Four recharges to dune blow outs and planning for restoration works at the Jubilee site have fixed considerable storm damage and protected and enhanced the sensitive dune habitats.
The fragile dune systems at St Andrews have been suffering significant erosion, destroying important habitats. Enhancement of this sensitive and important system included the recharge and stabilization of the West Sands. The Trust have a long record of community engagement and effective management of the dunes for both positive nature outcomes but also for their amenity value. Identified within the Dynamic Coast study as a weak area and given the high value of land landward of this part of the dune system, the project allowed vital work to take place, changing access routes, raising dune eights to above 6.0Od and protecting vital busy beach access paths.
Dune growth in the project area has withstood 3 storm seasons including the devastating winter season of 2023/24 and the repairs are flourishing both as a coastal defence and viable habitat. The project has also enabled The St Andrews Trust to advance their Coastal Management Plan which is now live and being delivered over the coming period to 2033.
“We are grateful for this project delivery as it came at an important juncture in our restoration programme which has been ongoing since 2010 and is now targeting larger erosion zones. The experience and success of the 2022 project has been highly beneficial in advocating for this type of nature-based application both inhouse and to our local community. Success tends to drive success.”
In 2021 SMEEF was able to provide a grant of £68,896 to support this work using resources from the Nature Restoration Fund.