Indicative Content

General Guidance

Hard v soft engineering
Discussion on where each management strategy was use
Long term coastal management plans
Conflict between users and need for protection

8-mark question

The command word 'discuss' requires you to present key points about the costs and benefits of choices of coastal management on a specific coastline
This is a levelled response answer. It is important to remember that each point does not equate to a mark. The examiner will read your whole answer and make a decision about which level your answer fits into
A generic answer with no place specific detail will only gain a maximum of 3 marks

On the east coast of England the Holderness coast, is the fastest eroding coastline in Europe at an average rate of 1.8 metres a year. There are several reasons for this including soft rock geology, strong waves, naturally narrow beaches and existing coastal defences.

The current management strategies include mostly hard engineering such as sea walls, rock armour and groynes and beach widening.

The majority of protection of the coastline is focused at major towns in the north with sea walls and groynes. However, these systems prevent natural sediment movement down the coast and deprived southerly towns and villages of sand, which increases coastal erosion in those areas. For instance, erosion has increased at Great Cowden because of the groynes used in Mappleton, depleting sediment deposits on the beach. This has led to farms being lost through the erosion and a 100 chalets at the Golden Sands Holiday Park falling into the North Sea.

Management at Withernsea has used groynes to widen the beach and also a seawall to protect the town from coastal flooding. These measures will hold the line, calm the concerns of local residents, retailers and visitors to the beach. However, costs have limited the size of the sea wall, and increased wave noise. The rock armour has restricted access to the beach as well as restricting views.

Mappleton shows how costs vs benefits operate on coastal management. Most of the schemes employed are hard engineered but these raise a number of issues. Mappleton is at risk of collapsing into the sea and access to the beach was impossible and houses in Cliff Road were collapsing. As a small village, the cost of protecting it was considered too much, but pressure from the local residents meant that a £2.1 million scheme was implemented. The scheme included two rock groynes designed to trap sand to increase beach depth and slow wave velocity. The cliffs were re-graded and reduced slumping, along with re-nourishing the beach. Finally a new road and car park was built for visitors. However, this has proved insufficient and Mappleton is still eroding. This has led to further conflict between residents and the council on coastal management of the village.

Marks awarded 8/8

This is one possible way to answer this question - your answer does not have to be exactly the same
You need to refer to a case study example in your answer
The case study information should include place specific details - such as names, facts and figures
To gain 8 marks at least two effects or consequences of coastal management should be discussed
An 8-mark answer must include an evaluation of the the different types of engineering and their uses and conflicts that arise from them

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Management of Coasts (Edexcel IGCSE Geography)

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