Marine Aggregate Dredging and the coastlines of Norfolk, Suffolk and the Humber
3 new reports available from BMAPA and The Crown Estate
These reports may be downloaded from The Crown Estate website at:
http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/energy-and-infrastructure/research/seabed-and-coastal-research/reports/
And from the BMAPA website at:
http://www.bmapa.org/issues/coastal_erosion.php
Summary
With the growing influence of climate change and increased sea level, the profile and awareness of local changes occurring along the coastline has never been higher. This can sometimes lead to the view that the changes being observed are influenced by the extraction of marine sand and gravel, despite the fact that dredging takes place in licensed areas well offshore and there are no physical processes that link it to the natural erosion of the coastline which has been occurring since prehistory.
The British Marine Aggregate Producers Association (BMAPA) and The Crown Estate have published three reports which deal with the dredging of marine aggregates offshore of the coasts of Norfolk, Suffolk and the Humber.
Key information from the reports includes:
- The geological origins of the very specific and static deposits extracted, which were formed during and just after the last Ice Age ~15,000 years ago.
- The lack of connections between the dredged deposits and the naturally eroding coastlines of Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire and the Humber.
Marine aggregates provide over 20% of the sand and gravel demand in England and Wales, with the majority of supply used in high value ready-mixed concrete and concrete products. Certain regions are particularly reliant upon marine supplies. One third of all primary aggregate demand in London and the South East of England is met from marine resources whilst in South Wales over 90% of the market demand for sand also comes from the sea.
The new report citations are:
‘Aggregate dredging and the coastline of Norfolk’, The Crown Estate, 12p, 2015. ISBN: 978-1-906410-58-2
‘Aggregate dredging and the coastline of Suffolk’, The Crown Estate, 12p, 2015. ISBN: 978-1-906410-56-8
‘Aggregate dredging and the Humber coastline’, The Crown Estate, 12p, 2015. ISBN: 978-1-906410-62-9
The reports may be downloaded from The Crown Estate website at:
http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/energy-and-infrastructure/research/seabed-and-coastal-research/reports/
Or from the BMAPA website at:
http://www.bmapa.org/issues/coastal_erosion.php
Alternatively hardcopies may be requested by contacting bmapa@mineralproducts.org
For further information contact:
Prof Mike Cowling, Chief Scientist, The Crown Estate, 16 New Burlington Place, London, W1S 2HX. Tel. 020 7851 5032 or 07747 866617
Mark Russell, Director, Marine Aggregates, British Marine Aggregate Producers Association, 38-44 Gillingham Street, London, SW1V 1HU. Tel. 023 8048 8766 or 07870 596865
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