Also, as a Dorset Council spokesperson bluntly told the BBC: “The Jurassic Coast looks the way it does because of erosion – meaning it is always on the move. Rockfalls can, and do, happen at any time.
“Any remediation/preventative measures would harm the very nature of this coast.”
A side-effect of coastal erosion is the formation of new coasts and islands. The BGS predicts that Flamborough Head’s tidal marshes (and campsites) could eventually be flooded. Almost half of the flint shingle beach – some 43 miles – at Dungeness is at risk of inundation by 2100.
Spurn Point is three-mile long natural protection for the Humber estuary and the port of Hull, and an important site for migratory birds. Composed of shingle beach and tidal flat deposits, it’s an environment that’s ever-changing. It has been breached by storms multiple times, notably in December 2013 by a huge tidal surge. Sea-level rise is predicted to completely cut off Spurn Head by 2050, according to modelled UKCP18 climate change scenarios.
Climate change could make all current predictions hopelessly optimistic. Some sources suggest approximately 58 per cent of coastal erosion, sea level rise, and storm surges can be attributed to climate change. A widely cited 2022 paper from Imperial College states that rocky coasts are likely to retreat at a rate not seen for 3,000-5,000 years. At sites in Yorkshire and Devon, the researchers say, sea-level rise will cause rock coast cliffs to retreat by at least 10-22 metres inland – a rate of erosion is likely between three and seven times today’s rate and potentially up to tenfold.
So The Book of Dave might not be that far off after all – though the comedic aspect might be lost on readers who find their Norfolk static caravan toppling on a clifftop or their Cornwall dream-home suddenly dis-enhanced by a floor-to-ceiling hole where the French windows used to be.