TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2024/25
NAZE PROTECTION Society
For the period 01st May 2024 to 30th April 2025 Charity Registered No 1064011
The objectives of the Naze Protection Society are to raise awareness posed by the threat of coastal erosion to the Naze peninsula; the Walton Backwaters (also known as Hamford Water); and the town of Walton on the Naze. It is also charged with securing resolutions to these issues. The Society does this on behalf of the local community and its wider community of supporters. By local community we would refer to this as those living within the towns of Walton on the Naze, Frinton on Sea, the Kirbys and Great Holland. The wider community we see not only as our supporters as those that visit and enjoy using the Naze and Hamford water. This includes tourist visitors and schools. The Naze attracts around 200,000 visits per year, 90,000 of which are seen going through the Essex Wildlife Trust Discovery Centre.
When the Society was formed it was in the role of being a lobbyist for the local community – looking for others to undertake work to protect the Naze. Over 2005-2018 this policy worked through the creation of trusted working partnerships with the Society assisting through fund raising and making fund contributions to projects delivered through these partnerships. Covid broke this pattern as the partnerships were not in a position to deliver projects on the ground, so the Society stepped in to ensure that urgent works were delivered. This enabled the Society to develop new skills and further strengthened the relationship with the local community. Throughout the whole period climate change has been a discussion point with scientific based predictions fuelling concerns for the future. Over the period 2016 to 2021 the rate of erosion on the most vulnerable north end of the Naze was recognised as being excessive. Over the next three years increasing numbers of extreme weather events, including named storms have delivered national and local impacts which require reflection and a course of action for the future. Understanding future impacts is essential so the Society can play its part in managing our local environment under new circumstances. To this end, the Society is forming new relationships with those that can deliver evidence and data on which to base our way forward. These will be centred on ensuring we understand a credible series of future outcomes driven by climate change and working with the local community to adapt to them.
Climate change is not the only challenge. The Naze cliffs are the seaward frontage of the 150 acre Naze public open space, attracting 200,000 visits per year. As an internationally recognised geologically important site Natural England has a management policy to allow uninterrupted erosion to expose geological strata for future research. The Environment Agency also views the cliffs as a source of sediment that feeds local beaches. These two issues stand in the way of the Society continuing with its task on behalf of the local community to manage erosion and thereby protect the Naze for future generations. All erosion management works require planning permission to which both these agencies act as consultants. Increasing rates of erosion driven by climate change presents a new scenario of threat to the wider landscape, which may provide a negotiated way forward for
limited action in the future. Building a working relationship with agencies and partners requires the Society to understand these issues and work with managing agencies to find appropriate ways forward.
There is a further complication which the Society has to recognise. The geological construction of the Naze cliffs presents a body of Red Crag sediment sitting on top of London clay with significant spring waters that move between the two. This creates a sliding surface with a natural process of movement whereby the Crag slumps resulting in cliff shearing and collapsing into the sea. The Crag Walk rock revetment was built in 2011 to prevent the sea taking away the slumped material but the natural process would continue until the cliff found an angle of repose that was stable. Planning permission was given for Crag Walk based on its multiple benefits to protect the Grade 2* Naze Tower and provide the public and schools with an access platform with interpretation as to the cliff geology as an educational asset. In seeking a solution to managing the erosion of the cliffs the Society has to present solutions that satisfy agency management issues, natural processes and the aspirations of the local community.
The way forward for this is to work with all stakeholders to build solutions based around evidence that satisfies agency requirements; justifies investment and provides answers to local community aspirations. The predictions of sea level rise may negate efforts in the long term to protect the cliffs and this needs to be understood by the local community. In the short and medium term efforts may well be practical and achievable based on building stakeholder accepted evidence based plans and this presents the strategic way forward for the Society for the next decade. This is a critical new phase for the Society so the information below attempts to unravel some of the complexity for the reader.
