How long has the Fairbourne got?

News item on the BBC website about coastal communities in Wales being abandoned due to cost of maintaining sea defences, with comment from Fairbourne Railway owner:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-26125479

Richard

 

They were actually rebuilding the flood embankment when we were last year.

 

That was before the policy of managed retreat was made public. I asked the question on the Fairbourne page directly, but I imagine that this is pretty recent news to them too. The managed retreat is likely to start in 2025. Managed retreat would probably give them a few years on top of that, but it'd be entirely up to the severity of the sea.

 

But if people are moving away before 2025, the tourist market will start to reduce too. Might need to look for an alternative location sooner rather than later.

 

Yes, although I don't know how much of that tourist market is hyper-local. Ten years gives them some time to plan some sort of relocation perhaps: but I guess a big concern is whether people will support the line and want to fund, or assist, in ongoing maintenance for something that has a limited lifespan. I hope they find a way through to a new future - but I can't see it being on the current site.

 

As the general manager of the railway was interviewed for the program I expect the Fairbourne are aware and as Sheff pointed out they started a £6.8 million scheme last year to repair and improve the flood defences of Fairbourne & Arthog. They are meant to last for 10 years. After that who knows?

From the extracts of the program it is Gwynedd Council saying they will not maintain the flood defences after 2025 and there will be a managed retreat. The natural resources minister of the Welsh Government says that currently managed retreat is not Government policy. Ultimately it is the sea that will have the final say and if levels rise that much then it will not only be Fairbourne with problems.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-26125479

For those who want to catch the whole program it is on BBC 1 Wales this evening at 10:40 (Week In, Week Out). For those not in Wales you should be able to get on IPlayer tomorrow.

 

Shades of the old Durham Category D villages in the 1950s and 60s although the reason why is different...

 

Indeed. It's all a matter of priorities, and priorities can change. At the moment it is more important to fund space programs in India, hire motivational magicians and fund ridiculous art projects, etc etc etc. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...end-British-family-annual-luxury-holiday.html

 

"Not like that… like THAT!"

 

If there are many more storms like yesterday's then 10 years might be optimistic. I think what Fairbourne needs is an influx of Tory voters and donators. Money would then be no option in protecting

 

The Fairbourne is built on a spit. Even if defensive work to protect the village were carried out, the railway would be vulnerable.

 

Do you honestly believe so much as one word that is printed in the Daily Fail?

 

My thoughts exactly - one is depressed by the knee-jerk reactionary responses prompted by that so-called newspaper ....

 

Unfortunately, we've learned in recent years that Tory party members only believe in one universal human right: the right to not have a railway within earshot of your house!

 

Yes. Quite unlike the knee-jerk reactionary responses prompted by a link to that so-called newspaper in a discussion.Which is to miss my point entirely. Deliberately I suspect.

Obviously none of the examples of government waste quoted in the Mail article are true. A decorated skip represents good value for money http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/new-public-art-unveiled-in-brighton-822978 , the motivational magician was money well spent http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/23/nick-clegg-wasteful-spending-councils , expenditure on biscuits doesn't get reported anywhere other than the Mail so must be a lie http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...e-Department-of-Health-Thatll-be-109000..html ...

Getting off topic I feel.

 

Doesn't the spit protect Barmouth bridge and estuary?

 

From memory what is in place at Fairbourne in terms of sea walls etc will take a fair time to erode completely - the issue presumably is whether or not it gets enhanced to enable it to protect the village from tidal flooding in bad weather. There is a difference between ensuring the land line is broadly maintained and spending more and more to raise a barrier as sea levels rise.

Interestingly the needs of the Cambrian Coast line become fairly relevant here - severing that line by allowing the entire Mawddach estuary area to permanently flood would cause massive problems for the whole area. Fairbourne is in a bit of a vicious cycle - there isn't much there so people don't go there so no-one opens attractions there etc etc. For all the charm of the little railway its not something large numbers will go out of their way to see (compared say to the Talyllyn) and although the route has a long history, the gauge and locos have changed many times over the years so its heritage DNA has somewhat dispersed.

 

Its a devolved Welsh government matter and Labour runs Wales. So it needs lots of union leaders to move there.

 

The issue of managed retreat, using Fairbourne as an example, was discussed on Newsnight last night. The suggestion (if I remember rightly; it's not an area I am at all familiar with) seemed to be that the mainline railway would be the point of defence, with everything between there and the sea abandoned.

Catch it on i-Player here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03vgnvx/Newsnight_14_02_2014/

Tom