Will Hayling sink or swim with climate change and rising sea levels? Our local Councils completed the draft Hayling Island Coastal Management Strategy in 2022, which you can see here.
We send in an official consultation response on behalf of all islanders, pulled together with feedback from ourselves at Cycle Hayling, Hayling Island Residents Association, Havant Friends of the Earth and Havant Climate Alliance.
We thanked Coastal Partners for this huge and complex data gathering and analysis exercise, which is a major step forward in understanding how we will protect our wonderful island, our heritage and our environment from the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change.
BUT, and it’s a HUGE BUT, there’s precious little money, and most of it will be spent defending the beach and Eastoke. The harbour defences get very little, and the Billy Trail will be left to wash away. We think that’s totally wrong, and we said so in our response, which you can read at HIRA HICMS Response.
We need to change the discussion from ‘no money’ to finding another way.
So we’re very excited to see that the Solent Seascape Project has been awarded $5million to restore the Solent seascape for people, nature, and climate.
We’re hoping that we can channel some of that $5m to protect the Billy Trail with new Living Breakwaters, Saltmarsh and Oyster Beds, to create a brand new nature reserve. What a transformation that would be!
And we’ll be trying to persuade Coastal Partners and the Councils that’s the only acceptable way forward. Wish us luck, and if you care about Hayling, get involved.
Wilf