the plan - rescue the cuckmere valley

This is the proposal put forward by Nigel Newton on behalf of Rescue the Cuckmere Valley.

1. Proposal

1.1. The proposal is to raise the height of flood protection banks alongside the River Cuckmere by 300mm, from Exceat Bridge (adjacent to the Golden Galleon public house on the A259) to the sea. This stretch of river was canalised in the nineteenth century and the flood banks are relatively straight manmade features running either side of the channelled main course of the river. The flood banks double up as public footpaths, giving access from Exceat Bridge to the beach and coastal paths. The Vanguard Way (north-south) public path passes along the western side of the valley floor within Lewes District.

1.2. At the south end, the district boundary follows the course of the river and the proposal therefore includes raising the height of the banks which are within Wealden District. Planning applications have therefore been submitted to both Councils for the respective development within each area. This report considers the planning application which has been submitted to Lewes and, further, considers the response from this Council (as consultee) to Wealden DC on the application submitted to that Authority.

1.3. The Cuckmere Valley at this point is open and undeveloped. To the west of the river is lowland meadow and to the east is coastal floodplain and grazing marsh, together with the original meandering course of the river which forms a striking feature in the landscape. This area, including the Seven Sisters Country Park, is popular and is visited by substantial numbers of visitors enjoying the scenery and using the paths.

1.4. As indicated above, the proposal is to raise the height of the existing banks along both sides of the river by 300mm. The top surface would be level and grassed, and approximately 1.5m wide so that the existing footpaths are reinstated following completion of the works. A new bird hide would be constructed approximately 750m south of the Exceat Bridge.

1.5. The applicant’s agent has submitted the application as an alternative to an earlier proposal by the Environment Agency (EA) to “remove parts of the tidal protection banks and so cause tidal flooding of the fields either side of the River Cuckmere and the well known meanders”, which the applicant considers to be wholly unacceptable. The EA’s proposal did not proceed to a planning application and is currently understood to be under review, pending preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment. The purpose of the current application is “to demonstrate that there is a reasonable and benign alternative to flooding the valley even under conditions of sea level rise…” It is presented as “a relatively low cost way of maintaining the status quo of footpaths important to the tourist industry, of visual amenity also important in that respect, and avoids dangers of erosion and environmental mishap.” The agent states that, with a net increase in sea level each year of 6mm, the 300mm increase in height of the banks would give approximately 50 years extra life to the tidal banks and the existing landscape, which would give time for “much mature reflection, and the assimilation of more definitive information on island tilt and global warming than is available today”. The agent also points out that, under the EA proposal, a right of access to the applicants property would be lost.

1.6. In total, the applicants claim that the proposal would require the importation of about 13,000 cubic metres of chalk for the raising of the banks, which is expected to generate a total of 1300 road delivery journeys, phased so as not to exceed 6 per day. Road access would be from the A259 both to the east and west of Exceat Bridge (to the west through the car park of the Golden Galleon public house), possibly requiring temporary traffic light control. Material would be delivered to temporary works compounds on either side of the river, and access to the working sites would be provided along the top of the existing tidal banks.

1.7. The application has been accompanied by supporting information covering ecological and engineering issues.

1.8. Implementation of any planning permission granted by the District Council would also require a separate consent from the Environment Agency under flood defence legislation, for works adjacent to a “main river”.

[Source: Nigel Newton Proposal]