The Shoreline Management Plan

Developed in partnership by local authorities, regulators and other stakeholders, a Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) is a high level non-statutory policy document designed to assist coastal flood and erosion risk management planning.   It provides a large-scale assessment of the risks (to people, property, the natural and historic environment) associated with coastal erosion and flooding at the coast over the long-term.   It also proposes policies to help manage these risks sustainably over the next hundred years.

The SMP enables planners and regulators to plan for and manage the way that the coast will change. This could be by maintaining or improving defences, by enabling the natural processes to play a greater role, creating new natural habitat or by helping areas that are at risk of flooding at some point in the future to cope with and limit the impact of flooding events.

The SMP2 for the Severn Estuary updates an earlier SMP1 (2000) for the estuary. It aims to provide more certainty for landowners, residents and businesses; to know how the coast will be managed by regulators during the next 100 years, so that they can plan ahead and make decisions about investments, homes, development and the management of their resources.

The Shoreline Management Plan 2 received final sign-off from Defra and Welsh Government in February 2017. To view the approval letter, click here.