1.0 Increased erosion risk: The coastal erosion threat to the Naze was recorded as being seeing an average of 1.5m/yr up to 2010. In the most vulnerable areas, over the past fifteen years this has been measured as rising to 5m in a year.. There is no established evidence of what is driving this, but the frequency of winter storms and weather events has increased and this may be a factor. It is possible that this increase is influenced by climate change. The Environment Agency Naze Cliff Recession report (1992-2023) derived from LIDAR annual data shows that over the period, the high cliff has receded in a range of between 0.31 – 1.91m/yr whereas the low cliff to the northern end rises to 2.38m/yr average over the 30 year period. The 5m loss in a single year was recorded on the north beach area, where the Society has been working to install low impact temporary defences to the north of the cliffs. The support received from Tendring District Council, Essex County Council, Frinton and Walton Town Council; Environment Agency and Natural England in promoting erosion management in this north beach area is testament to this erosion risk factor.
2.0 Collaboration and the Naze Management Board : In developing and gaining outcomes from its objectives it is the collaboration with the above local government authorities and agencies that has ensured continued success. The on-going support from the local and wider community in providing donations to the Society for its work, provides tangible evidence of local support to these authorities and agencies which creates a trusted partnership between us all. Following the delivery of the £1.2 million Crag Walk
Project to secure the Grade 2* Naze Tower from localised coastal erosion, Tendring District Council created the Naze Management Board (NMB). This sits up to four times a year and brings together all the government and local stakeholders to identify areas of management concern and promote solutions to them. Other stakeholders involved include the Essex Wildlife Trust; Hamford Water Management Committee; Naze Tower; and other users of Hamford Water such as Anglian Water. Anglian Water operates a Water Recycling Centre on the Naze providing a service for 25,000 local residents and visitors. It cannot be emphasised enough to say that the creation of the Naze Management Board providing a combined stakeholder/agency body has made a critical difference in delivering successful outcomes in managing the Naze.
3.0: Impact of Covid: As an outcome of the decisions made by the Board, the Society and Tendring District Council (TDC) work in partnership to deliver actual projects on the north beaches and low cliff areas. The Society contributes funds and volunteers, also working on some of the licences, while TDC provides planning, permissions, management and contractors. Tendring District Council owns the Naze Public Open Space, whilst it is also the Local Coastal Protection Agency.
Over the Covid years – 2022/23, the Society employed a local team as contractors. This team was contracted by TDC alongside its coastal engineers in 2024 for its ability to deliver specialist beach work. The team has now formed itself into a formal Coastal Defence Contractor company to deliver local services.
Covid impacted on TDC by reducing their capacity to deliver coastal defence works while delivering Covid management services to the area. The Society agreed with TDC at that point to continue with projects identified through the NMB in 2019 that presented an unacceptable flood risk to the Naze in its most vulnerable areas . The Society adopted the need to gain Marine Management Organisation licences for the projects in 2022/23. In 2024, TDC returned as the management lead for the “Tamarisk Wall“ project. In order to reduce project costs, the Society assisted by continuing in delivering the licence management for the project.
4.0 Linkage between the Naze and Hamford Water :The work of the Naze Protection Society was started in 1997 to raise awareness of the erosion risks to the Naze. It looked to others to deliver the necessary works to reduce these risks. The delivery of Crag Walk came from a strong partnership lead from the Essex Wildlife Trust, alongside those partners that the Society works with today. The Crag Walk structure is a substantial rock revetment, built to ensure the cliffs that it protects from the sea will be held in situ for some decades. The work that the Society and its partners deliver are different.
The Naze and Hamford Water area are both covered by multiple environmental designations. The Naze cliffs are protected by a Geological Site of Special Scientific Interest order established in 1959. Hamford Water is a National Nature Reserve (NNR); containing a Special Area of Conservation; Special Protection Area; Site of Special Scientific Interest and the whole area comes under the international protection order from the Ramsar Convention.
The Hamford Water designations cover the north beach area of the Naze and their presence impacts on planning and management decisions in the area by both the Environment Agency and Natural England.
Natural coastal processes are seen as being an essential part of the natural conditions that support the wildlife habitats within these sites. Intervening with natural processes is therefore seen as an undesirable activity by the permitting agencies, unless the outcomes of the interventions are to prevent observed potential wider damage that might destabilise the favourable conditions of habitats.
