RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN COASTAL DEFENCE POLICY AND GUIDANCE IN ENGLAND

Abstract

In recent years we have seen fundamental changes in the way that coastal defences are planned and implemented. Engineers have recognised the overwhelming public desire to see the environment taken more into account when designing major infrastructure projects and our understanding of coastal processes has improved, allowing the design of coastal defences to become more scientifically based. As a result we have seen attention turn to adapting and supplementing natural coastal processes with the aim of adopting a coastal policy which is both more environmentally acceptable and sustainable in engineering terms. In England, to reflect these engineering changes, to secure better value for money for our investment in coastal defence and offer a more sustainable approach in the longer term, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, which has policy responsibility for flood and coastal defences, has invested significant sums of money into research. This has resulted in a better understanding of coastal processes and significant changes to national policy.