Massive erosion of shingle is endangering public footpath access to Bawdsey beach.

If you are a beach user at Bawdsey you will have noticed that the beach has rapidly been getting narrower for the last few months and there has been very fast and massive shingle loss. In the summer over 500 people access the beach in any one day, while locals including dog walkers and sea anglers use the beach year round.

Bawdsey Haven Yacht Club had to act quickly to maintain access to its boat park which at the same time protects the public footpath. If the public footpath becomes unusable, the only access to Bawdsey beach by the public will be via the river bed which will be dangerous on a rising tide. The authorities would have to close the beach completely because of public safety issues.

Volunteers from BHYC have put up some temporary wooden structures and made urgent repairs to one groyne to try and slow down the erosion. On Saturday 15th November the club totally renovated one of the main groynes next to the boat yard entrance. To ensure a life of over 50 years the club obtained green oak from A. C.Timber Solutions. This sustainable certified wood was sourced from their french supplier at short notice. The renovation means replacing 10 groyne posts and subsequently bolting on 240 square feet of 75 mm thick planks. It also means moving over 4 tons of wood by hand!

BHYC volunteers have already done a lot, but much more needs to be done. The Council and Environment Agency have been contacted for assistance and funding but, as yet, no definite help has been forthcoming. The club has already spent  £5,500 on this work but the total cost could eventually be as high as 35K. BHYC has therefore started a fundraising drive (see https://gofund.me/8c35bdbd1 or scan the QR code below).

Please help us to protect the path, we want to rebuild more of the old groynes which previously protected this section and ideally get a permanent barrier built by the path using metal piles or hard wood.