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Jurassic Coast
Ringstead
The Community
Ringstead is a small village with 25 private properties and a large caravan site. The village is characterised by a high proportion of second/holiday homes.
Coastal defences
A coast defence scheme, in the form of rock armour groyne and beach recharge, was constructed in the early 1990's to protect 25 private properties and a caravan site.
Shoreline Management Plan 2: Policy and Implications
The short term draft SMP2 policy is to continue to ‘Hold the Line' of the existing rock groyne and beach nourishment scheme. However, this will move towards ‘No Active Intervention' in the medium and long term. This could cause a subsequent loss of property and parts of the caravan site. There will also be potential impact on part of the medieval settlement which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The sections of the coastline surrounding Ringstead are already subject to a ‘No Active Intervention' policy, which could also impact on the natural coastal processes in the area.
Click here to find out more about the Shoreline Management Plan.
The issues
There is an obvious concern about the potential loss of property and caravans to their owners, as well as the impact on conservation and tourism. However, the 1990s defence scheme obscured a boundary between two rock types that has the potential to be of international significance (additional to that of World Heritage Site status) so the earth sciences interest would benefit in the longer term. Conversely, the historic environment interest in the form of the Scheduled Ancient Monument could suffer. The juxtaposition of historic assets and residential properties in areas facing coastal change raises interesting questions.
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Location: Sidmouth lies on the East Devon coast between Branscombe and Budleigh Salterton. It has its own Town Council.
Population: Sidmouth has a population of approximately 14,400, of which 35% are above retirement age.
Designations: Sidmouth is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
Location: Charmouth lies on the West Dorset coast between Lyme Regis and Bridport (west of Seatown). It has its own Parish Council.
Population: The parish has a population of 1,300 in 850 residential houses (20% are second homes/holiday homes).
Designations: Charmouth is within Dorset's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
Location: Seatown lies on the West Dorset coast between Lyme Regis and Bridport (east of Charmouth) and falls within Chideock Parish Council.
Population: The parish has a population of 600 with 36% being over retirement age. Of this population, there are 20 residential address points within Seatown.
Designations: The whole area falls within Dorset's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), with some areas designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The whole coast frontage is a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).Location: The Preston Beach Road is the main road (A353) connecting Weymouth to Overcombe and Preston. Preston is located North-East of Weymouth, between Broadwey and Osmington and falls within the Weymouth and Portland District Coucil.
Population: Preston has a population of approximately 5,000 with 2,450 residential properties.
Designations: Lodmoor Nature Reserve lies behind the Preston Beach Road and is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Bowleaze Cove (north end of Preston Beach Road) is encompassed by a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).Location: Ringstead lies on the Dorset coast between Preston (near Weymouth) and Lulworth, on the boundary between Osmington Parish and Owermoigne Parish.
Population: 580 in Osmington Parish and 490 in Owermoigne Parish. There are 75 residential address points in Ringstead, half of which are caravans.
Designations: The whole area falls within Dorset's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), with the sea front designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC).Location: Swanage is in The Purbeck, between Durlston and Studland. North Swanage lies North of the Swanage town centre and includes the Ulwell Road area. It lies within Swanage Town Council.
Population: North Swanage and the Ulwell area has a population of 1,640 with approximately 1000 residential properties.
Designations: The whole area falls within Dorset's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and the coast designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Copyright 2011 Jurassic Coast
Copyright 2011 Jurassic Coast