www.defra.gov.uk

Coas tal change adaptation

path finder – application form

Coastal change adaptation pathfinder – application form

Notes on completing the form: • All applicants should refer to the eligibility criteria set out in section 3 of the Coastal Change Policy consultation document (http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/coastal-change/index.htm) and Notes for Applicants at page 7 of this form. • Please expand any text boxes as you require. Additional material can be included such as maps and photographs. • Your data will be handled in accordance with the Data Protection Act, please see section 3 of the Notes for Applicants.

Section A: Authority Information

1. Local Authority address:

Dorset County Council County Hall Colliton Park Dorchester DT1 1XJ

2. Contact details - lead officer:

Mr Peter Moore Environment Policy Group Manager , County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1XJ [email protected]

01305 224285

3. Contact Details - finance officer:

Mr Mark Foxwell Assistant Business Manager Finance and Performance Dorset County Council, County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1XJ [email protected]

01305 224211



4. Head of Service: I confirm that I have authority to make a grant application, and that I have read the grants notes for applicants and that by submitting this application I confirm this authority accepts them. In particular, I agree to participate in future Defra run events to evaluate the effectiveness of the pathfinder programme.

Signature:

Position: Head of Planning (Head of Service) Date: 11 Sept 2009

Section B: Background Information

1. Experience of coastal change in your area (historical, current and future risk). Please provide a description of the coastal change risks that your community faces. You may include maps and photographs as supporting evidence.

Introduction

Dynamic natural processes have created a variety of impressive and beautiful landforms, sheltered bays and outstanding beaches on the Dorset and East Coast, popularly known as the ‘’, which are now home to a diversity of coastal communities. The Dorset and Coast was designated as a World Heritage Site (WHS) in 2001 for its geological, palaeontological and geomorphological importance. Much of this coast and its surrounding area are designated as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in recognition of their landscape value, while large sections also enjoy Heritage Coast status. The natural beauty and diversity recognised in these designations underpins economic, social and cultural life in vibrant coastal towns and villages. It also supports a rich biodiversity and provides a vast range of leisure and recreational opportunities for residents and visitors. Indeed, the coast is regarded as the area’s greatest asset, certainly in terms of the visitor economy, and the is a vital piece of infrastructure for visitors and residents alike. The towns of the Jurassic Coast are themselves part of this interest and collectively make the coast an attractive place to live, work and visit.

Historic risk

Communities along this vulnerable coastline have faced catastrophic risks throughout history in the form of extreme storms and their impacts. The Great Storm of 1824 destroyed the Cobb, the famous harbour at , together with numerous sea front properties. The same storm devastated West Bay and the community of Chiswell on Portland. Further East, communities in Devon were also affected such as those at . More recently, the storm of 1974 caused major damage and flooding to West Bay and Seaton while two 

events in the winter of 1979-80 caused extensive damage when the great barrier beach of Chesil was over-topped and breached by the sea. The risks from major episodic storms are therefore immediate and ever present: the Great Storm of 1824 was a 1:200 year event that took place 185 years ago. The photographs at Appendix 1 illustrate the impacts of coastal change on the communities of the Jurassic Coast.

History shows that communities on the Jurassic Coast also face more subtle threats from landslides and beach evolution. In 1924 it was possible to drive along the Old Lyme Road through the landslide between Lyme Regis and . Today the area is an active landslide system that is migrating towards both communities, particularly Lyme Regis. The great landslip of 1839 between Lyme Regis and Axmouth profoundly affected agriculture and was a key event in the creation of today’s Undercliff National Nature Reserve.

Current and future risk

Protecting coastal communities through coastal defences in many cases impacts on the natural interests which are maintained by erosion. In other words local communities are threatened by the same coastal change which provides such an important part of their history, culture and economic raison d’etre. The Shoreline Management Plan (SMP2) review, coupled with the National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping, now provides the evidence base to look at the implications for coastal erosion on a site by site basis. Two SMPs cover the Dorset and East Devon Coasts: the South Devon and Dorset SMP runs from Head near in the East to Rame Head in the West, and the Two Bays SMP, covering and Christchurch Bays, runs east from Durlston Head. Draft policies for the Jurassic Coast from each SMP are summarised below and illustrate the coastal change risks facing this coast:

Key: NAI – No Active Intervention; MR – Managed Realignment; HTL – Hold the Line Short term Medium Long Policy and implications term term Two Bays SMP – Only to Swanage included New Swanage HTL HTL MR Potential loss of cliff top property MR MR NAI The policy would not preclude local drainage improvements South Devon and Dorset SMP – only to Orcombe included (defended MR MR MR Continue to reduce the risk of flooding and length) erosion by retaining a defence, but relocating landward as necessary through Managed Realignment MR MR MR As above (defended length) NAI except NAI NAI 5g10 – hold the line in the short term as long as (defended length) 5g10 HTL this remains feasible but moving to NAI in the medium and long term with associated loss of property. NAI NAI NAI Potential loss of properties at Osmington and risk to the Osmington Bay Holiday Centre HTL MR HTL Managed realignment in the medium term will involve the loss/relocation of parts of the caravan site and the amusements NAI NAI NAI National Coastal erosion risk maps show risk to the road and properties but this is not stated in the SMP Preston Beach Road HTL HTL MR Flooding of the A353 and the long term viability of the A353 is in question. Preston Beach, HTL HTL HTL There are challenges in terms of how to hold the 

Weymouth and line and prevent flooding but the policy is HTL throughout Chiswell to Chesil HTL HTL HTL As above Beach West Bay (East Beach) HTL HTL MR In the longer term a new line of defence will be required further inland with potential loss of property including listed buildings HTL MR MR The change in policy in the medium term could lead to loss of the public house, private property, public toilets, turning circle, slipway and coast path over the river. Charmouth HTL NAI/MR NAI/MR The sea wall will be held for the rest of its design life but after that property and infrastructure in that area will be lost. Cliff top properties to the west will also be at risk. Lyme Regis East Cliff HTL HTL MR The current scheme, when complete, will ‘buy’ 50 to 60 years for the eastern part of the town but after that it will no longer be viable or sustainable to hold the line. Haven Cliff NAI NAI NAI The long-term vision for this stretch of coast is to continue to allow the natural evolution and function of the coast, which could result in damage to Rousden Registered Park and Garden Axe Estuary HTL HTL HTL To retain defences in order to protect the towns, the highway and sewage works Seaton/Beer HTL HTL HTL Requiring substantial additional defences to protect the large number of properties at risk. Sidmouth HTL HTL HTL To provide protection such that the risk to the town is minimised, allowing the cliffs to erode but at a slower rate Otter Estuary MR/HTL/NAI MR/NAI/HTL MR/NAI To encourage natural development of the estuary whilst maintaining reduced flood risk to developed areas HTL HTL HTL To continue to provide protection to reduce the risk of flooding and erosion Orcombe Maer HTL HTL HTL To minimise the risk of flooding whilst looking for opportunities to reinstate a more natural process where this might be possible

Changing sea levels and their link to the landslides are responsible for the beaches of the Jurassic Coast, particularly Chesil Bank. The bulk of the beach came out of the rapid erosion of the ancient landslides at the end of the Ice Age but that process has now slowed and the beaches are being starved of material, complicated in places by engineering structures built over the last two centuries (e.g. the Cobb and the piers at West Bay). In the future, beach lowering, coupled with sea level rise and increased storminess due to climate change, threatens many communities and is likely to lead to accelerated erosion rates in excess of historic cliff recession. This means that historic erosion rates may underestimate future erosion.

Future change on along this internationally important stretch of coast will, in most cases, be sudden, unpredictable and potentially catastrophic rather than gradual, so even where the prevailing Shoreline Management Plan policy is to ‘Hold the Line’ communities face imminent threats. As these risks are compounded by climate change, it will be important to be ready for catastrophic events with an agreed vision for the coast which encompasses communities, the economy and the natural environment. Without such a vision, the response is likely to be an ill-considered ‘knee jerk’. In the worst case scenario, some communities could be devastated overnight, and property and infrastructure, including failed sea defences, could be left derelict across the cliffs and beaches of the World Heritage Site. In addition to the impact on communities and their economies (e.g. through



loss of tourism), this would disrupt access, degrade the quality of the experience which makes the coast such a special place, and blot the UK’s reputation for stewardship of globally important heritage. The proposals in this Pathfinder bid will explore how communities can adapt to change while also protecting and enhancing the environmental, cultural and economic asset which the Jurassic Coast represents.

