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| Like an army on the march - the Cleethorpes saltmarsh |
IT looks like North East Lincolnshire Council might be losing its struggle to combat the spread of saltmarsh on Cleethorpes foreshore.
In recent years, the authority has sought to restrict the spread of the marsh north of the leisure centre.
At least one councillor has urged the use of the weedkiller, glyphosate (commonly known as Round-up), to kill off the plants that make up saltmarsh, chief among them being cordgrass.
However, this was deemed not only harmful to cordgrass but also to sea lavender, currently in flower, and other plant species.
Instead, the council has used manual labour - back-breaking work given the depths to which cordgrass roots sink.
Why the antagonism to saltmarsh?
Many seaside traders - especially those of a traditional mindset - believe that the resort's bucket-and-spade attraction to visitors risk being eroded if the extent of sandy beach between the leisure centre and the pier is reduced.
However, in these environment-conscious times, there is also a view that saltmarsh is more friend than foe.
Not only does it absorb the energy of waves, thereby reducing the risk of flooding to coastal homes and businesses, it also soaks up carbon from the atmosphere, making the sea air even cleaner.
According to some scientists, saltmarsh - which is a declining habitat worldwide - is more effective in combatting global warming even than rainforest.
Saltmarsh also favours some beneficial insects and several species of under-threat birds such as (in the case of Cleethorpes) snipe, curlew, redshank, meadow pipits, skyarks, linnets and reed buntings.
(An alternative ornithological perspective is that other Cleethorpes bird visitors - such as bar-tailed godwit, knot, ringed plover and sanderling favour either sand or mud to saltmarsh.)
What of the future? Natural England favours allowing nature to take its course, but it reached a compromise with the council that it could be removed north of a special yellow buoy placed just out from the leisure centre.
The buoy still exists - though deflated after having been bitten by an Alsatian!
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| The dog-bitten buoy |
In the meantime, the saltmarsh has shown stealth - it has expanded one small patch at a time, and some has recently sprouted on the beach out from The Kingsway hotel.
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| One small step for saltmarsh |
It remains to be seen whether NELC will renew its eradication campaign or whether it will quietly concede defeat.
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| This can very quickly become . . . |
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| This . . . |
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| Or even this - the verdant 'pasture' near the leisure centre |
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