This is a critical issue of balance. It is recognised however that the Naze provides a tidal barrier that protects Hamford Water NNR from the North Sea. After centuries of gradual land loss to the sea the time has come where if left unmanaged this tidal barrier status will be lost and the 2000 hectare intertidal protected area of the NNR will by consequence be at risk. Climate change presents a significant shift in this situation. If it, as is probable, is the cause of increasing frequency and strength of extreme weather and tidal events impacting an accelerating rate of erosion – then the need to adapt management to face these new challenges becomes paramount.
5.0 Low impact erosion management solutions : In 2016 the Society placed some rudimentary steel mesh cages filled with rock on the most vulnerable section of beach/ cliff. In 2019 the Naze Management Board (NMB) identified and supported projects to reduce the rising rate of erosion on the Naze north beach area. Covid hit in 2020, as the NMB was not sitting, the Society proposed to use steel gabion mesh rock filled cages as the method of delivering the projects presented in 2019. By their nature, in a hostile marine environment, these have a limited lifetime and therefore are seen by the agencies as being a temporary structure – whereas the rock revetment used to build Crag Walk is more permanent. As a temporary structure that intervenes with natural processes it provides an easier approach in gaining the support of coastal management agencies. They are also light in weight, being able to be installed with small machinery and manpower. They are also affordable with each cage being approximately £400. If for some reason, the intervention of natural processes has some negative impacts on the local environment – then these low cost, light weight structures can be dismantled and removed. Hence a system emerged to use gabions along the north beach and low cliff that was permissible in limited areas.
6.0 The Role of Trustees : Implementing the objectives of the Society is driven by a small management group which are overseen by trustees of the Society. Trustees need to be part of the local community, although as the Society grows in ambition it may look for trustees bringing skills and experience from the environmental or charity sector. Currently there are five trustees which serve the purposes of the Society in its current form. Trustees meet twice a year, but trustees remain on the circulation of communications particularly in relation to financial and main project concept development. Most trustees are regularly part of the management teams developing projects and helping as volunteers with events. As all are local it is possible to call for additional meetings to discuss matters requiring trustee decision at short notice. Trustees are responsible for
maintaining oversight and control of the finances of the Society. This includes the management of the reserve fund, as well as overseeing contributions made towards projects with partners. It remains a Society objective to minimise expenditure on activities that are not purely delivering erosion management projects. This includes events. It is felt that funds collected particularly from the local community should be prioritised for erosion work. Protecting the Naze is what the community looks to the Society to do and therefore the trustees take this into account and have drawn on reserve funds to complete projects where a shortfall exists from current account fund raising activities.
In 2021 the Society had a reserve fund of £50,000 left over from Crag Walk project fund raising and being held for major future works. The trustees have elected to maintain this reserve and fund new projects through on-going fund raising events and donations. This helped raise awareness of current and topical issues and engaged with the local community to ignite their interest and show that something can be done about the erosion on the Naze
The Society was formed in 1997 to represent the interests of the local community and respecting this relationship is a primary task of the Society. During 2021/2023 this involved holding a stand on the local Walton Thursday and Saturday markets; presentations to local groups; distributing newsletters and re-establishing the dormant Society website.
Following Crag Walk; helping develop the Essex Wildlife Trust discovery centre (2015) ; being a member of the NMB; being a funding partner in the building of the Naze counterwall as a primary flood wall protecting the Water recycling Centre (2018) – the Society work was supportive of the Naze rather than proactive. Between 2016-2021 the end of the Naze lost 22m. This was a wake-up call for action, demanding the Society increase in capacity and skill. The Chair of the Society from 1997 retired and this triggered a need for new trustees. From 2019 – 2024 the Society projects that have been delivered on the Naze are testament to its greater skill capability. Supporting the management group there is a body of volunteers that help with fund raising events as well as providing “banksmen” as part of the beach project team delivering public safety and engagement.
The Society has grown in capacity and ability based on voluntary time given by its trustees, management team and volunteers. Delivering its future aims and objectives will continue to be through its working relationships and the trust it has developed with others. Formed with a Trust document in 1997, the trustees have promoted the concept that the Society will improve its professional status and operation through the transition to becoming a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. This will overhaul and improve its policies and procedures; create a management framework looking to further improve its skill base and thereby its capacity to deliver not just its objectives but the outcomes from those objectives.
