In January 2024, the Environment Agency brought all the UK’s Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs) together for the first time. You can find them, along with information on SMPs in general, and the specific SMP policies covering the Poole and Christchurch Bays area, on the Environment Agency’s Find a Shoreline Management Plan website.
Background to SMPs
Until relatively recently, coastal 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.
About SMPs
An SMP sets out the long-term vision sustainably managing a length of coastline in response to the threat of coastal flooding and the risks of coastal erosion, and a series of policies for achieving that vision. 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, the natural and built environments, and be compatible with adjacent coastal areas.
The policies approaches set out in an SMP are:
- Hold the Line – maintain / upgrade / replace coastal defences in their current position where funding permits.
- Managed Realignment – manage coastal processes to realign the ‘natural’ coastline configuration, either seaward or landward of its present position.
- No Active Intervention (do nothing) – a decision not to invest in providing or maintaining defences or management of the coast.
- Advance the Line – a decision to build new defences seaward of the existing defence line where significant land reclamation is considered.
It is important to note that the adoption of an SMP does not guarantee that funding will be forthcoming to deliver all of the policies in all locations. This must be further justified through the development of Flood & Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) Strategies and/or Scheme business cases.
The Poole & Christchurch Bays SMP
The Poole and Christchurch Bays SMP covers the 190km (118 miles) of open coast, harbours, estuaries and headlands between Durlston Head in the west and Hurst Spit to the east, and includes the coastal communities of Swanage, Studland, Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch, Highcliffe, Barton-on-Sea and Milford-on-Sea.
Across this area there are:
- Thousands of residential and non-residential properties and associated infrastructure at risk of coastal flooding and erosion if we do nothing.
- Over 50 environmental designations including a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas, Ramsar sites, and Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
- A large number of designated and non-designated historic environment (heritage) sites, including Scheduled Ancient Monuments and listed buildings.
The first Poole and Christchurch Bays SMP (SMP1) was produced in 1999. It was then reviewed and updated in line with national guidance in October 2010 (SMP2).
It promotes management policies for our coastline for 20, 50 and 100 years; providing a timeline for objectives, policy and management changes; i.e. a ‘route map’ for decision makers to move from the present situation towards the future.
The SMP policies covering each part of the Poole and Christchurch Bays area, as well as all the supporting evidence used to inform the development of the SMP, can be viewed at the Hurst Spit to Durlston Head SMP15 | Shoreline Management Plans.
Implementing and maintaining the Poole & Christchurch Bays SMP
Implementation of the SMP is overseen by the Poole & Christchurch Bays SMP Management Group, which is comprised of representatives the various risk management authorities, planning authorities, statutory bodies and key stakeholders. The SMP Management Groups role includes:
- ensuring that the necessary actions are being planned and undertaken in order to deliver the SMP vision and policy intent in each area;
- determining if there is a need to reconsider SMP policies in a location if the evidence has changed since the policies were adopted; and
- reporting on implementation progress to the Southern Coastal Group and the Environment Agency.
In the Poole and Christchurch Bays area, the various authorities and key stakeholders have collaborated to produce detailed flood & coastal erosion risk management strategies to further define how best to implement the SMP policies. These are the:
With the strategies in place, it is then the responsibility of the relevant risk management authority or landowner to develop the individual scheme business case to justify works to deliver the policy. Examples of where this has been done in Poole & Christchurch Bays include:
Plans, strategies & schemes
Our infographic below illustrates how policies, strategies and schemes relate. This defined process should secure the delivery of partnership funded schemes to help protect our coastal communities from tidal flooding and erosion risk.
Long term policies
to manage coastal (tidal?) flooding and erosion risk
Preferred approaches
environmentally and economically viable approaches to address risks are identified
Flooding and coastal works
designed to reduce risks to people and assets. Delivery is dependent on securing the required partnership funding.
