Sea defences are the responsibility of the Environment Agency (EA) and they carry out works to maintain the integrity of the defences.

There is a constant threat of breaching at Slaughden, at the northern end of the spit, due to coastal and estuarine pressures. At the narrowest point the land bar is only some 30 metres wide. Concrete and rock armour, together with wooden groynes, are used as protection as well as an artificially created and maintained shingle sea wall.

This shingle wall is itself subject to major erosion each year, particularly when strong north-easterly gales coincide with storm surges. It can be reduced significantly in a very short period of time, sometimes even overnight. In the winter of 1997 it was eroded from its normal 13 metres width down to only 1.5 metres.

©National Trust

In order to maintain the wall at the required width, the EA has in the past, as part of a fifteen year trial which ended in 2001, removed shingle from the foreshore adjacent to the southern end of Lantern Marsh and hauled it northwards for use as beach replenishment material for the Slaughden sea defences.

After the end of the trial this practice was placed under review, as there was concern that the process was damaging and disturbing to the site, coastal processes and wildlife. An Environmental Impact Assessment is currently being undertaken by the EA in order to establish whether these concerns are valid. In the meantime special dispensation has been granted to the EA by the maritime Local Authority to carry out repair works should they be required to maintain the integrity of the defences.

©National Trust