7.0 A Local charity The Society’s activities are developed and managed by a dedicated group of local residents who have joined the Society over the past five years. As with trustees, there are no paid staff and all activities are managed by a hard core of nine.
Over the past five years there has been continual recognition that the human resource of the Society is stretched. The Society is fortunate in having a treasurer and project manager with considerable professional experience in these two key areas. Of other members of the group there are organisational, HR, financial and management skills as well as experience drawn from working with other charities. This team has delivered the overhaul of the Society website; rebranding; event management; conference management; fund raising; promotion and publicity. Outside this team there are also a group of volunteers which are called upon to help run events and support the Society participation with Tendring District Council’s coastal engineering team when delivering erosion management projects. A recent initiative has been to create a membership, which stands at over 200. When the Society needs to expand its activities and needs skills it will look to this members group for volunteers. The member group is growing and therefore the ability of the Society to source and expand its skill base will be possible from this group that already have a dedicated interest in the Society objectives.
8.0 The Growing issue of climate change :The Society has existed since 1997. The growing threat of climate change presents two issues. First, it is a potential agent driving increasing rates of erosion that will require greater response to build resilience into the 2 kilometres of shoreline frontage of the Naze. Building this resilience is what the local community looks to the Society to deliver. The second issue is more difficult. Increasing frequency of storms and tidal events comes with greater wave energy that increases the shoreline loss to the sea. Polar/glacial melt, alongside thermal expansion of the oceans is another consequence of global warming that is developing an increased rate of sea level rise. Whereas the Society can build strong defences to reduce the wave energy that damages our shoreline, it will not be able to act against sea level rise. This means that the Society needs to develop a new approach recognising this coming issue. It is an issue that will become a significant problem but it is unpredictable when it might happen.
The Society believes that it must work with others to act to build resilience into the Naze shoreline frontage to offset the impacts of climate change that are increasing the rate of erosion. These measures will deliver resilience for a period of time until sea level rise overwhelms them – in possibly two or three decades time.
The problem with the sea level rise issue is that it is unpredictable in scale, scope and timeframe, but what is predictable is its reality and the outcome it will bring with it.
Our local community looks to the Society to work with others to deliver protection for the Naze. The Society has to reconcile that at some stage its work will become unable to deliver on the community aspiration.
9.0 A new direction for the Society: As the local group that represents the community in protecting the Naze, the Society needs to redefine its purpose of managing the local environment to ensure that the community continues to benefit from the local environment – even in its changed form impacted by rising sea levels.
The recognition of this role started in 2024.
A site meeting on the Naze, March 3rd 2024, with the Natural England team including their planning adviser, indicated a strong defence of the agency as to their views on continuing with a policy of no intervention to prevent erosion of the Naze cliffs.
The rock-filled gabion basket structures constructed by the Society in 2022 and 2023 demanded considerable engagement with Natural England (NE), the Environment Agency (EA), the planning authority, and the Marine Management Organisation to achieve, delivering works limited to the most vulnerable north beach area and low cliff.
The Society needs to understand how to move forward within the constraint of the Natural England policy on the rest of the cliffs.
The Environment Agency supported the concept that the Naze provided an important role as a tidal barrier protecting the 2000 hectare adjacent Hamford Water NNR. As evidence of this, they provided funding for the TDC/NPS beach Tamarisk wall project delivered in October 2024.
These conflicting issues presented the Society with a need to find a way forward.
On October 4th 2024 NPS hosted a meeting on the Naze bringing together Natural England, Environment Agency, TDC, Essex County Council, Frinton and Walton Town Council to discuss this issue.
The outcome of this meeting will provide some guidance for the Society in the future.
First – there has to be acceptance that climate change and sea level rise present significant problems not just for the Naze but for planning how to manage the coast. The Naze and Hamford Water are under threat. EA has wanted to undertake a study of Hamford Water but there is no budget to fund it. Without the study it is difficult to build strategy and policy. These are necessary to define how to manage change, mitigation and adaptation to change.
