The Holderness Coast
Europe's fastest eroding coastline loses about 2 metres of soft boulder clay cliffs a year, and defences protect some towns while speeding erosion elsewhere.
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Evidence
9 figures, each threaded to its source
Average annual erosion rate
2metres per year
3 sources
“The Holderness Coastline is one of Europe's fastest eroding at an average annual rate of around 2 metres.”
Length of the Holderness coast
61km
2 sources
“It extends 61km from Flamborough in the north to Spurn Point in the south.”
Villages lost since the Domesday survey
26villages
2 sources
“causing the loss of 26 villages listed in the Domesday survey of 1086”
Coastal retreat over the last 1,000 years
2km
2 sources
“Over the last 1,000 years, the Holderness coast has retreated by around 2 kilometres”
Cost of the 1991 Mappleton defences
2 millionGBP
3 sources
“In 1991 almost £2 million was spent on two rock groynes and a rock revetment to protect Mappleton and the B1242 coastal road.”
Material eroded from the coast each year
2 milliontonnes
2 sources
“This is around 2 million tonnes of material every year.”
Maximum cliff height
40metres
2 sources
“range from less than 3 metres up to around 40 metres in height”
Age of the glacial till the cliffs are cut in
18,000years
“However, in most places, this is covered by glacial till deposited over 18,000 years ago.”
Period over which the coast lost 2 km
1,000years
“Over the last 1,000 years, the Holderness coast has retreated by around 2 kilometres”
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Background
The Holderness coast runs for 61 km down the East Yorkshire coast, from the chalk headland at Flamborough in the north to the long sand spit at Spurn Point in the south. Most of it is cliffs of soft boulder clay, dumped by ice sheets more than 18,000 years ago. The clay slumps when wet and is easily carried away by waves, so the coast loses about 2 metres a year on average, the fastest rate in Europe. Over the last 1,000 years the coastline has moved back around 2 km, taking with it 26 villages recorded in the Domesday survey. Towns such as Hornsea and Withernsea are protected by sea walls and groynes, and in 1991 almost £2 million was spent at Mappleton on two rock groynes and a rock revetment to save the village and the B1242 coastal road. The defences work where they stand, but by trapping sand moving south by longshore drift they starve beaches further down the coast, so erosion there speeds up. Spurn Point itself is built from the eroded material, and the argument over which places deserve defending continues.
Causes
Soft boulder clay cliffs
The cliffs are made of boulder clay left behind by ice sheets more than 18,000 years ago. It is weak, unconsolidated material that soaks up rainwater, slumps down the cliff face and is then washed away by the sea. Unlike the chalk at Flamborough Head, it offers almost no resistance to erosion.
Powerful waves with a long fetch
Waves reach Holderness across a long stretch of the North Sea, and in storms they arrive from the north east with a great deal of energy. Destructive waves attack the base of the cliffs, removing the slumped clay and cutting the cliff foot back so that more of the face collapses.
Narrow beaches starved of sand
A wide beach absorbs wave energy before it reaches a cliff, but along most of Holderness the beaches are thin. Longshore drift moves sand southwards faster than the clay cliffs can supply it, because much of the eroded material is fine mud that simply washes out to sea rather than building a beach.
Defences that shift erosion downdrift
Groynes at Hornsea and Mappleton trap sand moving south, which builds wide beaches in front of the defended settlements. South of each set of groynes the beach is starved of that sand, so the sea reaches the cliffs more easily and erosion speeds up on the unprotected land downdrift.
Effects
Primary
- The cliffs retreat by about 2 metres a year on average, with much faster losses in stormy years.
- Around 2 million tonnes of material is eroded from the coast every year.
- Cliff-top land, roads and buildings collapse into the sea as the cliff line moves back.
Secondary
- Beaches south of the groynes at Mappleton thinned, so farmland at Cowden eroded faster and Grange Farm was lost.
- Caravan parks and cliff-top roads have to be moved back as the edge approaches.
- Sediment carried south by longshore drift builds and maintains the spit at Spurn Point.
Social
- Families lose homes to the sea with little or no compensation, since erosion is not covered by most insurance.
- Small cliff-top communities shrink as people move away from the retreating edge.
- Residents in undefended places resent that nearby towns are protected while their land is left to erode.
Economic
- Farming is the main land use right up to the cliff edge, so working land is lost from farms every year.
- Property values fall sharply near the cliff edge, and homes can become worthless before they are lost.
- Defending the towns is expensive, with almost £2 million spent at Mappleton alone in 1991.
- Tourism at seaside towns like Hornsea depends on the beaches held in place by the defences.
Environmental
- Constant erosion keeps exposing fresh cliff faces of glacial deposits.
- Eroded sediment feeds beaches further south and the Spurn Point spit, so stopping erosion in one place starves habitats elsewhere.
- Hard defences fix the coastline in place, squeezing the beach zone between sea walls and the rising sea.
Responses
Immediate
- Emergency rock armour is placed where storms cut the cliff back suddenly.
- Councils monitor the cliff line and close or divert roads and paths as the edge approaches.
- Caravans and buildings near the edge are moved back or demolished before they are lost.
Long term
- The Shoreline Management Plan holds the line at towns such as Bridlington, Hornsea and Withernsea with sea walls and groynes.
- At Mappleton, two rock groynes and a rock revetment built in 1991 protect the village and the B1242 road.
- Along most of the farmland coast the policy is no active intervention, letting erosion continue naturally.
- Discussions continue about helping cliff-top residents relocate rather than defending every settlement.
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