Reproduced from West Mersea Town Council
West Mersea Town Council is pleased to report that the exposed/dangerous metal rebars have been removed from the shore of the Monkey Beach by the Crown Estate. These were part of a World War II defence known as Dragon’s Teeth, and are thought to an anti-landing craft defence. The concrete blocks had lengths of old tram line from Colchester concreted in, at an angle, and with a point just below the high water mark. In more recent years the foundation blocks were breaking up and exposing metal reinforcing bars which posed a risk to bathers and small craft.
As with many things, this has been a long and arduous process, not least because the involvement of various agencies was necessary (Crown Estates, Natural England, Historic England, MMO, MCA). It is worth noting that West Mersea Town Council has no legal ownership or responsibility for this part of the shore. Therefore, while this was not our responsibility to resolve, it needed to be dealt with. West Mersea Town Council committed time and support to push things forward, even though the Crown Estates have ownership and responsibility for this part of the shore. The MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency), as a statutory consultee on such matters, had to give support for the MMO licence before the Crown Estates could carry out any works. And so it went on. It is not difficult to see why some processes can take much longer than expected.
The MMO Licence was approved around the turn of the year and West Mersea Town Council is delighted to have now received official confirmation of removal. This was fully funded by the Crown Estates, so there has been no cost to this Council. Patience and perseverance does sometimes pay off.
Comments