Flood barriers for resort regularly swamped by sea
TWO huge breakwaters could be built off a Cornwall town to protect it from rising sea levels and reduce the threat of devastating floods.
The popular resort of Looe holds the unenviable record for being the most flooded town in the UK. Between 2012 and 2017 flooding cost the local economy £39m.
Climate scientists predict that with sea levels rising in the coming decades, most of the south east Cornwall town will end up in a flood zone. If their predictions are correct, the flooding area could increase six-fold, from 2.5 hectares to 16 hectares. Many more homes and more businesses in Looe could find themselves underwater in stormy weather and at particularly high tides
Among the properties affected would be the local GP surgery, police station, main food stores and cafes, as well as the fish market and potentially the fire station. The extended flood zone would also include key transport links such as the A387, which crosses the Looe River joining West and East Looe, and the railway station which connects the town to the mainline at Liskeard.
Tourism is worth around £47.8m to the local economy, directly supporting more than 1,100 jobs in Looe and indirectly supporting a further 400 jobs. An increase in the risk of flooding could deter people from visiting the town and have an adverse impact on holiday parks, communities and businesses right across south east Cornwall.
Plans to create a flood defence barrier which could alleviate some of the problems have been bolstered by a £2.3 million grant from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Under the proposed schemes to protect the town, a tidal barrier which will close when flooding is likely will be constructed, while a huge southern breakwater will be erected to prevent overtopping of the flood gates during tidal surges, while also providing a shelter for vessels when the flood gates are closed and protect Hannafore Road.
The Banjo pier would also be extended to create a low water landing stage providing boat access at all states of the tide while a cut-off wall below East Looe beach will also prevent tidal flooding bypassing the tidal barrier. Finally a separate low level walkway from Pennyland in the town to Hannafore would also be erected.
Councillor Martyn Alvey, Cornwall Council ‘s portfolio holder for environment and climate change, said: “Looe is the most frequently flooded place in the country so successfully delivering this long awaited and much needed scheme is vital for the long-term future of the town and the wider economy of south east Cornwall.
“We need to ensure that the final scheme meets the needs of Looe, both now, and in the future. This means that, as well as providing structural flood defences to protect the town from flooding in the short to medium term, we support the community to develop a plan which identifies measures which go well beyond 100 years. This will give the community time to adapt so it can live with the consequences of increased flood risk in the future.”
He added: “During the summer we submitted the initial stage of the scheme to the Environment Agency for consideration.
“The funding announced by the EA will enable us to complete the second stage of the project to submit to the Government next winter.
“This is a hugely significant step both for the project and the town as, without Government support and funding, it will not be possible to deliver this scheme.”