Each coastal area of Britain has a Shoreline Management Plan (SMP). These help to deliver the ambitions of the National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy. They set out a planned approach to managing flood and coastal erosion risk around the coast of England, to 2105.
Fylde Coast Shoreline Management Plans
SMPs are living plans updated by coastal groups. They guide coastal management investment decisions on the coast.
These large-scale strategic documents assess the risks of coastal flooding and erosion, outlining a 100-year plan for managing the coastline. They balance risks to people, property, and the environment by defining adaptations needed on specific stretches of the coast.
The English coastline is split into 20 areas (or ‘cells’) each with its own Shoreline Management Plan. For every section of the coast, the SMP assigns one of four strategic policies to guide long-term planning:
Hold the Line:
Maintaining or upgrading the existing coastal defences to keep the shoreline in its current position. This is the policy along the Fylde Coast. In reality it means that the land, buildings and infrastructure up to the coast line will be protected.
Managed Realignment:
Allowing the shoreline to move naturally, sometimes intentionally breaching defences to create new wetland habitats or buffer zones that absorb tidal energy. Common in less densely populated areas with low levels of habitation. An old existing sea wall might be in place but it won’t be maintained.
No Active Intervention:
Ceasing all maintenance or construction of defences, allowing the coast to evolve naturally. Think about the poor souls on the East coast, where huge chunks of cliff fall into the sea, often taking homes and businesses with it.
Advance the Line:
Building new defences further out into the sea, typically used only for specific land reclamation projects. The curved headlands at Blackpool seafront are a small example of advance the line – this new sea wall goes slightly further out in places than the previous one did. (Is this right?)
Coastal management and engineering is a very complex science. Apart from the known physics and engineering it also includes unknown variables like the weather and rising sea levels.
Most of us have seen examples of sea walls that have been damaged or collapsed. Not just here in Blackpool but in other coastal towns too. Sea walls only last between 30 and 60 years, depending heavily on the material used and the harshness of the local marine environment.
Fylde Coast Shoreline Management Plans and Long Term Planning
SMPs project across three distinct timescales (known as ‘epochs’) to account for environmental changes like rising sea levels. The plans provide a a large-scale assessment of coastal flood and erosion risks over 100-year periods. Each SMP sets out to identify the most sustainable approach for managing the risk over the short (0 to 20 years), medium (20 to 50 years) and long (50 to 100 years) term.
While a coastal authority is delivering one project they have their eye on what they’ll do next, in accordance with their own Shoreline Management Plan. View the Great Orme’s Head to Scotland Shoreline Management Plan here.
While you’re here…
Go to the homepage of the Visit Fylde Coast website for the latest updates.
Love the Fylde Coast? Sign up for your email newsletter. Packed full of interesting things it arrives in your inbox all 52 weeks of the year.
Join us on Facebook at our Visit Fylde Coast Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @visitFyldeCoast
Plus hundreds of videos to watch on our YouTube channel – from all over the Fylde Coast!
Booking a stay? Pick a safe, clean and legal place to stay, at the very best price. Book using the Visit Fylde Coast Accommodation guide.
