A new community ‘conversation’ about coastal management

Around 60 representatives from North Norfolk coastal communities and interest groups will gather at Overstrand next week to start a new ‘conversation’ about how to manage coastal change.

On 18 November, North Norfolk District Council will kick off the conversation at the Pleasaunce, so it can better understand coastal management issues from a community perspective. The Council is developing a Coastal Management Plan to address the whole range of challenges faced by coastal areas, and believes that for the plan to be successful it is crucial for local people to be involved in its preparation.

The Shoreline Management Plan (SMP), first published in draft in 2005, proposed an approach to coastal defence based on existing Government policy and predictions of dramatic physical changes to the coastline for the area from Kelling Hard to Lowestoft Ness. This highlighted the vulnerability of many communities to coastal change in the short medium and long term. To the west of Kelling Hard the coast has different characteristics, but change is inevitable there, too, and a SMP for this area is now being developed.

District Councillor Clive Stockton, Cabinet Member for Coastal Issues, said: “There is no doubt that one of North Norfolk’s greatest assets is its beautiful coastline. The contribution the coast makes to the quality of life of the district’s residents and visitors as well as to the economy of the area cannot be underestimated.”

“However,” he continued, “people in coastal communities are also all too familiar with the threats that the North Sea poses and of the fragile nature of our coastline. So far there has been little debate over how communities along whole length of our coast are going to respond to future changes. North Norfolk District Council wants to hear from communities about how we should manage coastal change, whatever its causes and effects.”

This conversation will begin at a meeting where approximately 60 representatives from local coastal communities and interest groups have been invited to give their views on how the challenges that coastal communities face now and in the future should be met. This event is to be run by independent consultants Dialogue by Design (specialists in public dialogue and consultation), who will take participants through a series of discussions aimed at:

• fostering a mutual understanding of coastal issues
• identifying themes common to the whole coastal area, as well as those that are specific to particular localities or particular interests
• understanding the different perspectives on the approach that should be taken in response to the issues
• working towards identifying a common set of aims and values to underpin decisions on coastal management planning.

Dialogue by Design will report its findings of the event to the Council, to form the foundation of the Coastal Management Plan that will be published next year for consultation.

• For more information about this event, call Rob Young on 01263 516162.

ENDS