A Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) is a large-scale report, assessing the risks associated with coastal processes. It aims to help reduce these risks to people, property and the historic and natural environment.

The main objective of a SMP is to identify sustainable long-term management policies for the coast. It is inevitable that the plans will recommend changes to the current approach in some areas, however, they will help manage these so that the people, places, industry and wildlife affected can adapt at a reasonable pace. This approach avoids tying future generations into inflexible and expensive options for defence.

Shoreline Management Plans - The First Round
The first round of SMP's (now termed SMP1) were completed by 2000. 

These SMP's were based on sediment cells; lengths of coastline within which the movement of sand and shingle along the coast is largely self-contained. The boundaries of these cells were originally set at locations where the movement of sand and shingle changes direction.

At some places, however, the area covered by an SMP differed from these sediment cell boundaries, due to different requirements, such as the area covered by a coastal authority.

Who Produces Shoreline Management Plans?
In England, Shoreline Management Plans were initially promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (MAFF). However in 2001 MAFF was disbanded and these responsibilities were transferred to a new government department; the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The production of a specific SMP (or Review) for a coastline, is overseen by the Maritime Local Authorities and the Environment Agency (both known as the operating authorities), working in partnership with other members of the coastal advisory group.

Generally the actual policy document is delivered on behalf of these organisations by a coastal engineering consultancy.

What sections of coast are covered?
The shoreline has been divided into major sediment cells and the identification of the boundaries of these major sediment cells has been based on natural coastal process behaviour.

There are 11 major sediment cells around the coast of Wales and England and these have been sub-divided for the purpose of coastal defence management into Sediment Sub-Cells.

Sediment sub-cells are discrete lengths of shoreline bounded by either headlands or estuaries and define the limits of each Shoreline Management Plan.

What did we get from the Shoreline Management Plans?
Management Units and Policy Options; The SMP provided policies for the management of individual or discrete sections of coastline known as Management Units which were determined using criteria such as land use, coastal assets, coast edge/shore type, geography and shoreline orientation.

The guidance provided four principal policy options for consideration at management unit level. The options refer to the movement of the shoreline resulting from each policy option and are listed as follows:

DO NOTHING
HOLD THE EXISTING LINE
ADVANCE THE EXISTING LINE
RETREAT