Sidmouth Beach Management Plan >>> Pennington Point and the importance of the shingle bank

The project to protect Sidmouth from cliff erosion and rising sea levels has asked for more information from the public:
Futures Forum: Sidmouth Beach Management Plan >>> "renewed call for evidence from Sidmouth people to provide details of their personal knowledge of the beach and cliffs"

This has resulted in some spectacular photos:
Futures Forum: Sidmouth Beach Management Plan: 'improving the town’s coastal defences' with an 'up-to-date aerial survey'

It has also raised concerns as to whether the right thing will be done:
Futures Forum: Sidmouth Beach Management Plan >>> Pennington Point "was once protected by shingle, but the 1995 sea defences led to the eastern beach being washed out - exposing Pennington Point and putting the eastern town at risk."

This set of photographs has been sent into the Beach Management Plan steering committee - and the correspondent has allowed this blog to publish them:

I attach 3 photos of the beach east of the River Sid from October 2005, showing the shingle level. 

Until 2010, I used to walk the beach from Salcombe Mouth to Sidmouth regularly along the shingle bank. My observation was that up to autumn 2010, if the beach shingle was removed by a big storm it would always come back, but that during that autumn, we had two very big storms very close together and the shingle didn't return afterwards. 

For what its worth, I also believe that the regular dredging of the Sid since the flood scheme of 1976 has removed a source of local sediment from the eastern beach - a small contribution perhaps, but over 40 years it must add up.

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