Highcliffe are far superior to Barton because the defences are much more heavily invested in as well as being built more recently. In the future, Highcliffe will be much more prepared to resist higher rates of erosion than Barton but will undoubtedly fall victim to the ever-present high energy environment of the English south coast and we are likely to see replications of the landslides and cliff retreat at Barton in the near future.

Throughout my investigation, I faced many challenges from choosing what to measure and where to being able to input my data into graphs and charts and through doing this I have improved many data collection skills as well as being able to research accurate data from reliable sources. As described in my methodology my overall data collection techniques and sampling strategies were reliable as for the beach profiles I chose to use a systematic approach in order to eliminate human bias but to maintain a good representation of the beach. I would achieve this by performing beach profiles every 10m East of the major groyne. I also used stratified sampling to accomplish this as I would measure from peak to trough until I reach the end of my 30m transect thus making it easy to make comparisons between my data sets. My coarse sediment analysis used both random and stratified sampling to provide valid comparisons whilst also eliminating any human bias making my results much more reliable for my investigation.

By using local Facebook groups I could establish a larger sample size for my surveys, whilst ensuring that all responses were from locals who live and interact with my sites on a day to day business with many having witnessed first hand the effects that the coastal management has had on the overall system and environment of the coast thus providing a representative view of the opinions held by the local community. However, my surveys were online which means that they weren’t totally representative of the total population as only people with access to social media and the internet could interact with my survey but by completing it online, I reduced the risk of Covid-19 infection for myself and others.

All my data was collected to a high degree of accuracy with measurements being to 2 decimal places for an accurate and reliable set of data as well as using accurate instruments for measurements such as a clinometer and tape measure. For my literature review, I used reliable sources such as the 'Shoreline Management Plan for Christchurch Bay', written by 'JGL Guthrie' and 'J Ridgewell' from the two bays website, as well as 'IM West' from the 'Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences at Southampton University'. Throughout my investigation, I was always polite when collecting my data both at the sites and online, with survey questions being totally optional and not asking personal questions such as age and gender as I felt that they were not relevant to my project and therefore were not required. Looking back on my research I see it as a success because I have collected data that contributes to answering the question that Coastal Management is more effective at Highcliffe than Barton-on-Sea through being able to prevent and reduce rates of erosion and weathering thus limiting the rate at which the cliff retreats. I believe the management at Highcliffe to be a success but I know that more will need to be planned and protected in order to retain the amenity value of the cliffs and the town which sits on top of them.

British Geological Survey, (2021) ‘Geology of Britain Viewer’ British Geological Society, 2021, Available at:  https://mapapps.bgs.ac.uk/geologyofbritain/home.html  (Accessed: 14/9/21)

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