2. Description of communities affected or likely to be affected by coastal change where support for community adaptation will be focused.

The project team assembled to compile this bid identified a number of issues raised by coastal change. Coastal communities facing significant or immediate change were then identified and selected to ensure that the full range of issues were well covered by the six communities which will be the focus of the Pathfinder. These are summarised in table 1 below, with the locations illustrated on the map below.

Table 1: summary of coastal change issues affecting Pathfinder communities

Residential Commercial Historic Natural Transport Visitor SW property interests environment environment infrastructure/ amenities Coast parking Path Swanage V V V V Ringstead V V V V V Weymouth V V V V V V Seatown V V V V V V V Charmouth V V V V V V Sidmouth V V V V V V

Map 1: communities which will be the focus of the Pathfinder bid



A diversity of urban, rural and suburban locations has been selected deliberately to maximise the potential application of lessons learnt. Three of the communities selected could be characterised as small rural communities, as it will be important for the Pathfinder nationally not just to engage larger communities facing change where a more homogenous approach may be possible, but also to reach diverse and dispersed communities who in themselves may not register as significant, but which together make up a significant population and raise important issues. The bid partners are conscious that, even in communities where only a small number of properties may be affected, the financial and emotional pressures of dealing with change for the individual business or household will be every bit as difficult as for those in a larger community – possibly more so given the reduced likelihood of networks and infrastructure to provide support, and the increased risk of isolation and exclusion.

From east to west, the communities within which the Pathfinder activity will be focussed are:

A. New Swanage:

The community

New Swanage is the area of the coastal resort of Swanage to the north of the sea front esplanade, in the district of Purbeck. It consists of a dense mixture of private property and large hotels, some of which are currently perilously close to the cliff top. A low sea wall protects the toe of the cliffs, which are designated as SSSI for their geological interest.

SMP 2 Policy and implications

The draft policy is ‘Hold the Line’ for the short and medium term but moving to ‘Managed Realignment’ in the longer term with associated loss of cliff top property (private households and hotels) as it becomes increasingly challenging to protect this section of the shore.

The issues

Purbeck District Council recently completed a beach recharge scheme but despite this work, small landslides continue to threaten some properties and a number of ad hoc cliff stabilisation schemes have been put in place over several decades. Recharge of the beach with fine material is likely to become a less viable option in the future and it may be necessary to recharge with coarser material in order to maintain the level of protection. The sea front and beach is divided between a number of different owners. In the medium to long term, property will be lost along the cliff top. Erosion of the cliff could also affect the coast footpath at Sheps Hollow to .

Two proposals are currently under development (one to planning application stage) to stabilise specific areas of the cliff and protect property. The geological SSSI is compromised in places as the process of erosion has slowed to such a point that the rock sequence is being obscured by slumping and vegetation growth. It is unlikely to return to a favourable condition under present and future policy as defined in the SMP.

Questions to be explored by the Pathfinder project

What are the options for relocating threatened property given that the surrounding landscape is 

heavily designated and therefore protected from development? If coarser beach material has to be imported, what are the implications for the town in terms of tourism? Could the experience of Lyme Regis, where this has already happened in part, offer any lessons? And how viable is the geological SSSI?

Stakeholders in the community

Swanage Town Council; property and business owners.

B. Ringstead

The community

Ringstead is a small village on the Dorset Coast east of Weymouth. A coast defence scheme, in the form of rock armour groyne and beach recharge, was constructed in the early 1990’s to protect 25 private properties and a caravan site. The village is characterised by a high proportion of second/holiday homes.

SMP 2 Policy and implications

The SMP2 policy is ‘Hold the Line’ in the short term for the currently defended section, but this will change to ‘Managed Realignment’ in the medium and long term with subsequent loss of property and parts of the caravan site. Surrounding sections of the coast are already subject to a policy of No Active Intervention. There will also be potential loss to part of the medieval settlement which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The issues

The loss of property and caravans are obviously of concern to their owners and unless this is managed the quality of the area for conservation and tourism will also be degraded. A major storm could leave the village partially destroyed with property, caravans and the failed sea defence structures littering the beach and cliffs. The 1990s defence scheme obscured a boundary between two rock types that has the potential to be of international significance (additional to that of World Heritage Site status) so the earth sciences interest would benefit in the longer term. Conversely, the historic environment interest in the form of the Scheduled Ancient Monument could suffer. The juxtaposition of historic assets and residential properties in areas facing coastal change raises interesting questions which the Pathfinder project would explore in the context of Ringstead.

Questions to be explored by the Pathfinder project

What measures can be set in place to assist home owners and small businesses to relocate? Should we relax the planning system and seek to find alternative sites inland? Is there a role for compulsory purchase in this context? How will the abandoned property and sea defences be removed? How should we manage the potential loss of archaeological heritage? Can the cost of extending the groyne be justified at the taxpayers expense and how can this be quantified?

Stakeholders in the community

Osmington Parish Council (includes Ringstead); Ringstead Society; home owners; the National 

Trust; caravan site owner; owner of private road, English Heritage.

C. Preston Beach Road, Weymouth

The community

Preston Beach Road is a major access route to Weymouth from the east (the Purbeck coast, Poole and ) and an important link to the town from the coastal communities of Preston and Bowleaze Cove. Sea defences protect the existing road which runs between the sea and the Lodmoor RSPB nature reserve, an SSSI. The reserve is bounded on its other three sides by the well-established settlements of Lodmoor and Preston. Lodmoor is a low lying area would almost certainly require defence or further adaptation if Preston Beach Road were not defended as it is now. Nearby Overcombe Corner and Bowleaze Coveway is an area of substantial homes, many of which have been converted into flats, and commercial use (shops, beach restaurant, public house), car park and public toilets.

SMP2 Policy and implications

The short and medium term policy for Preston Beach road is Hold the Line but in the long term the policy changes to Managed Realignment as the beach is squeezed against the sea wall making the Hold The Line policy increasingly expensive, technically challenging and unsustainable.

The issues

Closure of the Preston Beach Road would sever an important eastern access route into Weymouth, and expose several hundred houses in Lodmoor to increased risk of tidal flooding. It would also have major implications for traffic management and capacity through Preston, Lodmoor and other routes in and out of Weymouth, particularly the Weymouth Relief Road currently under construction. The focus of the Pathfinder here will be on transport issues in relation to the SMP2 policy. In addition, should the sea wall be breached, there will be a loss of existing habitats to the marshland behind (an SSSI and an RSPB nature reserve) and potential risks to properties and a landfill site.

Questions to be explored by the Pathfinder project

Would defences have to be reinstated further back in the event of the loss of the road? How would that compare to re-settling the most threatened parts of some communities? What are the transport implications for local traffic and Weymouth’s development potential? What issues are raised by the conversion of largely freshwater habitats to saltmarsh?

Stakeholders in the community

Residents groups, Waterside Holiday Park, Dorset County Council as highways authority, Weymouth & Portland Borough Council as planning authority, Environment Agency, RSPB.

D. Seatown

The community

The village of Seatown sits on the south coast of the Parish of in . It consists of a number of residential properties, a popular public house, caravan park and car park. This gives access to a shingle beach, iconic views of (the highest point on ’s south coast), the South West Coast Path and other amenities. A land stabilisation project was installed at Seatown in 1997 to protect the Anchor Inn pub and private property from land instability caused by poor drainage and undercutting by the sea.

