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About the SMP
 Our
shoreline is constantly changing, sometimes gradually, sometimes
dramatically, and these changes have created some of the coast's most
beautiful and important features. They also, however, represent a
threat to many of our coastal communities. To protect these
communities we have often had to resort to building coastal defences.
Until relatively recently, defences were
constructed on an ad-hoc basis over relatively short lengths of coastline
the boundaries of which were usually marked by administrative borders
- an approach which failed to consider the impact on other coastlines and
often resulted in erosion and flood problems downdrift.
In 1994 the Coastal Groups and local authorities
of England & Wales were encouraged by Government to adopt the concept of
Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs), with a view to providing a more
strategic and sustainable approach to coastal defence.
An SMP
sets
out the
policy for managing our
coastline and our response to the threat
of coastal
flooding and
the risks of
erosion
for a pre-determined length of coast. It
is a high level non-statutory policy document that aims to
balance those risks with natural
processes and the consequences of climate change. It needs to take
account of existing defences and the natural and built environments, and
be compatible with adjacent coastal areas.
The first local SMP (SMP1)
was produced by the Poole &
Christchurch Bays Coastal Group in 1999.
The
shoreline covered by the local SMP stretches from Durlston Bay to Hurst Spit, known
nationally as
Subcell 5F, and is divided up into 'Policy
Units'. The plan identifies one of four
shoreline management policies for each Policy Unit:
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Shoreline Management Policy options: |
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Hold the
Line
- which means maintaining the existing line of defence as it is
or changing the standard of protection |
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Managed
Realignment -
which means allowing the shoreline to retreat or advance in a
controlled or managed way, either because that is the best approach
for a particular stretch of coast, or because the benefits of
protection are clearly out of scale with the financial costs. |
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No
Active Intervention - (do nothing) means that no investment will be made in coastal defences or other operations
other than
for safety purposes |
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Advance the
Line
- which involves the building of new defences on the seaward side of existing defences |
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The 49 SMPs produced for the shoreline of England & Wales form an
important element of Defra & NAW's Strategy for Flood and Coastal
Defence.
Defra
- Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
NAW -
National Assembly for Wales
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