Flood defences help with maintenance
Story Date 11th April 2008.
Story Submitted 16th July 2008.
DIY flood defences built by volunteers along the Suffolk coast have given the Environment Agency the opportunity to continue important maintenance work further downstream.
Volunteers from Southwold and Walberswick rebuilt the sea defence at Tinker’s Marsh earlier this month using 2,000 sandbags, following the EAs decision to withdraw funding for maintaining flood defences in the Blyth Estuary over the next two decades.
This lowered the water level in Tinker’s Marsh, meaning essential work to stabilise the defences at Palmers Lane, the access road to the Bailey bridge which links Southwold and Walberswick, can be continued by the EA.
John Huggins, who helped organise and install the sandbags, said: "This has proved that the walls can be repaired and the harbour preserved."
A spokesman for the EA said: "Once the marsh has drained, we are looking to complete these temporary repairs with on-site machinery. This will allow our work at Palmers Lane to be completed."