SMP 2 policy and implications

The SMP 2 short term policy for Seatown is to continue to ‘Hold the Line’ by maintaining the existing sea defence to the end of its design life. After that a policy of ‘Managed Realignment’ will apply in the medium and long term with subsequent loss of the public house, private property, public toilets, turning circle, slipway and coast path over the river. Some of the car park may also be lost and, in the worst case scenario suggested by coastal erosion risk mapping, so may access to the caravan site. Change is unlikely to be gradual but rather will occur catastrophically as a result of a major storm.

The issues

A catastrophic event at Seatown may not happen for many decades, but could equally occur in the coming winter. Seatown is already the subject of an ongoing discussion between partners locally as a concentration of visitor management issues facing popular coastal areas present themselves here in microcosm. The A35 trunk road passes directly to the north, dissecting Chideock, and traffic accessing Seatown often comes into conflict with other road users in the narrow lanes leading to the beach, with background high levels of traffic and illegal parking compounding congestion and air quality problems. Roll back needs to involve all assets and cannot be dealt with independently, a complex process given the varied pattern of land ownership. The area is also within the nationally protected landscape of the Dorset AONB, potentially constraining roll-back options which may exist elsewhere. Chideock Parish Council accepts the inevitability of change, but is concerned that the implications of this policy are not well understood by the wider community, and is keen to raise awareness and improve resilience without spreading panic or blighting local home-owners and businesses. However, the Parish Council lacks the resources to initiate and manage this sensitive discussion, and has limited influence over the local commercial interests whose businesses are equally threatened by erosion.

Questions to be explored by the Pathfinder project

Does the process of adapting to change present opportunities to address existing visitor management pressures as well as threats? Should existing facilities be relocated nearby or should we find different solutions for access and services? What mechanisms can be found to assist both private landowners and the businesses to relocate? Are they willing to relocate? Can the planning system help in this respect? How will any failed structures be removed? How would householders and businesses respond to adaptation options such as buy and lease back?

Stakeholders in the community

Chideock Parish Council; home owners; beach owner; Palmers Brewery (owners of the Anchor Inn and car park); caravan site operators.

E. Charmouth

The community

Charmouth foreshore consists of a car park and old cement works (constructed in 1850) that contains a café, fossil shop, a retail outlet and the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre, a major visitor centre with a focus on the internationally important geology and fossils of the area. The Centre is run by a charitable trust which benefits greatly from local community support in the form of volunteers. There is also a footbridge over the River Char for the South West Coast Path. Property, mostly constructed from the 1950’s onwards, extends along the western cliff edge and is potentially at risk in the longer term – over 40 properties are at risk over the next 100 years.

SMP 2 Policy and implications

The SMP2 policy for the sea front is ‘Hold the Line’ in the short term, reflecting the design life of a defence scheme constructed in the late 1980’s, but this will change to ‘No Active Intervention’ along the sea front and cliffs to the west and ‘Managed Realignment’ of the river in the medium and long term. The policy will result in the loss of the building and part of the car park but as with many other areas, change will be through a catastrophic storm event rather than a gradual process. The building is vulnerable to this event now, despite the HTL policy. The footbridge is a vital link for the South West Coast Path and is due to be replaced in the very near future. Cliff top properties will become increasingly at risk from erosion, including episodic landslides.

The issues

The Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre is a key visitor facility for the World Heritage Site and is vulnerable to damage at any time (see photograph at Appendix 1). The café and businesses provide a service to both locals and visitors and generate income. The Centre provides one of the best opportunities on the 95 miles of the Jurassic Coast to see coastal processes in action and find the fossils for which the World Heritage Site is famous. The Centre has the infrastructure and capacity to welcome relatively high numbers of visitors, and excellent interpretation facilities. It also plays a key role in ensuring public safety, giving advice on how to enjoy the area safely to visitors, which include many families with young children. The loss of the Centre could therefore reduce people’s experience and understanding of the coast as well as threatening the livelihoods of those who work within it and its associated businesses and services. Beyond the centre, the footbridge over the River Char will be replaced and should last its design life but still remains vulnerable to a catastrophic storm event, and the South West Coast Path either side of Charmouth is already cut by landslides.

Questions to be explored by the Pathfinder project

Can important visitor infrastructure be relocated to a more sustainable position? What would be the implications for interpretation, access and public safety? What are the financial implications for the Parish Council of losing the car park? Can cliff top home owners be relocated elsewhere

in the village, and would this merit the ‘exceptional circumstances’ necessary to justify development outside accepted boundaries? What solutions can be found to re-open the South West Coast Path along a cliff top alignment?

Stakeholders in the community

Charmouth Parish Council; home owners; the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre; shop and café proprietors; private car park owners.

F. Sidmouth

The community

Sidmouth is an historically important seaside town with a world renowned Folk Festival that has been running since 1955. The town was once an important fishing area for the South Coast of Devon, and many books and other artefacts exist describing this lost history. The town has been subject to several initiatives in recent years to re-invigorate its visitor appeal, including the need for more diverse visitor attractions and facilities. The town is characterised by the famous promenade along the seafront with its arcade of historical buildings with their classical Victorian and Georgian frontages. To the East of the town the River Sid enters the sea, with the residence of a remaining inshore fishing fleet alongside coastal views and a fast-eroding cliff.

SMP 2 Policy and implications

Due to the regional importance of the town, the long term plan is to continue to ‘Hold The Line’ such that the risk of flooding to the town is reduced up for at least 100 years. The town is currently defended by a range of defence measures including rock groynes and offshore rock breakwaters as well as seawalls. These protect low-lying land from flooding and the seafront buildings from erosion and damage. The mouth of the River Sid will be subject to ‘Managed Realignment’ as there are currently minimal defences here.

The issues

Sidmouth draws many visitors to the area and provides a centre of culture and amenity for this stretch of coastline. Coastal erosion and adaptation will influence the town itself and its hinterland in the viability of it to act as a centre for culture and commerce. It relies heavily on the seasonal tourist industry and events such as the Folk Festival to draw visitors to the town, and is exploring locations for further visitor parking and visitor facilities. In the Eastern town an issue has arisen with the transition from the ‘Hold the Line’ policy through ‘Managed Realignment’ to the ‘No Active Intervention’ as this is a potential erosion point and flood risk for the town. This issue attracted a significant number of comments in the recent consultation on the World Heritage Site Management Plan 2009-14, suggesting that there is considerable appetite within the community for more information about coastal change and the options to respond to it.

Questions to be explored by the Pathfinder project

Are the perceived threats to the Eastern town real and how best can the risks arising from coastal change be identified and communicated? Can managed realignment realistically resolve the issue of protection? How do we value assets such as the WHS and SW Coast Path?



Stakeholders in the community

Sidmouth Vision Group; Sid Valley Energy Action Group; SW Coast Path Association.

Other coastal communities which will benefit from the Pathfinder

Many additional locations along the Jurassic Coast face similar issues to the Pathfinder communities identified above. It is anticipated that as the Pathfinder project develops, interest in, and demand for, the support being offered to the communities above may grow, and it may be that additional case studies from the list below could be brought into the project as resources allow. Even if this is not possible, this list illustrates the potential benefit of the Pathfinder project as the lessons learnt can be shared readily with a number of communities facing similar problems, and networks of communities established to benefit from each other’s experience. From east to west these include:

Kimmeridge: the UK’s first voluntary marine nature reserve and an important fossil location, where access to slipways is threatened by coastal change.

Lulworth Cove: attracting 1 million visitors per year, this internationally important example of coastal change in action is also a major contributor to the visitor economy. A short section is defended where the road reaches the cove. There is a slipway, café, fisherman’s hut and sewer pipe, all in various states of disrepair and suffering increased wave action from recent beach lowering.

Osmington: coastal change threatens property, reduced access and may result in the loss of a car park serving a popular public house and access to the beach.

Bowleaze Cove: Bowleaze Cove contains an amusement park on the sea front with a holiday park immediately behind. Existing coastal defences have been developed on an ad hoc basis and some are starting to fail. Others have had no effect on erosion rates but the quality of the area is degraded by poorly designed defences.

