A new map-based digital tool will make plans for shoreline management easier to access, understand and use for coastal practitioners and the public alike, the Environment Agency has announced.

The Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) Explorer will enable coastal practitioners and local planners to find the information they need more easily. It will also improve the Environment Agency’s ability to monitor the risks of flooding and erosion around England’s coasts throughout this century.

New content will regularly be added to the tool to keep it up to date, starting with improved National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping later in 2024.

While aimed at coastal practitioners, the SMP Explorer is also available to the public, helping to promote understanding of the risks of coastal flooding and erosion, alongside the management approaches and actions being taken along the coast.

Julie Foley, Director of Flood Risk Strategy & National Adaptation at the Environment Agency, said:  “Bringing the world-leading Shoreline Management Plans to life via the SMP Explorer will make their use plain sailing and enable well-informed decisions about the future management of our treasured coastline.”  

Stewart Rowe, Chair of the Coastal Group Network, said:  “The new SMP Explorer presents the information in an easily accessible, digitised online format, which will greatly assist all users of coastal information helping to manage our constantly changing coastline now and into the future.”

Shoreline Management Plans were developed in partnership by the Environment Agency, local authorities and other coastal partners working through Coastal Groups between 2006 and 2012. The Environment Agency has worked closely with coastal protection authorities through Coastal Groups on a three-year refresh of Shoreline Management Plans to ensure they remain up to date and use the best evidence.

SMP Explorer will support discussions and decisions about the future of the coast by increasing the use of plans for:

• Coastal strategies and adaptation plans
• Local plans and the designation of Coastal Change Management Areas
• Flood prevention investment decisions
• Habitat creation and restoration
• Local engagement, consultation, and political acceptance about how to live with and manage coastal change to build resilient and thriving coastal places.

The 20 plans covering England and the two cross-border plans with Wales are based on the best available evidence and cover the whole of England’s coastline.

Alongside the SMP Explorer, the Environment Agency has also published an independent peer review of the state of Shoreline Management Plans to encourage their continuous improvement over future years.

You can read further information here from the Environment Agency and see the SMP Explorer here.