The Norfolk Coastline

Detailed information on the Norfolk Coastline is available from the Norfolk Coast Area of Natural Beauty Management Action Plan 2004-2009, however, it is very in-depth. Also, it might be worthwhile taking a quick look at Marinet, who oppose the SMP. I have summarised some of the ideas below.

The strategy of 'managed retreat' or 'coastal realignment' is the theory that the loss of 'low value' areas of the coastline will cause new areas to develop naturally from the sedimental material freed. This approach will be taken in many areas along the North East Norfolk Coast, as the government has concluded that the benefits of coastal protection do not outweigh the costs.

• Concrete sea walls cost over £9,000 per metre (£9m/km), and are also considered unattractive. As sea levels rise, the current walls were being undermined at the base, so needed maintaining, as there was a high risk of collapse in high storm periods. The plan is now to allow “nature to take its course” in many areas along this stretch of coastline.


• One of the main causes of the losses of sand and shingle is offshore aggregate dredging off East Anglia, as it has reduced sediment transfer by interception. The knock-on effects of dredging include the erosion of sand dunes, beach steepening and it has reduced formerly protective offshore sand bank height that previously served to break the more powerful eroding waves. On the other hand, the SMP suggests that the main loss of shoreline is due to the restriction of littoral sediment flow by the imposition of existing flood defences.


• The thermal expansion of the sea and the melting of icecaps and glaciers are causing the sea to rise by 6 millimetres per year, and this is increasing. Increasing periods of stronger and more frequent northerly winds, a further component of global warming, are also taking their toll by increasing the degree of erosion.


• Villages and communities have been refused defence, compensation and reimbursement, and the loss of the tourist trade would also effect the area’s economy.


• Salt Marshes and the soft cliffs will be lost in the future. They provide a unique ecosystem and form the habitat of internationally important communities of rare insects, spiders and other invertebrates. The loss of these habitats will reduce biodiversity.


• The Norfolk coast is rich in historical and cultural heritage, which will be lost without sea defences. It supports a major tourist and holiday industry, a precious wetland system, a valued natural habitat, numerous vital wildlife sites and the remains of a previously thriving fishing industry. These are by far the main source of external income for the area.


• Campaigners against the SMP argue that the Broads and tidal rivers will become salinated, valuable agricultural land destroyed and many low lying inland villages lost to the sea, and that the economic cost of losing all this is far greater than the cost of sea defences.


• Overstrand, North Norfolk -The SMP survey stated that the value of the property due to be lost would be £7.7m and that the cost of defences would come to £8.6m, but the locals calculated the loss to be £89.5m and the cost of defence £4.5m, so disagree with the recommended abandonment of the sea defences and a policy of 'managed retreat'.