Harveys Towans is named after the Harvey family who were responsible for the development of Hayle and the word ‘Towans’ (Cornish: Tewyn) means ‘sand dune’. To the east of Harveys Towans is Hayle Towans (Cornish: Hayl Tewyn, meaning ‘estuarine sand dune’). These names give an indication that the sands associated with the location have long been part of the site’s rich heritage, which can be appreciated when looking at the expanses of sand to both the east and west of the location.
The north-west facing beach of Harveys Towans and Hayle Towans, is a small portion of an extensive bay that stretches for almost 7 kilometres from Carrack Gladden to the west and Godrevy Point to the north. As the tide drops from high water all the ‘Towans’ join up to provide an impressive stretch of sand. The sediments associated with the gently sloping shoreline of Harveys Towans are soft, fine with a high shell content. The beach site sits alongside the Hayle Estuary, the movement and management of sediment within can result in the beach profile shifting dramatically.
The archaeology of the Towans helps tells a story about the use of the locations in the past. Bronze and Iron Age finds indicate that humans settled in the area in the distant past. More recently, a diversity of Second World War structures, such as pillboxes and anti-aircraft battery platforms, were sited on the cliffs and on the edge of the dunes.
Coastal Change
The coastline of Cornwall is an ever-changing environment. It is energetic, dynamic, never still and changes with each wave and each tidal cycle. Some of the changes we see are gradual and barely noticeable, whilst others, such as rockfalls, happen suddenly and often shockingly.
From one visit to the next it can sometimes be difficult to see how a beach and dune system has changed, but information has been collected, and is being collected through the Making Space for Sand project, to help us better understand how the coastline is changing. The purpose of this section of the website is to understand each location has changed over time, how it could change in the future and understand the policies that influence how we can respond to these changes.
Shoreline Management Plans (SMP)
The Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) is a strategic planning and management assessment tool that helps identify and measure the risk associated coastal erosion and coastal flooding. The document makes a number of policy recommendations over short, medium and long term timeframes setting out a strategic approach to managing the built, natural and historic environments associated with the coastline. Within SMP there are four policy approaches which have been assigned to stretches of coastlines. The four policies are: No Active Intervention (NAI), Hold the Line (HTL), Managed realignment (MR), and Advance the line (ATL).
Harvey’s Towans sits within Policy Development Zone 10 (PDZ10), in Management Area 27 (MA27), within Policy Unit (PU) 27.8. The policy recommendations for this policy unit are detailed in the table below and the SMP can be accessed through the Cornwall Council website.
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Policy Unit | SMP2 Policy Plan | ||||
2025 | 2055 | 2105 | Rationale | ||
27.6 | Harbour, East Quay & South Quay
Main Policy Sub Policy
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HTL M/R |
HTL M/R |
HTL M/R |
Holding the line within the harbour area and along the quays and wharves is preferred as it facilitates the progression of re-development plans for this part of Hayle, perceived as being a critical part of the regeneration of the wider Hayle conurbation. There are also a number of historic listed assets present, features of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining World Heritage Site, which warrant protection as they are considered very historically significant. The HTL policy should not preclude some local adjustment of the shoreline. The Hayle Strategy should progress and refine policy.
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27.8 | Harvey’s Towans
Main Policy Sub Policy
|
MR NF |
MR NF
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MR NF |
Policy intent here is MR to accommodate for the natural variability of the area while also enhancing the natural dune system present within the area as a UK priority BAP Habitat. There is expected to be some loss of the dune front. but the estuary is expected to be a net sediment sink while foreshore levels potentially rising to meet sea level rise. Future strategy may also partly depend on how much sediment is removed from the system by dredging.
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Key Main Policy: HTL - Hold the Line, A - Advance the Line, NAI – No Active Intervention MR – Managed Realignment
Sub Policy: M/R – Maintain/Replace, NF – Natural Features |
Historical Images of Harvey's Towans
Historical photographs provide a powerful insight into how the Cornish coastline has changed within the past Century. The Making Space for Sand project are working in collaboration with the Francis Frith collection and have been given permission to share historical images on a number of beaches considered within the project.
In looking back, we can better understand how the coastline has changed, helping us understand not only how the coastal fringe has developed but also the potential future changes that we my observe. When this is considered alongside forecasts of coastal erosion and sea level rise it will help enable us to better adapt to our changing coastline.
Modelling Coastal Change
Using data that has already been collected, combined with data collected through the Making Space for Sand project, a series of models will be carried out at each location. This will help us better understand how each location may respond to sea level rise and gain a deeper understanding of how coastal sediments move and behave.
The complexity of the modelling, and the data collection that helps inform it, means that modelling outputs will not be the same on all sites. Some locations will be more thoroughly investigated to understand more complex issues and provide data that can be more widely applied to other sites with similar characteristics.
As the project develops this section of the website will expand, sharing new reports and coastal change projections when they are produced.
LiDAR surveys, which are explained on the Data Modelling page, have been carried out by the South West Coastal Monitoring program at this location. The image shared here visualises where sand has eroded (areas shaded in red) and where it has built up (areas shaded in blue), between the LiDAR surveys carried out in 2003 and 2020. The darker the shade of red or blue the greater the amount of sand erosion or accumulation has been observed. The image helps visualise that beaches are areas that change shape over time and will continue to do so as sea levels rise.
Beach and Dune Ecology
Beaches and dunes represent an important transition between the marine environment and the terrestrial environment. This transition creates a range of special habitats and exposes a range of interesting features, which that can result in these spaces being highly designated and protected. The Making Space for Sand project will survey a number of dune systems. These surveys will help highlight how they may be changing, will identify rare species, will map invasive species, help us understand overall dune condition and identify potential constraints to improving their condition.
There are a range of designations that recognise a variety of different features. There are also a number of dunes systems where data has been collected to understand their habitat value. These are explored, on a site-by-site basis, in the section below.
Beach Dune Management Plan
Many of the sand dunes and beaches around Cornwall’s coast are experiencing net erosion and sediment loss. This is due, in part, to lack of new sediment input to the shoreline system and rising sea levels. This is a pressing concern as these environments provide protection against the risk of coastal flooding, provide important habitats that cannot be easily recreated elsewhere if lost and help support the regions thriving tourism industry. It is therefore vital that the sand dunes and beaches around Cornwall’s coast are managed in a more sustainable way that balances the combined functions of beach-dune system.
In 2016, Cornwall Council produced Beach Dune Management Plans (BDMP’s) for 10 locations in Cornwall, including one at this location. The aim of the BDMP’s was to:
- Identify the best day-to-day management approach in terms of monitoring and intervention for the beach and dune system.
- Provide a longer-term approach to beach and dune management based upon an up-to-date understanding of coastal processes at the site, as well as predictions of future coastal evolution.
Where possible, the Making Space for Sand project will use these BDMP’s, supported by the data it collects, to work with landowners and environmental groups to help build more resilient and more biodiverse beaches and dunes that will help protect people and place from coastal erosion.
Sign up to Making Space for Sand
If you would like to get involved in helping to make dunes more resilient and biodiverse, want to help develop coastal adaptation and emergency plans or just want to know more about what the project is learning about coastal change, please click here: