Shifting Coastlines: East coast

Programme Outline

The Holderness coast of east Yorkshire is Europe’s most rapidly eroding coastline. This programme explores the processes which are shaping it from the cliffs of Flamborough Head to the shingle spit at Spurn Head, as well as the coastal management issues which arise from them.

The programme begins by explaining how the present coastline has evolved since the onset of the Ice Age. It then shows how the coastal landforms are influenced by the differences between the chalk which forms Flamborough Head and the boulder clay which makes up the low cliffs further south.

The effects of coastal erosion on local residents, farmers, small villages, larger towns and the natural gas terminal at Easington are considered.

Finally, the whole future of Spurn Head, which one day may be cut off from the mainland, is looked at through the eyes of the people who live there.