Shoreline management plans - UK

Question 1

Sustainable approaches require

Answer 1

Management of natural resources at the coast like water and farmland;

Monitoring of any changes to inform new strategies and;

Education and inclusion of the local communities to support the strategies

Question 2

In a Shoreline Management Plan (SMP), each of the 11 sediment cells in the UK have had a detailed document written to identify the natural processes, activities and risks in the area

DEFRA (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) makes recommendations for all sections of the coastline

They make recommendations from the four options:

Answer 2

do nothing

hold the line

managed retreat

advance the line

Question 3

do nothing

Answer 3

letting nature take its course

Question 4

Managed retreat

Answer 4

deliberate flooding of particular areas to manage coastal retreat

Question 5

Advance the line

Answer 5

extending the coastline out to sea by building up the beach and land reclamation

Question 6

Hold the line

Answer 6

maintaining the position of the coastline using mostly hard engineering methods

Question 7

When making these recommendations DEFRA has to consider the value of the land and assets as well as technical viability of management strategies
This can lead to local conflict because the SMP protects some areas and not others
In Skipsea on the Holderness coastal erosion rates since 1989 have been

Answer 7

1.4m per year

Question 8

People in Skipsea feel that nothing has been done to protect their village with a population of ………….whilst money has been spent on coastal defences in neighbouring towns and villages

Answer 8

700

Question 9

Cost-benefit analysis
This is used to decide the recommendations for each section of coastline
Costs are forecast based on known tangible costs of coastal defences such as how much 100m of sea wall will cost to build and maintain, and intangible costs such as visual impact of the sea wall

Question 10

Where benefits outweigh costs, such as the sea wall at Bridlington protecting population of over ……………..and buildings from coastal flooding, then the project is likely to go ahead

Answer 10

36,000

Question 11

Where the costs outweigh the benefits, such as protecting the 24 houses at Skipsea from coastal erosion and flooding, a scheme is unlikely to be put in place