The first project for my MArch involves the development of a strategy for the Dungeness spit in Kent. So I got Henry to drive me down yesterday to take some snaps and feel the vibe. Dungeness was formed by the deposition of shingle in the Romney Bay (now, consequently, Romney Marsh). The processes that created Dungeness are ongoing, with the sea eroding the shingle from the south side and depositing it again on the east side of the spit (try the aerial photograph as a visual aid). This moving, dynamic expanse of shingle is home to a few fishermen’s cottages, rare birds, a couple of lighthouses, and two nuclear power stations.

Yep.

The reactors, Dungeness A and Dungeness B were built on the south, eroding side and are now about 10 metres away from the surf at high tide. As a result, trucks are making constant trips accross the spit, loading up shingle from the east side and piling it up in front of the power station. Due to global warming and the gradual subsiding of the southern coasts of the British Isles, Dungeness will be underwater in a couple of decades.

Oops.

The strategy I need to develop will have to deal with the flooding of the site, the rescue of whatever I decide is worth rescuing, and the safe decommissioning of the nuclear reactors. I say let it all sleep with the fishes.

More constructive ideas include a theme park (”Blinky Land”) where punters can come fish for three-eyed mutant fish, and a post-industrial, Blade-Runneresque new Venice for goths, with Lebbeus-inspired buildings raised off the water on gigantic concrete piles.