Planning for Change on the Lincolnshire Coast

Around 20 years ago, the Environment Agency’s predecessors embarked upon a strategy of intensive sand nourishment to prevent failure of the seawall over a 26km long frontage, thereby providing protection from tidal inundation to over 20,000 properties and up to 30,000 caravans, as well as key infrastructure, tourism assets, recreational amenities and agricultural land within a 35,000 hectare floodplain extending up to 15km inland. The present approach has been very successful and, up to now, has been considered the most appropriate long term strategy. However, changes to how schemes are appraised and choices made, have meant that a fundamental review of the sustainability of this approach has been required. This paper explores the implications of those changes for long term flood defence management along this coastline, highlighting how decisions on the most sustainable solutions are compounded by the present economic assessment approach, and why the current rules are restrictive in supporting a change in approach.