Adapting to Climate Change on the Lincolnshire Coastline through the Lincshore Beach Management Scheme

The Lincolnshire coastal defences between Mablethorpe and Skegness, commonly referred to as ‘Lincshore’, provide flood protection to the low-lying coastal plain, which extends up to 15km inland and stretches over 30km along the coast. Controlling the rate of coastal erosion along this coastline has been attempted since Roman times, when the coastal lowland of east Lincolnshire was drained and reclaimed with the use of an artificial clay embankment. The recorded history of flooding to the hinterland goes back to the 13th century, including the major flood event in 1953 [considered to be equivalent to a 2% annual exceedance probability (AEP) (1 in 50 year) event] when 43 people lost their lives. The Environment Agency, Anglian Region, has permissive powers under the Land Drainage Act 1991 and the Water Resources Act 1991 to manage the coastal defences that provide protection to the Lincolnshire coastline and manage flood risks to the extensive hinterland that extends to 35,000 hectares and 24,000 residential properties. The majority of the land is designated as grade 3 (good to moderate quality) agricultural land and the area’s economy is also heavily reliant on tourism. Amongst the properties at risk, over 6,000 lie below mean high tide level and without effective flood defences over 16,000 residential, 1,700 commercial properties and some 19,000 static caravans are potentially at risk of flooding from a 0.5% AEP event (1 in 200 year standard of protection [figure 1]).