Weymouth town centre: the base for the sailing events for the 2012 Olympic Games, coastal change could impact on Weymouth‘s regeneration. The town faces potential loss of its sand beach due to sea level rise. The requirement to deliver RSS housing allocations here may come into conflict with need to avoid development in areas at risk from coastal change or flooding.

Chiswell: Chiswell sits behind the massive bank of but is subject to flooding and damage by extreme storms, the most recent of which took place in the winter of 1979-80 when two separate storms over-topped the beach. Since then the Environment Agency has installed an interceptor drain inside the beach which can reduce the severity of storm events but extreme events can still exceed its design capacity and a major storm remains a very real threat.

The Cobb, Lyme Regis: this historic harbour wall is a cultural icon as well as performing a functional role in protecting the town and its harbour. It was destroyed by the Great Storm of 1824 and remains vulnerable to extreme storms.

Freshwater and : Freshwater is a large static and caravan/camp site lying directly behind Chesil Beach. The site, along with the nearby village of Burton Bradstock, has been subject to flooding events from both the river and over-topping storm waves. A flood 

protection scheme was installed by the Environment Agency in the mid 1990s and the mouth of the River Bredy is managed to allow it to flow freely into the sea. There is also a need to re- route the coast path in the area.

West Bay: is a community centred around a small harbour that gains access to the sea through two piers that cut through Chesil Beach. The piers were constructed in the mid 1850s’s and have been damaged numerous times by storm events. In 2006, West Dorset District Council completed a major scheme to upgrade the piers. The east Beach is maintained by the Environment Agency at an artificial height and width as a flood defence. This beach was breached in 1974 with major flooding of property behind it. Cliff recession along West Cliff has brought cliff top properties perilously close to the cliff edge. A cliff stabilisation scheme was completed in the 1980's.

Seaton: a thriving and important coastal resort playing host to a number of attractions and developments, including the potential location for a World Heritage Site visitor centre. A gateway to the World Heritage Site and start of the Axe Valley, Seaton faces flood risk from over-topping.

Axmouth: a smaller, sailing and water-recreation focused community with issues surrounding access to the and the sailing and other amenities that exist there. Coastal change could see destabilisation of a spit which currently affords protection to infrastructure.

Beer: a famous location for the geology of the surrounding rocks (Beer Quarry) and the communities that grew up here to mine the stone. Beer could be threatened by more extreme weather compromising access to the beach.

Branscombe: the longest village in England, now famous for the MSC Napoli incident. The village retains a strong identity and active local community who have been galavanised in to further collaboration by the grounding of the Napoli off their shores. Coastal change and more extreme weather could compromise access to the beach.

Budleigh Salterton: a picturesque seaside town with a range of amenities and community interests. A popular destination with beach-based tourists, as well as fishermen, sailors and bird-watchers. Coastal change will affect the mouth of the River Otter and potentially increased flood risk to the east.

Exmouth: Exmouth represents an area of urban growth and prosperity and provides a regional centre for watersport recreation and tourism and gateway to the World Heritage Site. The long- term plan for Exmouth frontage is to continue to minimise the risk of flooding and erosion to property and infrastructure, whilst looking for opportunities to reinstate more natural processes where possible and so reduce the longer-term commitment to defence structures. In particular, the medium term recommendation for The Maer, a relic former dune system currently used for recreation and separated from the active beach dunes by a road and car parking, is to move to a policy of Managed Realignment. Whilst there would be clear benefits in allowing managed realignment in this area, such action would be highly controversial; for example, access to the newly constructed RNLI boat house could be compromised. Political and social sensitivities are such that further investigation is essential on the viability and acceptability of this proposal.



3. Please provide details of any current adaptation activity in these communities.

This section summarises adaptation activity taking place on a County- or Jurassic Coast- wide basis which encompasses all 6 of the locations described above in section 2. Site- specific adaptations which have taken place in these 6 locations are also described below.

Strategic level adaptation:

• The Shoreline Management Plan process clearly represents a major element in the local response to the need to adapt to coastal and climatic change.

• The emerging Local Development Frameworks being produced by the local planning authorities in Dorset and East Devon will provide the spatial dimension to policies set out in sustainable community strategies and Shoreline Management Plans. A dialogue is already underway between local planning authorities and the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site team to ensure that the need to adapt to the coastal change which created the WHS are reflected in LDFs in line with the expectations set out in the Government’s recently published Planning Circular on Protection of World Heritage Sites.

• Environment Agency plans for the coast also have adaptation as a central consideration.

• The Local Strategic Partnerships in Dorset and Devon have both identified Climate Change Adaptation as a priority for inclusion in their Local Area Agreements, and recently allocated funding to support the delivery of targets in this area (agreed with Government in line with National Indicator 188). This will lead to completion of a Local Climate Impacts Profiles, comprehensive risk-based assessments of climate risks, and development of adaptation frameworks within which the activities outlined in the Pathfinder bid will sit.

• The National Trust is a significant landowner along the Jurassic Coast and has invested heavily in forward thinking about the need to adapt its properties to coastal change. It has completed an adaptation strategy for Black Ven and an adaptation plan for Ringstead is under development.

• Both Dorset and Devon benefit from having strong coastal Forums delivering effective community engagement. The Dorset Coast Forum has worked on separate but related projects with the National Trust and Environment Agency to develop scenarios on how life on the coast may change in light of climate variables. This research will provide invaluable background material for the discussions which are envisaged with the communities above. The Devon Maritime Forum is a much younger organisation that is quickly developing a track record in stakeholder engagement, awareness-raising and professional facilitation services. It has developed links with the Marine Bill Team at Defra and is focussing its next Forum meeting on this legislation and what it means for the community.

• C-SCOPE (Combining Sea and Coastal Planning in Europe) project: the Dorset Coast Forum is leading a 3 year, ⁄1.8m Interreg project, the centrepiece of which 

will be the development of a Marine Spatial Plan for the area around (from to Durlston Head) which includes a number of the sites described in section B2 above. DEFRA is supporting this project which is seeking to engage the community in marine spatial planning, of which adaptation to coastal change will form an integral part.

• Devon County Council is leading the ‘Governance’ strand in the 4 year Interreg ‘CAMIS’ project that is establishing an integrated strategy for the Channel and supporting this with a Channel Forum. This presents the opportunity to connect with the wider European coastal community through this project.

Site-specific adaptation:

Site specific adaptations at the locations identified in Section B2 are outlined below. Using the Situation Analysis from DEFRA’s recently published guidance for Community Adaptation Planning and Engagement, initial assessments have been made of where these communities are on their adaptation journey. An early aim of the Pathfinder would be to test these initial assessments more fully with the communities in question.

A. New Swanage: Council recently completed a beach recharge scheme (spring 2006) which involved the replacement of timber groynes and import of sand to raise the height of the beach and provide additional protection to the sea wall. In response to a hotel owner’s wish to undertake cliff stabilisation works and redevelop the cliff top site, considerable debate has taken place between the owners, architects, geotechnical design consultants, Dorset County Council, Purbeck District Council and Natural England regarding the conflicting requirements of maintaining the SSSI in favourable condition and enhancing the stability of the cliff. Although the problem is well understood there is no satisfactory decision- making process to determine whether there should be more robust planning controls on clifftop development or whether the SSSI designation should be maintained. Situation analysis: no agreement on the solutions/no agreement on the decision-making process.

B. Ringstead: a coast defence scheme, in the form of rock armour groyne and beach recharge, was constructed in the early 1990’s to protect a number of private properties and a caravan site. A potential proposal to extend the groyne eastwards is at the pre-planning stage but would require separate approvals from the National Trust, Natural England and the local planning authority. Situation analysis: no agreement on the solutions.

C. Preston Beach Road: construction of a new sea wall and a major beach replenishment scheme were completed in the 1990’s and sea defences continue to be maintained by the Environment Agency in accordance with current policy to ‘Hold the Line’. Dorset County Council as highways authority has been asked to examine alternative routes for the road but the options are very limited. The RSPB has been reviewing the future management options for the Lodmoor nature reserve/SSSI which is already subject to some saline intrusion. Situation analysis: no agreement on the problem/no agreement on the solutions.



