Coastal management The four options

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Coastal managementThe four options
Fotolia
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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.
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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
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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.

http//www.northeastsmp2.org.uk/finalSMP2.htm
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Coastal management options
Four coastal management strategies 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

• 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

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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
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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
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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
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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 2008. This
artificial island was open sea in the Persian
Gulf before construction began in 2001