Second it was recognised that stopping erosion on the Naze was not acceptable as it conflicts with NE policies and with the EA reflection that the cliffs are a source of sediment for local beaches. However, slowing erosion is a possible way forward.
10.0 Defining a future way forward : The recognition of the value of the Naze to Hamford Water provides a valued linkage. The environmental value of Hamford Water is accepted through the designations and agency management plans that protect it. Sea level rise is seen as a real but future threat. This threat will impact upon the NNR, its habitats and the wildlife that rely upon them. It will impact upon the flood risk management that the local community benefits from sea walls that enclose the NNR. There are boatyards and marinas in Walton, which provide local skilled employment upon which access to and through Hamford Water is crucial. The stable relationship between Walton, the sea and the unique intertidal habitats adjacent to it create a package upon which the town’s tourism economy relies. The recreational, health and wellbeing value of the local environment to the local community is priceless. The ability to adapt successfully to change will underpin the future economic and social sustainability of the
local community and its ability to develop new opportunities to take advantage of a growing regional population and market.
In order to map out its future role the Society needs to understand the environmental value of Hamford Water and the Naze, how it will be impacted by sea level rise and how this will impact upon the local community. To do this it needs to build partnerships with the resource, capacity and capability to deliver the evidence upon which to base this understanding. This evidence can then be used to inform the local community and drive its collective effort to create a future that absorbs these future coastal change issues with positivity and turning perceived threat into realising benefit from opportunity.
11.0 Activities during 2024/25 that support Society objectives and this new direction:
11.1 Delivering beach erosion management works: restoration of the Tamarisk wall with installation of tidally protected beach access ramp. One of the original Naze Management Board projects defined in 2019 was to prevent continual erosion of the Tamarisk Wall. This historic wall was 120m long and the western part of a ring of sea defence that was lost to the sea following the 1953 surge tide event. Located on the western end of the Naze north beach area, it secures a beachhead that seals off a significant creek running from Hamford Water NNR to the west of the Naze, behind the Naze north Stone Marsh salt marshes, through to the Naze north east beaches. The continued erosion of the Tamarisk Wall threatened the ability of the North Sea to break through the beach head behind the wall, thereby creating a new fully tidal channel running from the North Sea directly into Hamford Water. This would destabilise the tidal dynamics in the NNR, changing the favourable condition of the Hamford Water SSSI and impacting upon the local marine economy based in Walton Town. The project was developed by TDC through 2023/24. The Society aided the project by making and funding the Marine Management Organisation licence, which it was granted in September 2024. The work, which took six weeks, involved TDC coastal engineers working with the local contracting team, who had installed the gabion structures built by the Society in 2022 and 2023. The nature of the local contracting team is that it has developed skills of not only installing gabions but adapting the manufactured cages to being stronger and more suitable for our very exposed tidal environment. As a small team they are also more cost effective than using a larger contractor. As a TDC project there was a formal procurement process undertaken for the project, and the local team was chosen over other contractors for their skill level and affordability. The project was funded by the Environment Agency in recognition of the importance of the Tamarisk Wall to maintaining the security of keeping the North Sea out of Hamford Water. The Society also agreed that its stock of gabion baskets and rock could be contributed into the project. The project was delivered under budget and TDC agreed that the stock provided by the Society should be replaced from the project budget for future joint works. This partnership delivered an innovative, affordable and critical piece of beach defence that delivered the on-going commitment of the Society to the local community.