D. Seatown: a land stabilisation project was installed at Seatown in 1997 to protect the Anchor Inn pub and private property from land instability caused by poor drainage and undercutting by the sea. Discussions are underway between the County Council, District Council and Parish Council about how the coastal change issues facing the area could be reflected in the next iteration of the Chideock Parish Plan and other local plans and strategies, and how the Parish Planning process could be used to improve community engagement on the issue of coastal change. Situation analysis: no agreement on the problem/no agreement on the decision-making process.

E. Charmouth: a coastal defence scheme was constructed on the sea front in the late 1980s. There has been no comprehensive attempt to review the long-term implications or options for visitor facilities at the site. Situation analysis: no agreement on the solutions.

F. Sidmouth: the town is currently defended by a range of measures including rock groynes and offshore rock breakwaters as well as seawalls. The River Sid will be subject to ‘Managed Realignment’ as there are currently no defences here. The community in Sidmouth is concerned and engaged with these issues, particularly the threats facing the east of the town. Situation analysis: no agreement on the problem.

Section C: Details of proposed approach to planning for and managing change

1. What are the key outcomes and aims of your proposed approach? Please give a description of the planned approach and what the expected outcomes are, including how the proposed approach will build on any existing activity described in section B3. Please explain how the proposed approach will meet the criteria described in section 3.10 to 3.12 of the Coastal Change Policy consultation document.

APPROACH TO THE PATHFINDER

The overall aim in proposing the Pathfinder bid is to ensure through meaningful engagement and participation that coastal communities are well-equipped to understand, debate and take part in decisions about coastal change, adapting and becoming more resilient to those changes as a result, based on sound science and local knowledge.

Section B above outlines the significance and immediacy of the coastal change risks facing a range of communities along the Jurassic Coast. The presence of England’s only natural World Heritage Site (WHS) on the Dorset and East Devon coast adds additional significance and presents a unique opportunity in UK terms to help coastal communities understand and adapt to the process of coastal change. The fact that underlying coastal geology fundamentally dictates the speed and nature of coastal change also puts the Jurassic Coast in a novel position in this debate: as one of the world’s focal points for the development of the earth sciences, we can ensure that the understanding of coastal change and the development of adaptive responses is not 

just informed by sound science but driven by it, in a branch of science and in the cultural context of a World Heritage Site which offers unlimited opportunities to engage and even to entertain as well as to educate.

Established mechanisms for engaging coastal communities already exist within the area in the form of the Jurassic Coast Communities Forum, the Dorset Coast Forum, the Devon Maritime Forum and the relationships with communities built up by individual local authorities and statutory agencies. The Pathfinder offers the opportunity to build on these mechanisms, taking the conversation with communities about the risks and opportunities presented by coastal change to new levels, both in terms of our depth of understanding, and the search for practical ways forward.

The quality of this environment means that there is an opportunity to work with communities in the context not just of a World Heritage Site, but also the numerous other environmental designations (AONB, SSSI, SAC, SPA, RAMSAR, Scheduled Ancient Monuments) on the Jurassic Coast. The Pathfinder will explore important questions about the potential opportunities for, and constraints on, ‘roll-back’ as some parts of some communities face the prospect of relocation.

A fundamental principle of the World Heritage Site, enshrined in the first policy of the recently revised Management Plan for the site, is that the natural processes which created it should be allowed to continue. The Management Plan is, however, pragmatic in recognising there may be situations where an over-riding public interest justifies coastal defence works to protect communities at risk from coastal change. In these situations the policy framework seeks to minimise and mitigate the impacts on the Site. Even so, there is a risk that the WHS could be seen by vulnerable communities as a threat, a further reason to undermine their concern to protect property and livelihoods. By raising awareness of the realities and inevitability of coastal change, and by exploring practical measures to make the process of adapting to change more acceptable and less difficult for coastal communities, the activity proposed in the Pathfinder bid will help communities use their World Heritage Site status as an opportunity to adapt to change and ensure continuity of community, rather than see it as a protagonist for allowing erosion to continue regardless of the consequences for people and property.

By working with a deliberately broad range of coastal communities as described above, the Pathfinder will identify those approaches to Community Adaptation Planning and Engagement which work most effectively with different types of community facing a diversity of challenges. It will also explore practical mechanisms to minimise the financial, political, social and emotional risks associated with coastal change. The occasion of the 2012 Games, with Olympic sailing events taking place in Weymouth Bay, will put a global spotlight on the Jurassic Coast, providing further opportunities to reach coastal communities with messages about change.

AIMS & PROPOSED ACTIVITIES

1. Aim 1: Coastal communities who are well informed about coastal change.

Activity to deliver this aim will build on the heightened awareness of climate change impacts which are being raised locally through the work of partners through the development of a climate change adaptation frameworks, to explore in more depth the 

particular challenges facing coastal communities:

Outputs under Aim 1

i. Development of site specific coastal change scenarios to inform the debate about coastal change at the 6 target locations identified in section B2. Development of scenarios will be an inclusive process that encourages knowledge exchange and fosters a deeper understanding of the issues which, by consensus, are deemed important. These will then inform strategies and contingency plans to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of our response to future events. (Lead delivery partners: Dorset Coast Forum/Devon Maritime Forum – building on existing experience and track record of developing scenarios successfully and reputations locally for independence)

ii. Development of a high quality range of visual media (physical and virtual) to illustrate the known extent of past coastal change and potential future change, using professional and local expertise to supplement and fine tune the emerging evidence from the Shoreline Management Planning process and Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping exercise. These materials would form the basis of a dedicated webspace to promote understanding of coastal change (possibly by development of existing successful communication channels such as the popular www.jurassiccoast.com website) and a Coastal Change Communications pack to support community leaders and facilitators charged with steering this debate. (Lead delivery partner: Jurassic Coast World Heritage Team).

iii. A project to raise awareness and understanding of coastal change through the creative arts – the experience of the Jurassic Coast Arts Strategy locally suggests that this can be a powerful way of reaching coastal communities with the message about change. Participants could become champions within their communities, and communities engage in the issues through participation in the development and delivery of ground-breaking arts-science collaborations. (Lead delivery partner: Jurassic Coast World Heritage Team via existing Arts Strategy).

Aim 2: Coastal communities who are well equipped to debate coastal change

Activity to deliver this aim will seek to build the capacity of coastal communities to hold informed, mature and forward looking discussions about coastal change, building confidence in community leaders to initiate and shape the debate without causing unnecessary anxiety, risking a negative backlash or provoking unintended blight.

Outputs under Aim 2

i. Development of coastal change champions network - a network of community leaders who are willing and able to stimulate and shape the debate around coastal change at local level. (Lead delivery partner: Jurassic Coast World Heritage Team, building on existing infrastructure of the Jurassic Coast Communities Forum).

ii. Development of training programme for a network of Coastal Change facilitators (e.g. drawn from planning officers, community development workers, community planners) to support a high quality discussion around coastal change

and adaptive responses to it. (Lead delivery partners: Dorset Coast Forum/Devon Maritime Forum, building on reputations as trusted, independent facilitators).

iii. The Jurassic Coast Conversation: a series of seminars about coastal change, culminating in a major conference in 2011 to spread best practice and promote networking between communities facing change, potentially supported by a moderated webspace to enable communities threatened by change to share experience and good practice (Lead delivery partner: Jurassic Coast World Heritage Team, using established infrastructure of Jurassic Coast Communities Forum).

