Understanding Risk to the Community of Spurn Head (Humber Estuary, UK)

Introduction

Spurn lies at the mouth of the Humber and is one of the most distinctive morphological

features on the English East coast. The spit partially encloses the Humber estuary mouth and

marks the transition from the rapidly eroding shoreline of Holderness to the north and the

estuary itself. The spit is subject to multiple, varying, functions in the form of a Royal

National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat station (and uniquely the housing of the families

associated with the station) and the ABP Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) for the Humber. In

addition the spit is owned by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT) and managed as a nature