11.2 Engaging with the local community and our working partners through a new conference format: In 2023 one of our managing team suggested we should recognise
World Environment Week in June 2024 with an event. This initiative developed into an opportunity to bring our working partners together to present their work and relevance to Hamford Water to the local community. The venue was chosen as the Columbine Centre in Walton Town which has a theatre with a capacity of 350 maximum, stage, and facility for large screen and speakers. The proposal was to choose speakers who could explain why the local environment is important, and to back the speaker format up with exhibition stands from local heritage, wildlife and town contributors. The exhibitions would provide the opportunity for the local community to engage with those with local knowledge to explain their expertise to add to the ability of those attending to understand more about the Naze and Hamford Water. Speakers included the Chairman of the Naze management Board; Chairman of the Essex Climate Action Commission; the RSPB; Essex Wildlife Trust; Chairman of the Essex Local Nature Recovery partnership together with a non-speaker film presentation from the Environment Agency. Exhibitors included the Frinton Walton Heritage Trust; Naze Tower; Anglian Water; Tendring writers group; Walton Arts festival organisers; local birdwatcher and Naze guide; the local photography club; and others. The Society designed the event taking half the floor space with exhibitors, providing seating for 150 people, with 120 members of the public coming. A booklet was produced by the Society for the event that included articles expanding on all the topics covered by speakers and the work of the Society. It also included a leaflet from Essex Climate Action Commission giving suggestions on 30 personal actions that
one can make to help ease the climate situation by 2030. These booklets are distributed to school parties visiting Walton and the Naze following the event. The event was deemed a great success and it was decided to repeat it in the following year. The significance of the RSPB was their presentation focused on their work on Little Terns, a rare species in Hamford Water – together with the RSPB UNESCO World Heritage Site application for the East Coast Wetland – within which Hamford Water is included.
11.3 Fund raising event : Save the Naze Party: Having had an event in the town of Walton it was decided to have the main fund raising event on the Naze itself, in August, when visitor numbers are high. The event was organised so as to support the Naze Tower; Essex Wildlife Trust Discovery Centre and Naze Cafe by attracting people to the site but not compete with any function these operators already provide. The format was the sale of donated goods; some exhibition stands and a range of village fete games for children. The event raised over £1000, which, for a first event was deemed a success and something that created a format for the future. Fund raising during 2024/25 was supported by a number of on-going activities. Collection boxes in Walton High Street retailers and cafes; presence on the Walton market; distributing newsletters to raise awareness and making presentations to local groups all look to encourage donations. As yet the Society does not have a fund raising group as the main management team incorporates fund raising within the organising of events and activities.
Fund raising across 2021/22/23 has been specifically to fund beach sea defence gabion projects. The cost of the Columbine event was helped by a single donation. TDC paid for the printing of the booklet. The Society has a stock of materials to undertake further works on the beach in 2025/26, and TDC is preparing for a general upgrading of the works installed in 2022/23 to make them more resilient for the future. The Society continues to fund raise towards the aspiration of gaining permission to extend the 2023 low cliff gabion wall by a further 100m. It still holds a longer term intent to be able to install limited gabion structures along selected parts of the low and middle height Naze cliffs.
11.4 Naze Protection Society rebranding: Since 1997 the Society has been a lobbying organisation working with others. Its logo related to the Naze cliffs, its tower and a little tern representing the value of the area to wildlife. As more of the cliffs have tumbled into the sea the situation has become more critical and even though work is being undertaken the Naze public open space itself diminishes without protection. It was therefore decided early in 2024 to consider rebranding the Society to reflect a more campaigning role with the Naze to be shown as being under real threat. A designer was commissioned to undertake guiding this work, alongside improving the functionality of the website. As the Society engages with a wider audience and with more organisations (Essex County Council; RSPB; Essex Wildlife Trust; other stakeholders) these measures were needed to improve communicating our aims, our work and achievements. The rebranding was presented with options for acceptance by the trustees initially then by the broader group, members and volunteers. As might be expected it was not completely accepted by all with enthusiasm as change is often controversial. It was adopted however and is now used across the Society forms of communication. The rebranding was signed off in February 2025.
11.5 Bid for Environment Agency Championing Coastal Co-ordination fund : This is an annual fund designed by the Agency to give funding to charities. It is national and is to promote support for coastal communities and build resilience for the future in the face of climate change. The Society put together a bid centred around funding the need for an environmental study of Hamford Water and the Naze together with a community consultation relating to the results that would come from the study. Unfortunately the fund is national and therefore very competitive with others like the National Trust; ZSL;Wildlife Trusts all bidding. In consequence the bid was not successful but it created some groundwork for future approaches. Part of the 3Cs bid engaged with Essex University Natural Capital analysis team, a connection which may prove useful in the future.
