Shoreline Management Plans

Sediment around the coast moves in distinctive cells, but boundaries of sediment cells rarely coincide exactly with administrative borders of local authorities. To avoid a piecemeal approach, SMPs were introduced in 1995. There are 22 in total which correspond to sediment cells and sub-cells.

Key Features:

Designed to identify most sustainable approach to managing flood and coastal erosion risks to the coastline
Plan for short term (0-20 years), medium term (20-50 years) and long term (50-100 years)
Many short-term plans are near to completion so are being reviewed and a generation of new SMPs
Provide assessment of risks associated with evolution of coast
Provides framework to address risks to people and to the developed, historic and natural environment
Address risks in a sustainable way
Provide policy agenda for coastal defence management planning
Promote long-term management policies for 22^nd century
Aim to be technically sustainable, environmentally acceptable and economically viable
Ensure management plans comply with international and national nature conservation and biodiversity legislation
Incorporate route map to allow decision makers to make changes to short and medium-term plans to ensure long-term sustainability is maintained
Provide foundation for future research and development of new coastal management strategies in the future
They are live working documents to be continually reviewed and updated, involving setting new targets for future management objectives

Management Options:

Do nothing – involves leaving the coastline to retain itself naturally
Advance the line – this predominantly involves the use of hard engineering techniques quite far seawards, which lead to the build up of the beach so the coastline advances seawards
Hold the line – this retains the coastline at its present position, using a range of engineering techniques – existing techniques are retained but it does not tend to involve installing any new management
Managed retreat/realignment – this is a breach of existing management techniques to make the coastline retreat in a managed way

SMP 1 Scottish border to the River Tyne

SMP 2 The Tyne to Flamborough Head

SMP 3 Flamborough Head to Gibraltar Point

SMP 4 Gibraltar Point to Hunstanton

SMP 5 Hunstanton to Kelling Hard

SMP 6 Kelling Hard to Lowestoft

SMP 7 Lowestoft to Felixtowe

SMP 8 Essex and South Suffolk

SMP 9 River Medway & Swale Estuary

SMP 10 Isle of Grain to South Foreland

SMP 11 South Foreland to Beachy Head

SMP 12 Beachy Head to Selsey Bill