Habitat Creation Opportunities for Landward Coastal Re-alignment: Essex Case Studies

Relative sea-level fluctuations during the Holocene period have combined with medieval to present saline floodplain embanking to reduce the inter-tidal saltmarsh area in Essex from 40 000 ha to 4400 ha. The present loss by erosion is estimated at 2%/annum for the country, and the reduction in these areas is not only detrimental to related habitats but has caused an increasing requirement for flood-defence financial investment.
Recent initiatives by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Environment Agency and English Nature have created mechanisms and opportunities to develop sustainable flood-control structures where coastal re-alignment has been the preferred option.
The Orplands frontage covers 2 km of sea wall which have been deliberately breached to allow 40 ha of rare saltmarsh to re-establish. At Abbotts Hall, an arable field of 20 ha has been converted to its former saltmarsh by creek re-establishment and tidal inundation by reversal of existing sluices. These two schemes have (a) regenerated habitats for halophytic and semi-halophytic plants, marine and brackish invertebrates, and (b) provided roost, feed and breeding areas for birds and nursery areas for marine fish fry. Apart from flood control and habitat creation, particular features were incorporated to provide niche locations for targeted types of wildlife.