Aim 3: Coastal communities who can play a meaningful role in decisions about coastal change

Activities to deliver this aim will seek to clarify and explain the decision-making processes around coastal change, making it easier for communities to gain access to the process and have an effective input to it.

i. Development of a road-map of the decision-making processes around coastal change on the Jurassic Coast which will decide how we adapt, with clear signposts for effective engagement for communities, with the aim of reducing consultation fatigue and helping communities focus limited resources at points in the decision making process where they can have the most impact. (Lead delivery partner: Dorset Coast Forum).

ii. Exploration of the potential for Coastal Action Plans for communities facing significant change, building on existing experience locally e.g. through the National Trust’s ‘Shifting Shores’ work – is another layer of plan desirable, or would it simply add to an already confusing picture? Would such plans flow logically from SMP2 policies and/or could they be adopted as Supplementary Planning Documents in Local Development Frameworks? How might they link with the community planning and Parish Planning process in those communities? (Lead delivery partners: Dorset Coast Forum/Devon Maritime Forum)

Aim 4: Coastal communities who are more resilient and well-prepared to deal with coastal emergencies as well as long-term change.

i. Personal emergency planning initiative – exploring what steps can be taken by householders independent of emergency services or statutory bodies to improve resilience to coastal change risks and catastrophic events (Lead delivery partner: Environment Agency).

ii. Research project into tolerance of coastal change risks – for example, how many years ahead is a coastal tourism business willing to continue to invest in its facilities in the face of eventual loss to the sea? To what extent will householders at risk of losing property in the future tolerate that risk in exchange for a high quality of life in the interim? Do different social groups have different tolerances? And if people understand and are prepared to live with a given level of risk, where do the moral and legal responsibilities of the statutory agencies begin and end? (Lead delivery partner: Dorset Coast Forum).



Aim 5: Coastal communities who are supported in the testing and acceptance of practical action to adapt to coastal change.

Activities to deliver this aim will seek to improve the quality of the dialogue with coastal residents, landowners or businesses who are either threatened by change or who may currently (unwittingly) represent obstacles to sustainable coastal change, and to test DEFRAs proposals about how best to facilitate change with them to assess their viability and acceptability.

i. Enhanced liaison with coastal landowners and land managers to assess and test options (voluntary, financial and regulatory) to support more effective diversion or realignment of coastal paths and other issues arising from Coastal Access provisions of the Marine and Coastal Access Bill (Lead delivery partners: Dorset and Devon County Council, reflecting responsibilities for Rights of Way and existing relationships between Countryside Access teams and landowners).

ii. ‘Trial negotiations’ with coastal householders whose properties are at risk to market test proposals made in DEFRA’s Coastal Change consultation (assistance with moving/demolition costs, buy and lease back schemes etc) – talking to real people about hypothetical scenarios, recording interviews, analysing them with a panel of professionals (property, legal, financial, psychological) and community representatives, and reporting back to DEFRA on findings. (Lead delivery partners: Dorset Coast Forum/Devon Maritime Forum).

iii. Development of a business planning tool to help coastal SME’s incorporate coastal change risks into their decision-making and forward planning. (Lead delivery partners: Dorset and Devon County Councils and other local authority economic development officers, building on existing Economic Development expertise).

Aim 6: Future generations of coastal communities who are aware of the changes they face in the long-term and better prepared to deal with them.

Activities to deliver this aim will have an eye to the long-term, equipping future generations with the tools to plan for coastal change which may not affect the current generation, or which the current generation may fail to address. They will also seek to put ‘legacy’ plans in place to ensure that catastrophic events in future are not followed by unsustainable, knee- jerk reactions which address only short term concerns.

Outputs under Aim 6

i. Expansion of ‘Coastal Conflicts’ initiative with schools along the Jurassic Coast to educate future generations about coastal change through distribution of Coastal Conflicts enquiry-based study DVD to all schools (already underway). Additional Pathfinder resources would allow additional training for teachers on using this DVD across the Jurassic Coast. As part of this young people will be helped to understand how climate change is already affecting coastal communities around the world, particularly those in Small Island Developing States and indigenous communities who are most vulnerable to sea level change and extreme weather events. This education programme would focus on building local and global perspectives on how coastal communities can adapt to changes in climate with links to real case studies 

across the Jurassic Coast and other parts of the world. The introduction of a global dimension to this programme will give children and young people in the UK greater awareness of how the choices they make impact on the world around them. (Lead delivery partner: Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site Team, building on existing Jurassic Coast Education Strategy and ‘Coastal Conflicts’ initiative)

Aim 7: A spatial planning system which is well-equipped to reconcile the potential conflicts between a sustainable approach to coastal change on the one hand, and onshore/offshore development pressures on the other.

Activity to deliver this aim will seek to ensure that planning system can internalise the changes in coastal policy emerging from central government, and reflect the fact that professional learning and development will be as important as improved understanding within coastal communities themselves. Activities will seek to improve the links between community planners, spatial planners (marine and land-based) and other professional disciplines whose work influences how we adapt to coastal change.

Outputs under aim 7:

i. Gap analysis of the limitations within the current spatial planning system to consider and plan for coastal change and an assessment of how an inevitably bureaucratic process can best deal with dynamic coastal change. (Lead delivery partners: Dorset Coast Forum, with consultancy support to bring independent challenge to the process).

ii. Delivery of Change we can plan for? seminars in 2010 and 2011 to bring together professionals in forward planning, marine spatial planning, transport planning, coastal defence and development control along the length of the Jurassic Coast with the aim of improving multi-disciplinary collaboration in the development and implementation of coastal policy (Lead delivery partners: Dorset Coast Forum/Devon Maritime Forum).

The aims above would apply to all 6 target communities identified, but specific projects would be focused on those communities where the issues are most relevant as resources allow.

2. Please provide a time elapsed, high level project plan showing each element of the proposed approach, and provide estimates of when they will start and finish. This should also include the planning and preparation time you will need. (Please refer to any attachments).

Please see Pathfinder proposal ‘Plan on a Page’ on p23.



Dorset Coastal Change Pathfinder Bid plan on a page Activity Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 09 09 09 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 Establish project team Engagement plan 1i Site-based Scenarios 1ii Comms materials 1iii Arts- science project 2i Change champions network 2ii Facilitators network 2iii JC Conversation 3i Decisions road-map 3ii Coastal Action Plans 4i Personal Emergency P 4ii Tolerance research 5i Landowner liaison 5ii Trial negotiations 5iii Business planning tools 6i Schools initiative 7i Planning gap analysis 7ii Planning seminar



3. Timetable for key milestones:

Key milestones Estimated start date Estimated end date Establish project team October 2009 November 2009 Develop engagement plan for November 2009 December 2009 Jurassic Coast communities

1.i Develop site specific December 2009 September 2010 scenarios 1.ii Develop coastal change January 2010 September 2010 presentation materials 1.iii Deliver arts-science project April 2010 January 2011 2.i Develop coastal change January 2010 January 2011 hampions network 2.ii Create network of coastal January 2010 January 2011 change facilitators 2.iii Initiate the ‘Jurassic Coast June 2010 March 2011 Conversation’ 3.i Produce coastal change January 2010 June 2010 decision-making road map 3.ii Explore potential for Coastal January 2010 March 2011 Action Plans 4.i Develop Personal April 2010 March 2011 Emergency Planning project 4.ii Conduct research into December 2009 June 2010 tolerance of coastal change risks (consultancy contract) 5.i Conduct landowner liaison January 2010 January 2011 on realignment of coastal path and development of options at key points 5.ii Hold ‘Trial negotiation’ with January 2010 March 2011 coastal householders on adaptation options 5.iii Develop business planning March 2010 January 2011 tool for SMEs 6.i Develop ‘Coastal Conflicts’ November 2009 March 2011 schools initiative 7.i Conduct spatial planning and November 2009 March 2010 coastal change gap analysis (consultancy project) 7.ii Hold ‘Change we can plan March 2010 March 2011 for?’ seminars



4. Please list the partners you intend to work with during the pathfinder (for instance Environment Agency, Natural England, funding partner). Please indicate where a partner organisation has already indicated an interest in being involved and, where possible, provide the lead contact details:

Partner organisation Lead contact Contact details Chideock Parish Council Kate Geraghty (Chair)* [email protected] Devon County Council Aidan Winder* 01392 383019 [email protected] Devon Maritime Forum Jim Masters* 01392 383231 [email protected] Dorset AONB Tom Munro (Dorset AONB 01305 228237 Partnership Team Manager)* [email protected] Dorset Coast Forum Ken Buchan (Secretary)* 01305 225132 [email protected] Dorset County Council Peter Moore(Environment 01305 224285 Policy Group Manager)* [email protected] East Devon District Mark Reilly 01395 516551 Council [email protected] English Heritage Veryan Heal* 0117 975 0717 [email protected] Environment Agency Neil Watson/Nick Reed* 01258 483433 neil.watson@environment- agency.gov.uk Nickp.reed@environment- agency.gov.uk Jurassic Coast World Richard Edmonds (Earth 01305 224477 Heritage Team Sciences Manager)* [email protected] National Trust Tony Flux (Dorset Coastal 01297 561904 Zone Projects Manager)* [email protected] Natural England Rachel Waldock* 0300 060 4824 [email protected] Purbeck District Council Mike Goater (District 01929 557271 Engineer)* [email protected] Ringstead Society John Young* 01305 852216 [email protected] RSPB Renny Henderson 01392 432691 (Conservation Officer)* [email protected] Swanage Chamber of Secretary 01929 422461 Trade and Commerce [email protected] Swanage Town Council Alan Leeson (Town Clerk) 01929 423636 [email protected] West Dorset District Steve Woollard* 01305 252297 Council [email protected] Robert George* [email protected] Borough Council * Indicates contact who has already indicated an interest in being involved



Section D: Estimated expenditure

1. Please give an outline of the estimated costs specifically associated with the activities described in section C1 and the amount that you will be seeking from the coastal change fund for the remainder of this financial year and for the next financial year.

Activity Delivery Expected outcome £ (for £ (for 2010- lead 2009-10) 11) 1.i Development of site DCF/DMF 6 sets of coastal change 18,000 24,000 specific scenarios scenarios developed (workshops, research, 0.6 with and presented to FTE for 10 months) Pathfinder communities to raise awareness and inform future planning 1.ii Development of WHT High quality physical 10,000 20,000 coastal change and virtual presentation presentation materials, materials to dedicated webspace and communicate scale and communications pack scope of past and future (design and consultancy, coastal change to 0.4 FTE for 9 months) support those charged with engaging communities in debate about coastal change 1.iii Arts-science project WHT Heightened awareness 0 10,000 (sponsorship of artistic and understanding of events, venues etc, 0.2 coastal change through FTE for 9 months) the creative arts 2.i Coastal change WHT Events and 2,500 7,500 champions network communications to (workshops, publicity, develop a network of recruitment, 0.2 FTE for community leaders 12 months) equipped to instigate and shape the debate about coastal change 2.ii Network of coastal DCF/DMF Establishment of trained 15,000 30,000 change facilitators network of coastal (external facilitators to change facilitators to set deliver training, up and steer discussions workshops, recruitment, about coastal change 0.2 FTE for 12 months) within communities 2.iii The Jurassic Coast WHT Vibrant and well 0 15,000 Conversation (venues, informed debate and publicity for seminars and higher degree of conference, 0.2 FTE for 12 understanding and months) consensus about coastal



change, lessons from Pathfinder disseminated among Jurassic Coast communities 3.i Coastal change DCF Enhanced 0 10,000 decision-making road map understanding of and (design, consultancy, 0.1 more effective FTE for 3 months) participation in coastal change decisions in two- tier areas through use of on-line tool and sister publication marketed to all communities along the Jurassic Coast 3.ii Coastal Action Plans DCF/DMF Exploration of potential 2,500 10,000 (consultation events, for Coastal Action Plans (subject to publications) and develop a pilot conclusions Coastal Action Plan for reached in two target locations year 1) 4.i Personal Emergency EA More resilient coastal 0 10,000 Planning project (on-line communities better tool and publications) prepared for coastal change impacts which could happen at any time 4.ii Research into DCF Better understanding of 2,000 18,000 tolerance of coastal tolerance of coastal change risks (consultancy change risks within and contract) between communities and the relationship with adaptation options 5.i Landowner liaison on DorCC/ Reduced disruption to 1,500 3,500 realignment of coastal DevCC continuity of coast path path and development of and damage to visitor options (venues, economy/amenity as a financial/legal advice) result 5.ii ‘Trial negotiation’ with DCF/DMF Better understanding of 5,000 10,000 coastal householders on potential public reaction adaptation options to adaptation options to inform how those options are best presented in future 5.iii Business planning tool DorCC/ More robust and resilient 0 10,000 for SMEs (consultancy DevCC coastal SMEs whose contract) business plans and investment strategies reflect coastal change risks 6.i ‘Coastal Conflicts’ WHT Future generations 6,000 18,000 

schools initiative (training better equipped to deal programme for teachers with coastal change and associated resources) 7.i Spatial planning and DCF Better understanding of 20,000 0 coastal change gap how/where coastal analysis (consultancy change risks can and project) should be addressed through spatial planning and how/where this may conflict with other planning objectives 7.ii ‘Change we can plan DCF/DMF Closer collaboration 0 5,000 for?’ seminar (planning between professionals and delivery of events) charged with addressing coastal change Production and distribution DCF/DMF High quality accessible 0 10,000 of Pathfinder reports reports in a variety of media to spread the learning from Pathfinder projects Project co-ordination and DCF/DMF Effective management 20,000 50,000 administration (1 FTE of Pathfinder work and Project Officer, delivery of outputs to management, associated time and budget through costs and administrative employment of project support) officer plus associated costs and administrative support Project evaluation DCF/DMF Evidence to assess 6,500 6,500 (qualitative and relative success of quantitative surveys to proposed activities establish baseline data around perceptions of coastal change to be revisited at end of project) Total 109,000 267,500

Bid total (£) 2009-2011 376,500

2. Please indicate where and how the activities described in section C1 will supplement existing funding streams. Please give a description of what these funding streams are, who is responsible for them, and any other relevant information.

Activity Funding source £ Details C-SCOPE project Interreg ‘Two Seas’ 1,170,000 (Dorset Interreg project to (proposed activities Programme with share of project) develop Marine 1.i, 1.ii, 3.i, 3.ii, 5.iii, match funding from Spatial Plan for pilot 7.i, 7,ii will Dorset Coast Forum area around supplement) partners (Dorset Weymouth Bay – 

Wildlife Trust, adapting to coastal Jurassic Coast Trust, change an integral DEFRA etc) part of this DCF coastal change National Trust, 50,000 Ongoing programme scenarios work Environment Agency of site-specific work (proposed activities led by Dorset Coast 1.i and 1.ii will Forum supplement) DCF liaison with Dorset County 30,000 Bi-annual forum coastal communities Council, Environment meetings, monthly e- (proposed activities Agency, Natural newsletter and ad hoc 2.i, 2.ii, 2.iii, 3.i, 5.iii England, events as coastal will supplement) Water, Dorset Wildlife issues arise and Trust, local authority resources allow funding partners DMF liaison with Devon County 52,000 Bi-annual forum coastal communities Council, Environment meetings, e- (proposed activities Agency, Natural newsletter, 2.i, 2.ii, 2.iii, 3.i, 5.iii England, National community will supplement) Trust, SW Water, engagement events, University of links to local estuary Plymouth, Devon forums Wildlife Trust Dorset and AONB, Devon c.50,000 Action Plan has Devon Coastal County Council (via identified a number of Corridor Action Plan LTP funding), East site-specific potential (proposed activities Devon AONB adaptations to ensure 5.i, 7.i, 7.ii will that the Jurassic supplement) Coast remains accessible by foot and other sustainable modes of transport Dorset Climate Dorset Strategic 80,000 Funding provided by Change Adaptation Partnership LSP for development Framework (all of a Climate Change proposed activities Adaptation will supplement Framework for emerging adaptation Dorset, within which framework) proposed Pathfinder activity would sit. EA Community EA 60,000 (across the National community Engagement South West region) engagement project (proposed activities funded by DEFRA to 2.i, 2.ii, 2.iii, 3.i, 3.ii, support the 4.i, 4.ii, 5.i, 5.ii, 6.i will publication of the supplement) coastal erosion maps Jurassic Coast Arts Arts Council England, c.30,000 Programme of artistic Strategy (proposed Dorset and Devon and cultural activity to activities 1.i, 1.ii will County Councils promote 

supplement) understanding and celebration of the Jurassic Coast Jurassic Coast Dorset and Devon c.10,000 Coast-wide forum to Communities Forum County Councils bring together (proposed activities communities and help 2.i, 2.ii, 2.iii will them take advantage supplement) of the opportunities which WHS status offers Jurassic Coast Dorset and Devon c.45,000 Coast-wide strategy Education Strategy County Councils to integrate the values (proposed activities of World Heritage and 1.ii, 2.i, 2.iii, 6.i will understanding of supplement) coastal processes into the school curriculum. Total c.1,577,000

Section E: Community engagement

1. Please provide details of any community involvement and engagement that has already been carried out in developing this bid. How do you plan to take this forward in your proposed approach? Are you planning on working with existing community engagement resources provided by other organisations?

