Coastal management Coastal management The four options Fotolia

Coastal management Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs) SMPs were introduced by the government in 1995 SMPs are an approach to coastal management that involves all stake-holders in making decisions about how coastal erosion and coastal flood risk should be managed They aim to balance economic, social and environmental needs and pressures at the coast Before SMPs, coasts were often managed in a ‘piecemeal’ way, leading to problems and conflicts Groynes like these at Hornsea can have an impact further down the coast. SMPs aim to consider these wider impacts before defences are built.

Coastal management England and Wales SMPs There are 22 SMPs in England and Wales They are numbered clockwise from the northeast of England Each SMP manages an integrated stretch of coast The SMP areas operate as a ‘coastal unit’ with physical processes such as longshore drift linking together different places along the coast SMPs are managed by Coastal Groups, made up of local councils and the Environment Agency SMPs along the east coast of England

Coastal management SMP2: The Tyne to Flamborough Head SMP2 illustrates how the process works Seven council areas have to cooperate over the management of SMP2 Scarborough Borough Council is the ‘lead authority’ The stretch of coast (red line on map) includes large urban areas (Sunderland and Redcar), small coastal communities (Filey, Whitby) and important habitats (the Tees estuary) as well as very varied geology.

Coastal management Coastal management options DEFRA (the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) provides some money for protection against coastal erosion and flooding DEFRA money is provided through the Environment Agency, which works with all Coastal Groups on their SMPs Coastal Groups decide which of the four strategies in the table will be used on a particular part of their SMP Decisions about which strategy to use take into account the views of all stakeholders This does not mean that all stakeholders will be happy with the decision Four coastal management strategies No active intervention No planned investment in defending against flooding or erosion, whether or not an artificial defence has existed previously (sometimes called ‘do nothing’) Hold the line Build or maintain artificial defences so that the position of the shoreline remains. Sometimes the type of defence may change to achieve this result Managed realignment Allowing the shoreline to move naturally, but managing the process to direct it in certain areas. This is usually done in low-lying areas, but may occasionally apply to cliffs Advance the line New defences are built on the seaward side

Coastal management No active intervention This strategy ‘lets nature take its course’. Erosion and coastal flooding occur and cliff lines gradually retreat It is often used when coastal land is of low value, for instance farm land, or when only a few properties are threatened with erosion It can also be used when rates of erosion are rapid and the engineering challenge of defending the coast is too great A collapsed road at Aldbrough on the Holderness Coast. No coastal defences have been, or will be, built here

Coastal management Managed realignment This option is a half-way house between holding the line and doing nothing Coast lines are allowed to erode/flood, but gradually Some defences might be constructed in the future to prevent continuous loss of land or extensive flooding A famous example of managed realignment is Spurn Head spit at the southern tip of the Holderness Coast The plan is to allow the spit to erode but move inland over time, intervening to prevent it being breached by the sea Map showing the possible future position (red line) of Spurn Head spit as it erodes west, towards the land. Defences could be built to prevent a breach

Coastal management Hold the line This strategy is used when coasts are deemed ‘high value’ The value could be due to urban development and industry In some cases rare ecosystems might be protected in this way The line is held using engineering, usually hard defences This strategy could be temporary in some places, as rising sea levels may make it impossibly expensive to maintain in 50 or 100 years time A large traditional (vertical face) sea wall in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Coastal management Advance the line This strategy is very rare in the UK It involves building defences out to sea – effectively creating new land It is very expensive It is also likely to be affected by future sea-level rise, so defences built today would need to be raised and improved in the future A view of a Palm Jumeirah in Dubai in This artificial island was open sea in the Persian Gulf before construction began in 2001