General Discussion
Isle of Wight Sand!!
I really hope that this application is accepted, we really need our dunes back. From the BBC website: Sand could be brought in from the Isle of Wight to replenish stocks at a Devon beach. Dawlish Warren has lost tonnes of sand during storms, with the beach level reducing by 1m (3ft). The council is now bidding for a £3m project by the Environment Agency (EA) to bring the sand back. The funding request is on the EA's approval list but more work is needed to assess the full cost benefits before final approval, said a spokesman. The agency is already carrying out £110,000 emergency works to protect the stability of the dunes and flood defences at the Warren. Councillor Alan Connett, leader of Teignbridge District Council, said: "We need the Environment Agency to spend some real money to restore the beach, because the risk is if there's another bad storm, the Warren could be overrun." Geoff Wills, Mayor of Dawlish said: "Sand is vitally important for the tourism of the area. "They come in the droves to see the sand and play on the sand."
A mate of mine in the waste business used to say, "To you it may be just a pile of sand. To me it's money." I have wondered why the sand around the warren is yellow rather than red. Was it shipped in previously?
Whats wrong with scooping it at low tide with a large earth mover and bringing it above the shore line ? Is that using to much common sense ?
AND PS ill do it for One Million, as much as can be brought ashore in six months, I estimate that to be around 650,000 tons at 4 ton a scoop hows that for a saving ? Where Do I sign ...
Why is the sand not red? Good question Don. From memory, it's because the sand at the Warren is acidic, which is very rare for UK spits. As you probably know, most sand spits are derived from shell/coral materials. Apparently, the Warren spit is only 7000 years old and therefore much younger than the nearby cliffs (which are effectively fossilised sand dunes in their own right!).
A very thorough, and fascinating site on the geology of Dawlish by Ian West. Can be found at http://www.soton.ac.uk/~imw/Dawlish-Warren.htm In Short, the erosion has been relentless since records began in 1851. Being mainly due to the normal longshore drift of sand from Dawlish Bay to Dawlish Warren having ceased, when the railway sea wall and groynes were built in 1846.
Thankyou, absolutely fascinating although I am not familiar with the terminology used. I also like the tone of the Safety and Risk Assessment near the beginning.
Thanks for the link - that provides an excellent insight. And I never realised that in the 19th century there were bungalows built at the end of the spit!
If you want to know more about the residences on the Warren spit, read 'Living by the Ninth Green' by Basil Macer Wright who I got to know while typing up his work. It's a fascinating look at what life was like in those primitive buldings, all now gone of course. Not for them the luxury of central heating or deliveries by Tesco!
