The future of our coast: how can How is our coast changing? How is the coast managed? communities adapt to coastal change?

The coast has and always will change through natural, ongoing The coast is managed in partnership by the Environment Agency Increased rates of coastal erosion and pressure on public processes. This change creates the beautiful World Heritage and local authorities with input from local communities. They work spending mean we may not be able to protect everywhere coastline of and East . together to produce Shoreline Management Plans which set out which is currently protected. Where coastal defence may not be policies on how the coast should be managed in the future. Risk sustainable, communities need other options to adapt. to property, infrastructure, the historic and natural environment and technical feasibility are all taken into consideration.

• Who funds coastal defences? • Relocate valuable property and infrastructure Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) provides the majority Moving or replacing buildings further inland away from the coast can help of funding and allocates this money to the Environment Agency to distribute. communities continue to thrive. Contributions are also made from local authorities, developers and utility companies.

Old Harry Rocks , Lulworth West Bay • How much is spent on Did you know… homeowners are coastal defences? Did you know… required by law to Every year, Defra allocate around £500 the government have demolish their property million towards flooding and coastal no legal obligation to once it becomes unsafe protection, of which £35 million is spent protect the coastline as a result of erosion. on new coastal defence schemes. Lyme from erosion, even if it Regis’s new defence scheme in 2007 cost means losing property. £26 million. © The Landmark Trust. Clavell Tower was relocated 20m behind Stonebarrow Beer Head the original site in 2006 to secure its future.

• Shaping the coast Landslides, cliff erosion and migration of beach material all occur at different rates. In North Norfolk, the local authority Some are slow like the shifting profile of and others are rapid like There are four options for managing the coast set out has worked with residents to relocate landslides. All are driven by the energy of the sea and the climate. in the Shoreline Management Plan: householders facing loss of homes to sites inland. • Advance The Line Coastal defences are installed in front of existing defences to reclaim land from the sea. © Mike Page. Happisburgh, North Norfolk

New coastal defences were installed in front of the original defences in 2007 at Gun Cliff, , to protect the seafront buildings and a sewage Did you know… pumping station. • Making communities the only form of more resilient compensation available to homeowners is a Coastal change is often driven £6,000 grant to help • Hold The Line by sudden, extreme weather. Landslip at , Chesil Beach, Dorset with demolition costs. The current level of protection is Communities can develop emergency continued either by maintaining response plans to prepare for such the existing defences or events and raise awareness of the • The Climate upgrading them. risks to improve resilience. The climate of the earth has always changed Did you know… Rock armour, , West Dorset and will continue to do so. It is predicted • Planning for change that the change in climate will cause wetter people can also trigger winters, sea level rise and an increase in coastal change. For Local authorities can reduce the storminess. This will put more pressure on the example, beach shingle • Managed Realignment impacts of coastal change by coast, accelerating the process of change. used to be quarried to avoiding new development in areas The coast is deliberately realigned to make concrete. This at risk and supporting the relocation a more natural orientation. has now been stopped of existing development away from areas at risk. Communities and local The natural process of erosion due to its impact on the © Defra. Wallasea Island, Essex. Defences were breached coastline. in 2006 to create wetlands. authorities need to work together creates our beautiful coastline and across boundaries as developments the benefits which come from it, in one area may have impacts on others. but conflict can occur when erosion © John Rose. Buses and cars were trapped by storms in 1990/91 on the Preston Beach Road. threatens people’s livelihoods, • Re-thinking our • No Active homes and other assets. relationship with Intervention The coastline is left to the forces the sea of nature with no plans for future Even in areas where it is possible to investment in coastal defences to ‘Hold The Line’, it does not mean protect the beach. there will be no change. Beaches Did you know… in resorts along the a natural beach is the , Lulworth could be squeezed between rising best form of protection. sea levels and hard defences and in Installing coastal defences these situations, coastal communities in one area to sustain may need to rethink their relationship beach levels can starve with the sea. As well as responding beaches of material either to the potential threats caused by side, increasing erosion Did you know… © James Feaver. Millions of people visit the beach each year, but coastal change, communities may what would happen if the beach is squeezed? and the need to install 13.8% (865km) of also find new opportunities to take more coastal defences. and Wales’s advantage of the outstanding asset coastline are protected which the coast represents. through coastal defence schemes. What do you think is the best option

Damaged sea wall after a storm on Preston Beach Road, Weymouth. for your local area?

© Richard Gosling. Rockfall at Pennington Point,