The second phase of a conservation project to strengthen the sand dunes along Berrow beach and reduce the risk of erosion is underway.
Members of Sedgemoor District Council’s conservation team, Somerset Coastal Change Pathfinder project, Berrow Conservation Group and Bristol University’s Conservation Group have built a long line of wooden fencing in the sand, filled with vegetation, to shore up the natural sea defences.
The work first began in 2011 and has been hailed a success, with damage to the dunes from onshore winds and sea water being reduced, despite recent stormy high tides over the winter.
Sedgemoor District Council’s landscape officer, Janette Burton, pictured, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “A natural sand fence has been created along several hundred metres of the dunes and the results are very positive, with sand building up behind, creating new dunes.”
She added: “Several high tides have eroded the foredunes in places where ‘blow outs’ have occurred, leaving the dunes along the beach vulnerable to further erosion, which is why we’re tackling it in this way,” she added.
New signs are being introduced along the beach to explain the aims of the project and further work is also underway along vulnerable parts of the Berrow coastline.
The sand dunes are part of Berrow’s Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), managed by Sedgemoor District Council with support from Natural England and the Berrow Conservation Group.
