This week the BBC has been filming the cliff stabilisation project we’re involved with. HASTE is a community group in St Leonards on Sea, who have come together to solve a shared problem, and create a template for many other affected areas in the UK to follow.
The British Geological Survey (BGS) has a database of over 17,000 landslides, and estimates 350,000 properties in the UK are at significant risk of land slides. The cliff we’re concerned with affects around £200m worth of property, and the total amount of property at risk across the UK exceeds £100Bn.
Only a stabilised cliff will give residents peace of mind, reduce insurance risk, and allow house prices to recover.
We need good civil engineering to stabilise the cliff. This requires a well-thought through design based on hard evidence about what is causing the land slips. So first we need to find that evidence and have good data to support it.
Our part in the project is to gather data on how the cliff behaves under different weather conditions and different seasons. The theory is that the land slips here are driven by water saturation. We are installing sensors to monitor the water table, and soil moisture at different depths. We are also installing a weather station which will give us an accurate picture of rainfall.
One of the joys of living here is the community spirit, and the HASTE team are benefiting from the involvement of a few local businesses. In-Situ (you can see them in the video above) have brought their geological expertise and equipment, and through one of their partners are donating a number of tiltometers, which will be installed on the cliff slope by another group member with suitable safety gear and expertise. We will be taking the live data from the tiltometers and using it to provide what we hope will be an early warning system for the residents.
One of the joys of living here is the phenomenal community spirit, and the HASTE team are benefiting from the involvement of a few local businesses. In-Situ (wearing hi-vis in the video) have brought their geological expertise and equipment, and have been testing the structure of the cliff.
Through one of their partners they are donating a number of tiltometers, which will be installed on the cliff slope by another group member (with suitable safety gear and expertise).
We will be taking the live data from the tiltometers and using it to provide what we hope will be an early warning system for the residents.
All the data from the sensors, including a LiDAR survey, will be used to create a digital twin of the cliff. This will give us a platform to analyse the data and model different stabilisation designs, and help us agree on the most cost-effective way to stabilise the cliff.
It’s always good to use smart tech for a clear purpose, and this community-led project is a great example. We are pleased to support HASTE and its aim to create a template approach that will help people right across the UK, whose homes are at risk of land slide.