Coastwise
Supporting North Norfolk communities with coastal erosion challenges
Coastwise will work with North Norfolk communities and with others to explore and demonstrate how coastal places can be prepared and live with erosion.
Hear about Coastwise in North Norfolk with Rob Goodliffe (Coastal Transition Manager)
The challenge
The North Norfolk coast has some of the most rapidly eroding coastline in Europe. This is due to the soft erodible cliffs, but the rates are accelerating in response to climate drivers, particularly increased storminess and sea level rise. With soft erodible cliffs, sea level rise and aging defence assets, many homes, businesses and infrastructure along the 21miles of the cliffed North Norfolk coast are at risk of damage from erosion.
The Shoreline Management Plan recognises that the continued maintenance of sea defences is considered neither affordable or environmentally sustainable in many locations. The publication of the SMP was highly controversial locally as it signalled some policy changes in the long term management of the coast from 'Hold the Line' to ' Managed Realignment'. Following concerns, the need for an adaptation approach was included in the SMP.
Coastwise offers a unique opportunity to support the adaptation and transition from a reactive to planned approach to these coastal management challenges. And importantly, the approaches we trial will provide evidence about how coastal adaptation can be achieved to inform future national policy about coastal management. This will be achieved through accelerating the identification and trialling of solutions whist integrating the approach with the established Shoreline Management Plan.
Aims
Rather than reactively addressing these challenges, for example following a storm event or a landslide, we want to take a more proactive, collaborative and planned approach to coastal adaptation in the face of climate change. In doing this we will need to work closely with local people and partners organisations to:
- develop and implement practical options, support and solutions, to help manage the impacts of coastal change.
- prepare local communities, individuals, businesses, and infrastructure for transition.
- locally co-create and embed transition plan/s into strategic and local community approaches.
- investigate, model, evaluate and begin to implement financial mechanisms to sustainable fund ongoing transition.
- share our learning to inform national and local policy strategies and plans for coastal management.
- understand the dynamic nature of North Norfolk’s coastline.have confidence about the future and know how erosion risk will be managed.
- have options.
North Norfolk District Council in partnership with others will have:
- adopted a Strategic Transition Plan for North Norfolk.
- helped others develop place, business or sector Transition Plans.
- developed a Transition Manual to help other Local Authorities plan for transition.
- facilitated Practical Actions to demonstrated transition in action.
- contributed to the creation of a Transition Knowledge Hub.
- presented National Transition Options for consideration by government.
Find out more
Find out more about the coastal management challenges in north Norfolk by looking at our project photobook, watching these short films about our coastline and hear directly from a local resident about coastal adaptation, and reading these summaries:
