Supported by the DEP and RDA, East Suffolk Council’s Wildlife Wise team and Suffolk Police’s Rural, Wildlife and Heritage Crime team were together on the water this weekend to see the river and its environment from a different perspective, and to engage with the public in protecting the river’s wildlife and promoting responsible use of this much-loved waterway.

Throughout the afternoon, two patrol boats crewed by Wildlife Wise rangers and an officer from Suffolk Police’s Rural, Wildlife and Heritage Crime Unit conducted high-visibility patrols between Wilford Bridge and Waldringfield. The teams engaged with river users, sharing advice on how to enjoy the river safely and respectfully while helping to minimise disturbance to wildlife. They also met with the Scouts and volunteers from Transition Woodbridge, who were doing a litter pick along and in the Deben that afternoon.

With input from the RDA and other local organisations, Wildlife Wise have developed a colourful information pack that they hope will help people appreciate the Deben for its tranquillity and its wildlife. “Our goal is to help people get the most from the river they love, while ensuring it remains a haven for wildlife,” Will added. “The Deben is a shared space, and by being aware and considerate, we can all help protect it.”

Sue Quick, Simon Read, and a team of willing volunteers organised this well-attended community event, which took place both in Waldringfield Village Hall and along the river wall at Waldringfield Beach.

‘Beach’ events included a ‘Flood Management Walk and Talk’ by David Kemp of the Environment Agency, a ‘History Walk’ led by Gareth Thomas, demonstrations from Ipswich Detectorists and the David Findley, music from the Rabble Chorus, and open access to the Boatyard Studio in Waldringfield Boatyard.

In the Main Hall there were stands from the National Landscapes, Environment Agency, DEP and RDA, Waldringfield Wildlife Group, Ipswich and District Detector Club, and the Deben Climate Centre, plus many artists exhibiting their work under the heading ‘Art and the Shoreline’: Waldringfield Art Group; Jackie Brinsley; Tim Curtis; Lizzie Hale; Malcolm Hodd; Al Gurr; Ian Kay; Graham Kellaway; Claudia Myatt; Simon Read; Neil Sully; Darren Tansley; Annie Turner; Jonathan Ruffle.

In the Kennedy Room, visitors could watch videos from Tim Curtis and Malcolm Hodd (and ask them questions), as well as learn more about local history (from the Waldringfield History Group) as well as the 3C’s project and the Deben Photoposts (Helene Burningham).

But to get into the mood to appreciate all this local activity, visitors first walked through a corridor filled with locally-recorded birdsong and lined with pictures of the birds we can see and hear on and around the river.

On the 21 October 2024, East Suffolk Council’s Licencing Committee resolved to carry out a
consultation on the licensing of commercial operators of Jet Skis/water scooters. The aim of the consultation was to seek the views of operators, interested parties and the general
public to ensure that all views are taken into consideration by the Licensing Committee in their
decision making. The consultation ran from 29 October to 26 November 2024.

East Suffolk Council invited respondents (including the DEP) to express their views on the following questions:
a. Whether the Council should licence Jet Skis?
b. What conditions if any should be imposed?
c. What minimum specification should be required?
d. Should zones of operations be imposed?
e. Should dates and times of operation be imposed?
f. How should the policy be enforced?
g. Any other comments?

Because the DEP is a partnership of separate organisations with diverse interests in this matter, the Chair sent a note to all members of the DEP Steering Group on 20Nov24 explaining about the consultation and inviting them to submit individual responses from each organisation that reflected their separate views. But because ESC specifically requested a response from the DEP, the Chair would submit a personal response that reflects the many views and opinions that have been shared with him as Chair of the DEP on this matter.

Click here to view a copy of the DEP response submitted to ESC on 25Nov24.

Professor Helene Burningham and her team were applying for a grant for this community-based project ‘Co-producing Coastal Knowledge’, and asked the DEP to show its support for this proposal.

The Deben Estuary Partnership (‘DEP’) is delighted to support this important project because we believe it will bring increased emphasis and attention to the valuable community science work that Professor Burningham and her enthusiastic teams of local volunteers have been doing around the Deben estuary.

As we revise and update the existing Estuary Plan, we recognise and appreciate the value that our communities bring to the estuary, both in terms of participatory action but also in data generation and knowledge growth. The DEP has been actively supporting the Deben Marine Centre (where much of our community science data and information is currently gathered and shared) since its opening three years ago, but we are keen to expand this knowledge and understanding to the broader community. In particular, we want to demonstrate how local but long-term measurement and monitoring data can not only be delivered through community projects, but also how an improved understanding of the science can lead to better, more informed decision making.