11.6: Membership: The Society exists to represent the local community but up until 2024 there was no provision for the local or wider community to become more involved . A member of the management team pressed this forward and the event in June in the Columbine Centre provided a good opportunity to drive the concept forward. The membership comes with a fee of £10, which the Society deems as being affordable. In return the Society releases regular updates/newsletters to members. It also hosts meetings for members. There are some members who are non-digital and therefore these meetings provide a means for members to question the chair of the Society, the Treasurer and other members of the management team. This engagement is becoming more important as the Society's role moves forward and it needs to ensure the community and members understand what the Society can and cannot do to protect the Naze.
11.7 Society Quarterly meetings : The development of the June event, and fund raising events in 2023 before it require multiple meetings focused on the specific need of the event or activity. It is important that the managing group also review and keep up to date with non-specific activity actions, the state of Society accounts, policy matters and outstanding actions. Therefore it was decided that there should also be quarterly meetings of the management group. This is in addition to the Trustee meetings twice a year, members meetings and Society event/activity meetings. Again it has to be reflected with gratitude the amount of commitment that goes into running the Society, particularly as most of the activities come from a small group of dedicated people.
11.8 Engaging with the local MP: As part of its engagement with agencies; stakeholders; local government to achieve its aims the Society has engaged with its local MP in the past. In 2021/22 when attempting to gain a Marine Management Organisation licence for the first time the Society was frustrated by the time it took to engage with the MMO. For a matter of months the MMO did not engage in 2021, then it took a complaint at MMO Board level from the Society to start a process that took 8 months to deliver. This was important as other conditions imposed by Natural England allow for work to only take place between April/May and September/October. No MMO licence means these available work slots can be missed, which results in further erosion loss to the sea. As a result of this situation the Society engaged with the then MP Mr Giles Watling. Mr Watling gained a 10 min Debate in the House of Commons on the activity of the MMO. Engagement from the MMO regarding policy consultations
does now involve the Society so it can be considered that some of the issues raised had some benefit.
On October 26th, the new MP, Mr Nigel Farage was hosted by the Society for a tour of the Naze to view what work had been completed and what issues there are with coastal works and communities.
The Society remains apolitical and only engages with MPs as and when there is an issue that only an MP might be able to aid in solving.
11.9 Engaging with Essex University and LIFT TTC: The June event in the Columbine Centre highlighted that the Society was not reaching the local younger generation. The growing concept of the Society needing to evaluate the value of the Naze is also an issue. In November 2024 the Essex University held a seminar launching the centre for Coastal Communities, following on from this came the ARISE Project – Advancing Resilience and Innovation for a Sustainable Environment. This provided an opportunity to engage with our local university, which is engaging with coastal communities. The Society signed up to the ARISE Project as a participant for projects in 2025. The brief engagement with the Essex University Natural Capital analysis team for the EA 3Cs bid resulted in a Phd based survey of the Naze Stone Marsh being undertaken during autumn 2024. The work looked at surveying the site and installing markers that allow for salt marsh growth study in the future.
The Society's recognition that it needs to engage with the next generation resulted in a meeting with Mr Tom Burt at the LIFT Tendring Technology College in April 2024.
It is hoped that the Society, the university and LIFT TTC can work together to bring greater awareness of coastal issues to the students of LIFT TTC. It might be possible to develop specific school trips to study the Naze with the added value of understanding the work of the University Natural Capital analysis team who are starting work on the nearby River Colne and Blackwater estuary.
Conclusion:
2024/25 has been a formative year for the Society. Its capacity to deliver ambitious projects is building its skill base and driving its potential to deliver its objectives to the local community that supports it. Its working relationship with local stakeholders; agencies, local government is key to its delivering these objectives. Climate change presents a new set of conditions that are impacting on coastlines and make managing change more complex. The relationship with the local community needs to be built upon to ensure that the perceptions of the past that the coastline can be held regardless can be engaged with to create realistic aspirations for the future. The Society objectives are still valid within the environmental challenges that are being presented, but it will be essential for the Society to use authoritative evidence to drive credible debate with its supporters to ensure their commitment to the Society working with agencies to manage future change.
Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees
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Signature(s) QS OAES' .
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Full name(s) Simonr Jones
Position (eg Secretary,
Chair, etc) CHAR Aust, [EL]
Date Decsmarx 18 2027 IL2/: [POLS]
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