The Environment Agency has developed a set of photo-realistic visualisations illustrating how our shoreline could change in Bude as a result of sea level rise – if we don’t act and just allow nature to take its course. But no one is suggesting we shouldn’t or can’t take action.
These visualisations were modelled using the most up-to-date and robust datasets available, including data collected from the South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme and climate data from the UK Climate Projections Project.
It mirrors data already available on Cornwall Council’s Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) interactive mapping website.
It’s important to remember that these future coastal visualisations are an indication and are based on a ‘No Active Intervention’ management approach – in other words: it’s what will happen if we let nature takes its course and we do nothing. But the current management approach for Summerleaze and Crooklets is ‘Managed Realignment’. So, this means the plan at the moment is to mitigate the effects of sea level rise by adaptation measures.
Some uncertainty in future timing and magnitude of climate change means the actual coastal change experienced could be less – or greater – than shown. Spring mean high tide events will occur with regularity.