Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.
Angus & The Mearns

Coastal erosion: The time is now to act on crisis facing our communities in Angus and Fife

The Courier is highlighting the effects of coastal erosion in Montrose and St Andrews.
Sean O'Neil
Montrose golf course after Storm Babet. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson
Montrose golf course after Storm Babet. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

Erosion is a crisis facing our coastal communities, yet there seems to be a lack of impetus and funding to stop our towns slipping into the sea.

This week, The Courier is highlighting the issue and asking if those in charge are really doing enough to combat this growing problem before it’s too late.

We have heard from Montrose Community Council, who believe it could cost up to £20million for a short-term fix.

Members of the Montrose and Ferryden community councils at the Traill Pavillon on the Montrose Beach Promenade.
Members of the Montrose and Ferryden community councils. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson.

But this is long-term concern and they are rightly worried about where the money is going to come from to help fight the forces of nature.

Ultimately, only the Scottish Government has the power to drive real change on a matter of this scale.

However, their initial correspondence on the issue leaves something to be desired.

Large-scale funding will be needed

When asked a range of questions about finances and timelines they pointed out two already publicised funding avenues of £440,000 for Angus Council and a further £12 million to be shared between all local authorities.

Those are not the figures that will see the dunes of Montrose saved for future generations.

Because no matter who you ask, even if they differ on the solution to the problem, almost everyone is in agreement that the project will cost millions of pounds in Angus alone.

That is funding that needs to be readily available when the time comes.

And that time is here.

The Scottish Government’s own independent advisor on coastal erosion, Dr Alistair Rennie, has warned that sea level rise is a “sleeping giant”.

Dr Alastair Rennie. Image: Dr Alastair Rennie

It is imperative that Angus Council wakes up to this fact.

It is nine months since Storm Babet, when the issue of coastal erosion was thrust into the spotlight, and in that time little movement has occurred to find and fund a solution.

A report has been commissioned and written on behalf of Angus Council which puts forward variations of one solution – the addition of around a million tons of sand to the coastline.

It’s a plan over which many questions remain – how will it be financed and what are the other options – being the main two.

What about breakwaters and engineering solutions?

Montrose does not have decades to wait

Storm season will be upon us again in a few months.

Last year, Montrose’s 462-year-old golf links lost seven metres of coast in 12 months – Storm Babet and Storm Gerrit claimed 3.5 on their own.

Erosion at Montrose golf course after Storm Babet in October 2023. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

Those figures far exceed the projected loss stated in the 2021 Dynamic Coast report by Dr Rennie which highlighted the danger of erosion to the town.

The people of Montrose cannot afford to wait and see what another winter of adverse weather events does to their community.

Further along the coast, St Andrews started tackling the problem 15 to 20 years ago and they are still battling it today.

Montrose doesn’t have another decade for those in positions of authority to devise and strategise.

The Courier is determined to continue highlighting this crisis until words are put into action – and that action needs to come now.

Conversation