Shoreline Revival Integrating Nature-based Solutions for Sustainable Coastal Design and Enhanced User Experience Dawlish and Dawlish Warren, UK
Date
2023-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Description
Dawlish Warren is a seaside resort located on the south coast of Devon in England. Holiday accommodation and facilities for holidaymakers comprise the majority of Dawlish Warren. It is located at the mouth of the Exe Estuary and has a beach, National Nature Reserve, a golf course, and a seafront amusements area. During the summer months, thousands of visitor flock to the area, with holiday visits to the region being 421,000 between 2017-2019 (Visit England, 2022). The area heavily relies on tourism, with the beach essential in sustaining this destination. A train line runs through the resort, connecting down to Cornwall and up to London and onwards. One main road runs through the town, and several other roads connect the surrounding areas. There are also bus routes linking people throughout the county to the area. Additionally, there are coastal paths spanning the entire coastline of Devon, passing through Dawlish Warren. The site is relatively low and flat, extremely exposed to extreme weather events. This has caused the landscape to evolve over time looking
significantly different from the landscape in the early 1900s. A freshwater lake once split the landscape, but this was filled in between 1950 and 1960. Shoreline erosion has been a problem at Dawlish Warren for years, with numerous strategies being employed to reduce sand loss from the beach and protect the dune system (see figs. 12,15, and 19, pg. 15-17). Currently, groins line the beach trapping sediment on either side. Many of the groins have been updated recently, with only the groins on the far north end of the beach not being renewed. There are Geotubes holding the dune system up, but many of these are exposed, causing significant slippages of sand (Environment Agency, 2017). Additionally, gabion cages located around groin 12 have been entirely destroyed by wave energy and need to be removed, and an alternative measure needs to be used.
Keywords
Landscape architecture, Dalwish Warren UK, Devon UK, Shoreline erosion, Recreation improvement