Who Funds Coastal Risk Management?

How is the funding allocated?

Flood and Coastal Risk Management Funding

Over £745 million of Defra, Welsh Assembly Government, local authority and European Union funding has been approved to reduce the risk of flood and coastal erosion in England and Wales for the year to March 2011. Funding levels each year are determined by the Secretary of State and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Even with this amount of money, the scale of coastal erosion means projects must be prioritised to ensure best possible results.  Realistically, it is not possible to justify defending all locations to the same standard or in some cases at all.

The cost of coastal management schemes varies considerably according to their size, type, location and maintenance requirements.

'Hard' defences tend to be more expensive to build and install.  'Soft' defence techniques, such as beach recharge, can require regular maintenance which increases their whole-life costs.

Detailed investment plans for the medium term (five years) are used to plan expenditure, and we have also developed a long term investment strategy for the next 25 years.

Management options

For each stretch of coast, four management options are considered when developing Shoreline Management Plans:

• Hold the existing defence line - maintain or change the standard of any existing coastal defence.
• Advance the existing defence line - new defences on seaward side.
• Managed re-alignment - shoreline and defences adjust position in a controlled way.
• No active intervention - no investment in coastal defence.

When holding the existing defence line, many factors need to be considered - for example, whether or not to take sea level rise into account, and how long defences will be sustainable or affordable. In some locations, investment in defences may cease in future to allow for managed change of the shoreline.

In each case the options are considered carefully by Coastal Groups, and discussed widely before any decision is reached.

How is funding allocated

Each year local authorities and Internal drainage boards apply for funding for the work they would like to do. From 1 April 2008 Outcome Measures (OMs) became the new performance framework. Information on these measures may be found in the document linked below.

• Outcome Measures frequently asked questions and definitions (PDF, 92KB)

Flood and Coastal Risk Management Funding

Over £745 million of Defra, Welsh Assembly Government, local authority and European Union funding has been approved to reduce the risk of flood and coastal erosion in England and Wales for the year to March 2011. Funding levels each year are determined by the Secretary of State and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Even with this amount of money, the scale of coastal erosion means projects must be prioritised to ensure best possible results.  Realistically, it is not possible to justify defending all locations to the same standard or in some cases at all.

The cost of coastal management schemes varies considerably according to their size, type, location and maintenance requirements.

'Hard' defences tend to be more expensive to build and install.  'Soft' defence techniques, such as beach recharge, can require regular maintenance which increases their whole-life costs.

Detailed investment plans for the medium term (five years) are used to plan expenditure, and we have also developed a long term investment strategy for the next 25 years.

Management options

For each stretch of coast, four management options are considered when developing Shoreline Management Plans:

• Hold the existing defence line - maintain or change the standard of any existing coastal defence.
• Advance the existing defence line - new defences on seaward side.
• Managed re-alignment - shoreline and defences adjust position in a controlled way.
• No active intervention - no investment in coastal defence.

When holding the existing defence line, many factors need to be considered - for example, whether or not to take sea level rise into account, and how long defences will be sustainable or affordable. In some locations, investment in defences may cease in future to allow for managed change of the shoreline.

In each case the options are considered carefully by Coastal Groups, and discussed widely before any decision is reached.