The sand dune restoration work at South Milton Sands on the South Devon coast has now been completed.

The National Trust would like to thank all the local and wider support who helped to re-establish the sand dunes at South Milton Sands. A special thank you to over 100 volunteers who helped plant the 15,500 marram grasses at South Milton Sands over the past two weeks.

© National Trust / Simon Hill

A huge amount of work was completed to assist our restoration of the sand dunes, which we wouldn’t have been able to do without this help.

Over the past two months, South Milton Sands on the South Devon coast has seen dramatic changes.The timber sea defences that were no longer protecting the shore from coastal erosion have been removed and instead lines of sand dunes established.

The final stage of this work was to plant marram grass to help stabilise these dunes and maintain their sand coverage.

© National Trust / Simon Hill

It will now take at least a year for the young plants to really establish themselves. The grasses send down deep and wide root systems which will help stabilise the dunes from damaging storms and maintain their sand coverage. As the dunes develop and the grasses grow, they will start to provide good habitats for small insects and birds.

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Background

• Work began at the end of February and over 100 tonnes of waste material from beneath the previous defences was removed. The project has also included improving pedestrian access routes to the beach via large board walks.

• The problems at South Milton Sands originate from the 1960s, before the National Trust owned it, when vehicles started to park on the sand dunes, destroying the natural and flexible sea defence. In the late 1960s and 70s a car park was constructed on the entire site and in 1980 the National Trust acquired the property. In consultation with local residents, parish councils and other conservation bodies it was agreed that some of the car parking at the front of South Milton beach will revert back to sand dune.

• The work at South Milton is supported by the National Trust’s coastal management policy Shifting Shores. This policy recognises the long term impacts of climate change on rising sea levels and the importance of working with natural processes where possible. However, it also recognises the need to take account of public interests, including social or economic, when coming to decisions.

• An assessment of the parking spaces has been carried out over two years and the new parking provision will be adequate for more than 90% of the days when parking is currently used. A Neighbouring landowner has also agreed to open a nearby field at peak times.

If you would like any further details about the project please email southdevon@nationaltrust.org.uk