Click here to read our letter of support

Anglian Water have now published a new Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP24), which sets out their plans for dealing with population growth, climate change, and environmental improvement. Their main areas of focus are:

• Demand Management (facilitated by smart metering)
• New raw water reservoirs (one in the Fens and another in Lincolnshire) – which they say may also provide other benefits for nature and leisure
• Increased use of other sources of water, such as water reuse, desalination and transfers

Here are links to the main report and a non-technical summary:

Jie Gong and Helene Burningham today published their report and analysis of the data from the voluntary, community-based Bawdsey Beach Monitoring (BBM) activity that has been taking place regularly since 2013. Detailed, weekly measurements enable an enhanced analysis of beach dynamics and the processes and conditions that drive change along our shoreline.

The report demonstrates that the BBM data aligns well with national monitoring data, but that the higher temporal frequency of the BBM data means that it is more effective at capturing beach behaviour over a range of timescales from weeks to months and years.

Key findings from the data collected so far include:

1. Overall beach volume has declined over the years – any episodic sediment influx during winters is short-lived.
2. Bawdsey Beach is influenced by a bidirectional wave climate split between north-easterly and southerly waves – north-easterly waves (mostly in the summer) tend to drive erosion and southerly waves (mostly in the winter) lead to accretion.
3. Sediment movement is cyclical – sediment accretion in the south and erosion in the north occurs during winter, but during summer the pattern is reversed – accretion in the north and erosion in the south.
4. Sediment transport along the Deben inlet is unidirectional (into the estuary), and elevation changes here are linked to the dynamics of Bawdsey spit that supplies the inlet with sediment in the form of banks that periodically more alongshore.
5. The reduction in open beach volume is linked to: i) sheet piling coastal defence structures that prevent movement of the shoreline, ii) limited gravel contained in the eroding cliffs to the north, iii) separation of the Bawdsey sediment system from the Orford Spit/Shingle Street sediment system due to the coastal defence structures at East Lane, and iv) degraded groynes that locally modify beach sediment storage. The overarching decline in sediment supply to this shoreline threatens the Deben estuary mouth, potentially reducing the protective function of The Knolls and future sediment supply to the Felixstowe Ferry shoreline.

Local residents and water users were surprised to see a hovercraft travelling up and down the Deben, and then stopping on the mud flats to take samples and measurements. When asked what they were doing, the operators explained that they were studying the weeds and algae on the mud as an indicator of the long term water quality.

When asked for more detail, Naomi Boyle of the Environment Agency said: “This was our planned Deben Estuary opportunistic macroalgae sampling as part of our TraC programme  (Transitional and Coastal Waterbodies), and as part of a larger programme of work focussed on the Deben this year.

Note: Use of hovercraft is limited to window after bird breeding season and before wading bird passage season, we have to get agreement from Natural England. We use a contractor pilot who is highly experienced in this survey method.”

Mystery solved!

The Environment Agency has published new guidance for ‘main river’ Riparian landowners – ‘main rivers’ differ from other watercourses in that the EA is responsible for maintenance, improvement or construction work on ‘main rivers’ to manage flood defence, whereas lead local flood authorities, district councils and internal drainage boards carry out flood risk management work on ‘ordinary watercourses’.

The Deben is classed as a ‘main river’ for most of its length – the Statutory Main River Map shows all ‘main rivers’ in dark blue, and other watercourses in turquoise.

On 5 May 2023 the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced their decision to approve the Natural England (‘NE’) proposals for lengths FFB2 (Sandy Lane, Waldringfield to Kyson Point) and FFB3 (Kyson Point to Wilford Bridge).

Twelve months later (on 3 May 2024) they announced their decision to approve the NE proposals for lengths FFB1 (Felixstowe Ferry up river to Sandy Lane, Waldringfield), FFB4 (Wilford Bridge to Ferry Cliff), FFB5 (Ferry Cliff to Ramsholt) and FFB6 (Ramsholt to Bawdsey Quay).

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coastal-access-section-52-notice-for-felixstowe-ferry-to-bawdsey

DEFRA points out that “The right of access to the approved stretch of coast does not come into effect at this stage. Natural England will be working with the local authority to establish any infrastructure works before an Order is made by the Secretary of State under the 2009 Act to bring the rights into effect.”

The Environment Agency today issued an invitation to local landowners and community organisations that could be of benefit to the River Deben. They say:

Tree planting along Rivers in Suffolk & north Essex 2024-5
We have some funding for native tree planting along rivers in Suffolk (including parts of Essex within
the River Stour catchment) for 2024-5 and wish to target those lengths of rivers which are likely to
benefit from additional trees and/or scrub.
Planting native tree species along a river can a significant improve water quality through stabilising
the riverbank and reducing sedimentation. Trees also provide much needed shade which helps to
keep rivers cool and improve the habitat for fish and terrestrial wildlife. Shading also helps to control
the growth of excessive emergent vegetation which can choke the channel slowing the flow and
causing siltation.
If you are interested, we would like to walk your stretch of river and discuss options with you. If
appropriate we will come up with some sympathetic planting proposals for your approval. The
funding will cover the material cost of trees and protection and planting costs. The timescales for
planting will need to be between November 2024 and March 2025 so we would aim to walk each
site and draw up any plans during summer and early autumn 2024.

Please click on this link to see the full invitation and contact details