Shoreline Management Plans

What is a Shoreline Management Plan?
A Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) is a large-scale assessment of the risks associated with coastal processes and helps reduce these risks to people and the developed, historic and natural environments.   Coastal processes include tidal patterns, wave height, wave direction and the movement of beach and seabed materials.

Increasing pressures on our coast:
As changes to our coastline continue, social, economic and environmental pressures are increasing in coastal areas.

People enjoy living by and visiting the coast, and the pressure for more housing is increasing.  As international trade increases, so does the demand for port space and associated coastal-based industry.

This sort of development places stress on natural coastal habitats that are often unique and of national and international importance.

The second generation of Shoreline Management Plans (SMP2s):
The second generation of Shoreline Management Plans (SMP2s) are currently in production, covering the entire 6000 kilometres of coast in England and Wales.

Current coastal management objectives are often widely accepted and embedded in local planning policy. Therefore, wholesale changes to existing flood and erosion defence management practices may not always be appropriate in the very short term, and communities, businesses and wildlife habitats all need time to adjust.

Consequently, the SMP2s will provide a ‘route map' for local authorities and other decision makers  to move from the present situation towards meeting our future needs, and will identify the most sustainable approaches to managing the risks to the coast in the short term (0-20 years), medium term (20-50 years) and long term (50-100 years).

Within these timeframes, the SMP2s will also include an action plan that prioritises what work is needed to manage coastal processes into the future, and where it will happen. This in turn will form the basis for deciding and putting in place specific flood and erosion risk management schemes, coastal erosion monitoring and further research on how we can best adapt to change.

Within the boundaries of the Southern Coastal Group there are four Shoreline Management Plans as follows:

1. Selsey Bill to Hurst Spit (North Solent), lead Authority New Forest District Council
2. Isle of Wight, lead Authority Isle of Wight Council
3. Hurst Spit to Durlston Head, lead Authority Bournemouth Borough Council
4. Durlston Head to Rame Head, lead Authority Teignbridge District Council  

Please click on the map above to find out more information about these Shoreline Management Plans.

For more information about Shoreline Management Plans see:

Environment Agency
Defra