FREISTON SHORE / BUTTERWICK MARSH
OUTER SEA BANKBriefing for the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsFrom: Alan M. Dransfield
Date: 5 September 2026To: The Rt Hon Dame Angela Eagle DBE MP
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsSubject: Environment Agency position on the Freiston Shore Outer Sea Bank and RSPB remitDear Secretary of State,I am writing to draw your attention to a focused matter concerning the Outer Sea Bank at Freiston Shore / Butterwick Marsh, Lincolnshire, and the Environment Agency's stated position regarding responsibility for that bank and the associated site.During site inspections I have observed several substantial open breaches through the Outer Sea Bank, with tidal creeks passing through parts of what was historically a significant coastal embankment.The Environment Agency has informed me that the Outer Sea Bank is not owned, operated, maintained or managed by the Agency. It has also indicated that matters concerning the site, including the bank, access, fencing, warning signs and visitor safety, fall within the remit of the RSPB.That position appears to require clarification because Freiston Shore was the subject of a managed-realignment scheme involving the Environment Agency, including deliberate alteration of the former coastal defence arrangement.I would therefore be grateful if Defra would establish:1. what structure is now formally recognised as the principal coastal flood-defence line protecting the inland area at Freiston Shore and Butterwick Marsh;
2. who is responsible for inspection, maintenance and monitoring of the breached Outer Sea Bank and the associated coastal defence system;
3. what responsibility the RSPB actually holds in relation to the Outer Sea Bank, and whether that responsibility extends beyond land management, access and visitor safety;
4. how the Environment Agency's statement that these matters are outside its remit and fall to the RSPB is reconciled with the Agency's strategic responsibilities for coastal flood-risk management; and
5. whether the present breaches correspond only with the deliberately engineered openings forming part of the original managed-realignment scheme, or whether any subsequent enlargement, erosion or additional deterioration has occurred.
I am not asking the Secretary of State to determine responsibility solely on the basis of my observations. I am asking Defra to establish whether the Environment Agency's stated position is accurate, complete and consistent with its statutory and strategic responsibilities and with its involvement in the Freiston Shore managed-realignment scheme.I would welcome a clear ministerial or departmental response to this limited point. I am copying this letter to the Environment Agency and to my constituency MP so that all relevant parties are aware of the question being raised.Yours sincerely,Alan M. DransfieldCc:
Environment Agency
Richard Tice MP, Member of Parliament for Boston and Skegness
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