Swanage Coastal Management Schemes

Project overview

Swanage has a combined series of distinct coastal management schemes underway, led by Dorset Council’s Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) team and you can follow project updates on these pages.

Coastlines need to be managed to prevent natural processes, such as erosion and flooding, destroying vulnerable areas of the coast. Often the coastline is used by people for homes, agriculture, industry, tourism or other businesses. In addition, there are many coastal areas which are sites of natural beauty or are od special scientific interest. A failure to prevent erosion and flooding can lead to a loss of life or property.

With climate change leading to rising sea levels and more extreme weather, the coastline may become increasingly vulnerable.

There are different options available for managing coastlines:

• hard engineering, where man-made structures such as groynes are built to stop longshore drift
• soft engineering, where more natural processes are used, such as regenerating the sand on the beach (known as beach nourishment or recharge).

Swanage Beach Management Plan (BMP) is a plan for managing a beach at a local level for the purpose of Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM), to maintain or improve the conditions of the beach as both a means of coastal protection and as a recreational resource.

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