2.3- Coasts Case Study - Holderness Coast, UK (Paper 1)

Question 1

Explain the opportunities presented to people living near Holderness Coast: (3)

Answer 1

• 11,000 visitors visit Holderness Coast, this is because tourists find the coast aesthetically pleasing and a lot of tourists visit Holderness Coast to relax, this can lead to the area earning income which can be used for other purposes. (1)
• Because of the Holderness Coast, it provides the surrounding farming areas more fertile land which can be used to grow crops. It also provides Job Opportunties as 4.5% of the population in Holderness are employed to work here. This will boost the industrial productivity in the area as they will then be able to sell these crops for profit. (1)
• Industrial ports in the region is also heavy reliant on by people in the Holderness Coast for income. In Easington there is a gas terminal which supplies 2.25% of all UK gas. Because of this, more money will be going to this area which can be used to invest in other things. (1)

Question 2

Explain the coastal management efforts taking place at Holderness Coast: (3)

Answer 2

• In Hornsea, there is 3m of erosion per year. To tackle this there have been 2 coastal management measures put in place to reduce the effect of Erosion. The first of which are Sea Walls which is a form of hard engineering and is a outward curved wall to deflect the power of the wave. The second defence are wooden groynes which is wood piled at right angles to the shore which reduces the effect of longshore drift on the coast. These defences could lead to the effect of erosion being reduced. (1)
• In Mappleton, before management was put in place, the damage each year was worth 2.9 million pounds. This area is valuable due to a church and town located nearby. The Strategy used to reduce the rate of erosion is rock armour. Rock armour is a hard engineering defence which are large boulders piled up on the beach which absorbs energy of waves so it can build up the beach. This reduces the energy of waves that crash against the shore. (1)
• The town in Easington uses vegetation to reduce erosion. However it is crucial that this is effective because there is a gas terminal nearby where 2.25% of all UK gases goes through so losing this would have drastic impacts. The vegetation at Easington are planted on cliffs and at various spots on the beach and it absorbs some of the water when the waves swash up the beach and because there is less water due to it being absorbed, less erosion can be done to the coast. (1)

Question 3

Explain the effects/hazards of erosion on Holderness Coast: (3)

Answer 3

• As a result of the 1.8m of erosion that takes place per year, 29 towns and villages have already been lost during the last 2000 years. These towns have been lost because they are destroyed and washed away into the sea due to the land retreating at an astonishingly fast rate each year which is a negative effect of erosion. (1)
• As a result of erosion, 80,000m2 of farmland is being lost at the Holderness coast, this is because the farms and the infrastructure that is built with it gets lost due to it being washed away by the sea due to erosion. This has led to farmers losing their jobs or having to look for alternative jobs as the land used for farming is likely to get eroded.
• Tourism is the main source of income for those who live along the Holderness Coast. Tourism is a positive for the Holderness Coast because it brings in an income of £20 million and provides over 1000 jobs for local people in cafes and shops. However due to the rapid erosion, less and less tourists have been visiting each year because they are discouraged from visiting due to the danger of erosion that lingers in the area and the loss of tourism has a negative effect on residents there.