A review of coastal risk management in the UK

Abstract

This paper reviews the approaches that have been developed in the UK in order to deliver sustainable policies for managing risks from coastal erosion and flooding. One of the most important facilitators has been the adoption of a strategic framework at a national scale. This framework involves several scales of plans (shoreline management plans and strategy plans) as well as schemes. The recognition that funding sources are finite, and therefore need to be spent wisely, has also encouraged the development of more sustainable schemes. This has necessitated the development of a national appraisal methodology under which only the highest priority schemes achieve central government funding. The government also funds a national research programme to support flood and coastal erosion risk management. This paper gives examples of some of the outputs of this programme, which have included studies that have led to an improved understanding of coastal processes, coastal evolution, and risk levels, as well as the development of national data sets and management tools. The paper suggests some further improvements that could be made to the research programme. The discussion focuses on the likelihood of increasing choice of ‘managed realignment’ and ‘no active intervention’ policies in the future, their potential unpopularity with local stakeholders, and the current work under way to deal with these issues. The paper concludes with some thoughts on the priorities for coastal management over the next decade.