In developing the Pathfinder bid, an informal project team has been assembled including representatives of Dorset County Council, Purbeck District Council, West Dorset District Council, Weymouth & Portland Borough Council, the Environment Agency, the Dorset Coast Forum, the Dorset AONB Partnership and the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site partnership. Devon County Council and the Devon Maritime Forum have also been involved in the development of the bid.

Discussions have been held with Parish Councils, local civic groups and other community leaders and further discussion of the Pathfinder opportunity will be taking place under the auspices of the Jurassic Coast Communities Forum, the Dorset Coast Forum and the Devon Maritime Forum. In preparing the bid, the lead partners have also drawn on views expressed by communities in the recent consultation exercises for the development of the AONB Management Plans and the Consultation Draft Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site Management Plan 2009-14, which addressed the issue of coastal change in some detail.

As part of the South Devon and Dorset Shoreline Management Plan process over forty public meetings were held along the coast. These meetings gave representatives of the communities opportunities to provide feedback on the process. Similar events are being organised for the Two Bays SMP, with the public consultation running from November to February.

In terms of future community engagement, this is clearly an integral part of the activities proposed in the Pathfinder bid. Community engagement is fundamental to 

all proposed activities, but particularly:

• The ‘Jurassic Coast Conversation’ • ‘Coastal Conflicts’ initiative in schools • Engaging communities in coastal change issues via the arts • Landowner liaison on coast path realignment • Trial negotiations with property owners at risk

It is further envisaged that:

• Communities themselves will be encouraged to lead activities where possible • Community representatives will form part of the coastal change champions network • Representatives of each of the 6 target communities detailed above will be included in the project Steering Group. • Community representatives will be included in the development of the project briefs for the research projects envisaged. • Outputs such as toolkits and publications will be market tested with community representatives as part of the process of development and refinement. • Efforts will be made to engage the large numbers of existing and potential volunteers involved in environmental monitoring and management (e.g. National Trust, Dorset Wildlife trust, BTCV) across the Jurassic Coast in proposed activities.

Finally, it is envisaged that community planners, spatial planners and community development workers employed by the local authorities along the Jurassic Coast will provide the bulk of the membership of the proposed Coastal Change Facilitators Network, building capacity within those organisations and communities to manage the debate about coastal change effectively.

Note: Defra is developing guidance on community adaptation planning and engagement that LAs can draw on in carrying out their pathfinder work.

Section F: Monitoring and evaluation

1. What risk assessments will be carried out in relation to delivering this work?

A risk register will be produced at commencement and monitored by the Steering Group at intervals throughout the project. Where appropriate, risk management techniques will be used to identify and optimise the preferred approach. This is expected to be valuable, for example, in agreeing proposals to limit and manage the effects of coastal ground movement on housing, residents and coast protection authorities. The methodical scoring of risk, with and without implementation of the practical mitigation options, would provide a basis for structured discussion of the complex issues. 

2. Please describe how you would monitor the success of the approaches you are proposing to explore and set out any ideas you have on how you will share the lessons learnt from the pathfinder more widely.

The success of the Pathfinder will be monitored by:

• Reporting against the proposed activities and outcomes in the project plan to a project Steering Group • Systematic collection of feedback from communities involved in the activities outlined to assess their effectiveness and usefulness • Monitoring usage of online tools and gathering feedback online • Measuring attendance and collecting feedback from planned events • Qualitative and quantitative research to assess changes in perception and behaviour as a result of the Pathfinder activities

Some of the activities included in the Pathfinder bid are in themselves designed to help share the lessons learnt and many offer the potential to secure media profile and raise awareness locally – the project team will work with the communications teams in partner agencies to ensure these opportunities are taken.

The existence of effective infrastructure for communicating with coastal communities in the form of the Jurassic Coast Communities Forum, the Dorset Coast Forum and the Devon Maritime Forum will also ensure that lessons learned can be shared widely among the networks of coastal groups and individuals who are associated with these bodies.

Once completed this for should be sent to:

Paul Barrett Coastal Erosion Team Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Area 2D Ergon House, Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2AL E-mail: [email protected]



Coastal change adaptation pathfinder Notes for applicants

1. Coastal Change Fund

The Coastal Change Fund has been set up to enable local authorities to “test-drive” potential approaches to planning for and managing change in partnership with their communities. Please refer to the Coastal Change Policy consultation document which contains the aims and objectives of the pathfinder approach. A copy of the consultation can be found at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/coastal-change/index.htm The pathfinder competition is open to all coastal local authorities who face coastal change issues. Bids will be considered by a panel of those with experience relevant to adapting to coastal change, on the basis of criteria set out in the coastal change policy document.

In line with Government policy, and to reduce bureaucracy associated with the fund to manage Coastal Change, this grant is not ring-fenced and has no mandatory reporting process against it. However, we would be very grateful if grant recipients would provide feedback to Defra’s Coastal Erosion Team (address below) on how projects are going. As a new programme we are very keen to understand what works, so we can work with partners to effectively identify and disseminate good practice nationally, and inform national policy development. We would therefore appreciate data about progress with your project and expect successful Pathfinder applicants to participate in evaluation and learning processes as a requirement of receiving funding.

Please note that by applying to become a pathfinder, you signify agreement to participate in future Defra run events to evaluate the effectiveness of the pathfinder programme.

2. Submitting bids or contacting us

Enquiries regarding the Pathfinder application or bids should be addressed to:

Paul Barrett Coastal Erosion Team Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Area 2D, Ergon House, Horsferry Road, London. SW1P 2AL.

Tel: 020 7238 1236 E-mail: [email protected]

The deadline for bids to be received is 11th September, 2009.



3. Data Protection Act 1998 - Fair Processing Notice

The purpose of this Fair Processing Notice is to inform you of the use that will be made of your personal data, as required by the Data Protection Act 1998.

Defra is the data controller in respect of any personal data that you provide when you complete the Coastal Change Adaptation Pathfinder application form.

Defra will use your personal data for the purposes of assessing your bid for Pathfinder status and contacting you with regards to the Pathfinder process. This data will be shared with an assessment panel, the membership of will be confirmed in due course. Defra may be required to release information, including personal data and commercial information, on request under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 or the Freedom of Information Act 2000. However, Defra will not permit any unwarranted breach of confidentiality nor will we act in contravention of our obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998.

Defra or its appointed agents may use the name, address and other details on your application form to contact you in connection with occasional customer research aimed at improving the services that Defra provides to you.

If you wish to obtain a copy of your personal data held by Defra, please follow the procedure at www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/opengov/personaldata.htm. Please note that you may be charged a fee of £10 for this service. You may also be asked to provide proof of your identity and for information that will help us locate the data you are seeking. Defra’s public service guarantee on data handling, which gives details of your rights in respect of the handling of your personal data is also available on this website. If you don’t have access to the internet, please telephone the Defra helpline 08459 33 55 77 and ask to speak to the Data Protection Officer.

If you believe that any of the information we hold concerning you is incorrect or out of date, please provide us with the accurate information in writing together with supporting evidence (if appropriate). You should address your correspondence to:

Coastal Erosion Team Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Area 2D, Ergon House, Horsferry Road, London. SW1P 2AL.

E-mail: [email protected]