The Somerset coastline stretches from Porlock Bay and Minehead in the west, to Burnham-on-Sea in the east (see Figure 1, below). Porlock Bay marks the western edge of the Somerset coastline. The low-lying land behind the beach was protected by a pebble ridge until this was breached (broken through) in a storm. Although the landowner wanted to fill this breach with pebbles from further along the beach, it was decided that nature should be allow to take its course and the land flooded naturally to form the salt marsh now found here.
The National Trust owns the eastern end of the beach and doesn’t want the pebbles to be moved, while the Environment Agency’s cost–benefit analysis showed that it was uneconomic to defend this piece of coastline. The decision to allow this coastline to retreat has meant less land for the farmer to use but has created a wetland environment which has increased biodiversity. This shows the tensions that exist when making choices about coastal defences.
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