Shoreline Management Plan Consultation Begins

14 December, 2004

People living in North Norfolk, Great Yarmouth and Waveney are being asked for their views on how the North Sea coastline from Kelling to Lowestoft Ness should be managed over the next 100 years.

A new, draft Shoreline Management Plan outlines the options for coastal defence into the 22nd Century, and is available for public consultation now. The consultation will run until 31 March, 2005.

The SMP is the culmination of two years' work by engineering consultants working for NNDC, Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Waveney District Council, the Environment Agency, English Nature and Great Yarmouth Port Authority, with research funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). More than 30 other stakeholder groups have also been involved.

The SMP takes the view that it must not commit to 'unsustainable' defence options. In other words, it must be realistic about what kind of defence will be possible in decades to come and, in the words of the SMP itself, "not promise what cannot be delivered."

Equally, the plan must be flexible enough to cope with changing circumstances over the next century, so it considers the options over three periods: the present day to 20 years hence (the short term, for the purposes of the SMP), 20 to 50 years (medium term), and 50 to 100 years (long term).

The SMP looks at the 24 distinct and different segments of the coast from Kelling to Lowestoft, and considers the ways of managing each in the short, medium and long terms using the four generic policy options defined by Defra:

• Hold the line - sea defences are maintained or upgraded
• Advance the line - new defences are built seaward of the existing defence line
• Managed realignment - the shoreline is allowed to retreat but defences are used to limit erosion where appropriate
• No active intervention - no investment is made in defences, except where public safety demands it.

The draft SMP considers the latest nature conservation legislation, the Government's latest guidance on local strategic planning, and the implications for property and land use, landscape, historic environment, amenity and recreation.

It explains how geological processes work along this stretch of coast - where the sand on our beaches comes from and how it moves from area to area, how the North Sea acts upon our cliffs and shores, and how defences influence the shape of our coastline.

The SMP shows how:

• Wide sandy beaches are themselves a vital defence against the force of the sea, dissipating the energy of waves as they come ashore.
• Almost all the sand on beaches east of Cromer comes from the cliffs east of Cromer, eroding at an average rate of 70cm a year.
• Our existing defences have created 'promontories' - areas that stick out slightly into the sea, which have had their beaches scoured away as the line of the sea has moved gradually inland.
• Those defences were built to stand at the top of beaches, not right up against the water line, so when they fail they cannot simply be replaced by similar structures. Completely new, bigger structures would have to be built to withstand the forces involved for any length of time, at much greater expense.
• By the end of the 21st Century, those promontories (if protected by new defences) would stand about 100-200m out to sea, with bays in between, effectively stopping the 'longshore drift' of sand eastwards along our shore, or deflecting the moving sand out to sea.
• The lack of sand on beaches would increase the rate of erosion in undefended areas.

So, broadly speaking, the draft SMP proposes:

• Existing defences should be maintained in the short term, where economically viable - effectively no change to current management for the next 20 years. Even with such a policy, it is estimated that about 80 homes and 5 business properties would be claimed by the sea by 2025 (as opposed to more than 200 properties that would be lost in that time under a policy of 'no active intervention').
• In most places, there would be no change in management for the next 50 years.
• In the longer term, when a 'hold the line' policy will be neither economically viable nor technically sustainable, a policy of 'managed realignment' should be adopted for many areas. Taking this approach, between 80 and 450 homes could be lost by 2055, and between 450 and 1300 by 2105. Double that number of homes could be expected to be lost under a policy of 'no active intervention'. Under the SMP's preferred approach, around 170 commercial properties are likely to be lost by 2105, whereas between 300 and 550 would likely be lost under a 'no active intervention' policy.
• The major centres of population and business - Sheringham, Cromer, Great Yarmouth, Gorleston and Lowestoft - would continue to be defended in the long term (as long as they meet the Government's criteria for funding the defences).
• From Eccles to Winterton, where the coastline is managed by the Environment Agency, defences would be maintained for at least the next 50 years while long-term options for the Broads area are investigated.

The easiest way to see the SMP, for many people, will be online at www.acag.org.uk. It will also be available for public viewing in the district/borough council offices and libraries in North Norfolk, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.

Instructions for how people can register their views will be presented with the plan at those locations.

The public consultation will run until 31 March, 2005, after which the SMP will be debated by local politicians, who have the final say on whether it is adopted.

North Norfolk District Council's Chief Executive, Philip Burton, said: "Coastal erosion is nothing new - Norfolk communities have suffered its effects throughout history. And it will go on happening, so we need to look now at how we can cope with it over the next hundred years, given what we know about the resources that will be available, and how the coast will change.

"It is a very emotive issue, and one that we must all confront. I hope people will take the time to read the draft SMP and understand what it says, and then make their feelings known through this consultation, so the Council can reach a balanced conclusion that takes into account the needs and livelihoods of coastal communities as well as the impact of natural forces."

Julian Walker, Principal Service Manager for Waveney District Council, said: "I was very encouraged by the general agreement, from the numerous elected representatives and interest groups, of a more open and natural coastline, with coastal defences continuing to protect the larger communities, as we face up to impacts of the natural changes over the next 100 years.

"Council officers recognise that there will be concerns from members of the public and businesses, but we do need to address the issues and plan for the necessary changes. I am pleased that the study has confirmed the appropriateness of the current policy for Corton Village - of holding the new defences for the duration of their 20 to 30 year life."

ENDS