Future Coast Bude

Future Coast Bude will be taking part in the upcoming Bude & Stratton Heritage Festival on Sunday 13 July. Led by Cornwall Council, in partnership with the Environment Agency and supported by a range of local and regional organisations including Bude-Stratton Town Council, the project is focused on helping Bude prepare for future coastal change.

At the festival, the Future Coast Bude team will be inviting local people to share their memories, knowledge, and stories about Bude’s coastline. If you have old photos, postcards, paintings or simply memories of how the coast has changed over the years, the team would love to hear from you. Your contributions will help build a visual, community-led timeline of the coast — from the past to the present — forming part of an interactive coastal map on the day.

This early engagement is a key part of building the project around local insight, priorities and lived experience.

What is Future Coast Bude?
Future Coast Bude is a new project focused on preparing for coastal change and supporting improvements to public facilities. It is funded through the national Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme (CTAP) and will run from April 2025 to March 2027.

Rather than focusing solely on risks, Future Coast Bude is about supporting climate resilience — enhancing our coastal spaces to ensure Bude remains a thriving and welcoming place for generations to come. The project will build on local priorities and deliver practical improvements to support a more accessible, climate-resilient coastline for everyone who lives in, works in, or visits Bude.

What’s coming up?
The team will also be providing updates and information at the festival on several related areas of work:

• The Sand Rails project progress.
• Sand management at Summerleaze Car Park, where sand build-up has affected parking and raised understandable concerns in the community. Future Coast Bude provides an opportunity to look again at the current approach. We're in the process of setting up conversations with key organisations, and we’re keen to listen to those most affected. While we can’t promise immediate solutions, this is a chance to start a more joined-up discussion about the challenges and explore potential options together. We’ll share further updates as this work develops.
• Early conversations to help shape the area’s Coastal Vision.

What is the Coastal Vision?
The Coastal Vision is about working with the local community to shape a shared idea for the future of Bude’s coastline. It’s a chance to think about what matters most to people — from how we use and enjoy the coast, to what we want it to look and feel like for future generations. It will help guide decision-making across the project.

What is the Coastal Change Management Plan?
The Coastal Change Management Plan is a more detailed document that sets out how we respond to the challenges of coastal change — such as erosion, rising sea levels and more extreme weather. It looks at the practical steps we can take to adapt access, support local people and businesses, and make the coast more resilient over time.

Importantly, it will also help guide future planning decisions by providing clear information about the risks and opportunities linked to coastal change in Bude.

This work will rely heavily on community involvement — not just to shape ideas, but to ensure local needs, voices and knowledge are reflected in how we move forward.

We encourage everyone to come along to the festival, meet the team and get involved in this important early stage of the project.

Progress continues on site as work moves into the next phase. Materials are being prepared, key features are taking shape, and the team is making use of specialist techniques to support the restoration.

Take a look at this week’s images for a snapshot of what’s happening.

Stone from Pigsdon Quarry is being mixed with the existing stones to ensure enough stones are available for the work.	A temporary scaffolding deck has been installed to give access further up the revetment.
The revetment section has been completed and is being pointed in Marine mortar. Setting out for the ‘dwarf wall’ has been completed.	The replacement “sand rails” have been delivered, for use where the existing ones are in poor condition. These have been painted with a special paint to help preserve them.

Works on site are progressing, with further courses of reclaimed blockwork being added to the sloping revetment. Due to the linear nature of the site and to reduce manual handling, the revetment is being built up in layers from the seaward end first.

The works for the next week involve:

• Continued rebuilding of the revetment
• The addition of scaffolding to aid access to the working areas
• Rebuilding works planned for the short retaining wall.
• Replacement rails are expected to be delivered and will require the application of a corrosion resistant paint in order to extend their lifespan before their eventual installation.

Excavated revetment material being sorted for reuse to rebuild wall.	Further courses of block work being added to the sloping revetment.	Removal of old retaining wall and fresh foundation ready.

Works on the revetment have been progressing well despite high tides preventing works on the lower revetment at times.

Removal of old revetment material.	Providing a new foundation and level guides for the new revetment surface.
Completed lower section of revetment including drainage.	Further up the walkway the small retaining wall between the walkway and the canal has been dismantled. This is now scheduled for reconstruction with a new concrete foundation to ensure its future stability.

Cormac have been continuing to work on the sand tram way sloping revetment by dismantling the old structure and re-building the revetment with a concrete foundation. They are also providing drainage to the structure - something that the original revetment lacked.

The old revetment blockwork has been removed and sorted, with the intention to re-use as much of the original blockwork as possible.

After weeks of good weather, the recent change in weather has proved challenging. Recent high tides have also prevented work on the lower section of the revetment at times. However, works have proceeded elsewhere on site.

The next week's work will focus on the rebuilding of the short wall next to the siding higher up the revetment, whilst waiting for the delivery of the tramway replacement rails.

In May 2023, the lower section of the sand railway walkway near Summerleaze was closed on public safety grounds due to significant erosion caused by wave action. Inspections revealed two main issues:

• The canal wall between the walkway and the river had been weakened by wave damage, including the loss of mortar and the formation of voids (holes).
• The walkway surface itself had become uneven and unsafe, particularly for those using wheelchairs, pushchairs or with limited mobility.

Early in 2025, Cornwall Council commissioned essential repair works to stabilise the canal embankment. This included filling identified voids and repointing missing mortar along the sea wall. These initial repairs were funded through Cornwall Council’s capital maintenance budget.

What Happens Next?

Further improvement works to the walkway are now part of Future Coast Bude, supported by funding from Defra as part of the Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme (CTAP). Future Coast Bude is one of several projects across England being delivered under the £200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation Programme, managed by the Environment Agency.

The additional funding will allow:

• Resurfacing of the walkway to provide safer and more accessible access to the beach
• Preservation of key historic features where possible
• A broader review of land use along the beachfront at Crooklets and Summerleaze in light of future coastal change

Work to resurface the walkway is being carried out by Cormac, with completion expected before the 2025 summer holidays.

If you have any questions about this work, please contact: futurecoastbude@cornwall.gov.uk