Coastal Protection

Sea Palling offshore breakwaters

See Also:

• The North Norfolk Coastal Environment Microsite (1996) provides a range of information related to the Council's coast protection role, from the physical processes operating on the coast to a detailed description of the defences in place. Although the information is aimed at school and college students it should be of use to anyone interested in the history and the options for the future of the North Norfolk coast.

Latest Update: A leaflet has been published explaining the current approach the Council is taking in planning for the future of the coastal area.

Coastal Planning in North Norfolk: Information Sheet no.1 (May 2007) (.pdf 3mb)

Coastal Management Information

These pages contain general information on contemporary coastal management and some of the specific issues for the North Norfolk communities living with coastal erosion and flooding.

North Norfolk District Council and other members of the Anglian Coastal Authorities Group (ACAG) have produced a revision of the 1996 Kelling to Lowestoft Shoreline Management Plan (SMP).

The revised Plan has been adopted conditionally by North Norfolk District Council. Full adoption will only take place when the conditions have been met. In summary they are that Government puts in place acceptable measures, including financial support, to mitigate the effects of coastal change and makes it a requirement for a wider economic analysis to be undertaken on those frontages where it is proposed that the defence policy is to change from Hold the Line.

Meanwhile the Council will continue to implement the 1996 policies so far as it is able until acceptable adaptation measures have been put in place.

The full text of the amended Shoreline Management Plan can be viewed here. The amended Plan only applies to the North Norfolk District Council operation frontage from Kelling Hard to Cart Gap, Happisburgh.

Copies of the SMP without amendments imposed by NNDC can be downloaded from the ACAG website.

North Norfolk District Council's policy (2001) on coastal management can be downloaded here:

NNDC Flood and Coastal Defence Policy Statement (PDF, 58kb)

The District of North Norfolk has a coastal frontage of approximately 68 km stretching from Holkham in the west to Horsey in the south-east. Half of this coast is characterised by low lying land that is susceptible to marine flooding and the other half consists of a cliffed coastline which has been actively eroding since the last ice age.

The central 34km of the coastal frontage, from Kelling Hard through to Cart Gap, Happisburgh, is characterised by soft glacial cliffs and sandy beaches. This is in stark contrast to the low lying areas found on either flank. In the west one finds saltmarsh and the famous shingle ridge leading to Blakeney Point spit while, to the east, the beaches and sand-dunes are all that separates the North Sea from the Norfolk Broads.

For these low lying areas there is a real danger of coastal flooding during storm conditions, chillingly illustrated by the devastation caused by the floods of 1953. To combat this threat, the Environment Agency provides sea defences and flood warning systems. For further information on sea defences and flooding issues the Environment Agency should be contacted - visit their site at www.environment-agency.gov.uk.

On North Norfolk's cliffed coastline, the major problem is erosion of the cliffs. The prevention of coastal erosion is termed coast protection and is provided by Maritime District Councils such as North Norfolk District Council. The council is responsible for both constructing and maintaining the defences on its frontage, in line with the guidance and criteria provided by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Defra also provide funding for coast protection works through their grant aid service.

The North Norfolk cliffs are basically comprised of a contorted mix of silts, sands, clays and gravels that were deposited during the glacial and interglacial phases of the last 2 million years. The cliffs provide little resistance to the aggressive action of North Sea waves, which erode the base of the cliffs. In addition, when the cliff material has a high water content it becomes unstable and, together with wave action, this results in slips & slides of large amounts of material along the coastline, leading to a general retreat of the cliff line.

The settlements of Sheringham, Cromer, Overstrand, Trimingham, Mundesley, Bacton, Walcott and Happisburgh all sit atop the cliffs, as does the Natural Gas Terminal at Bacton. Together these developments include a huge number of properties and associated infrastructure that would be destroyed if natural cliff retreat were allowed to continue. To avoid the major financial and social implications of these losses, defences have been constructed to limit coastal erosion and protect coastal developments.