Communities at risk of coastal erosion will get new planning powers allowing temporary development in order to boost their economies, the Government has announced.
Under the Development and coastal change planning policy, residential development will continue to be banned in vulnerable coastal areas, but a blanket ban will be lifted on temporary development, such as car parks, that has wider economic benefits and an ‘acceptable coastal use’.
Planning minister, John Healey, said: ‘What we’re hearing from coastal communities is that right now, temporary development that would be beneficial to the area’s economy and tourist industry is unable to go ahead.
‘That’s why we’re proposing to change the planning laws to allow safe, time-limited development such as beach huts, car-parks and cafes to be built in coastal areas, if there’s an economic benefit.’
Following consultation, the policy is intended to combine with planning policy statement 25 (PPS25), which ensures flood risk is taken in to account at all stages of the planning process. It will replace the current policy on coastal planning, PPG20.
Planning authorities will be expected to define a coastal change management area (CCMA) in which the policy applies, based on evidence provided by shoreline management plans (SMPs) and coastal erosion information from the Environment Agency.
The proposals call for a partnership approach between neighbouring planning authorities and relevant bodies – such as the Environment Agency, Natural England and coastal groups – to secure an integrated approach towards planning and management in coastal areas, especially as SMPs cross local authority boundaries.
The second wave of SMPs, which outline the management policies for each section of the coast, will be published between autumn 2009 and 2011, alongside the EA’s mapping of coastal erosion rates for the next 100 years.
The planning proposal follows the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs launch of an £11M coastal change fund, which gives local authorities the opportunity to ‘test-drive’ potential adaptation schemes in partnership with local communities.
Peter Frew, coastal planning officer at North Norfolk District Council, welcomed both proposals, which he hoped would ‘work in harmony together’. But he warned that the £11M coastal change fund ‘would not go far’. The consultation on the draft planning policy closes on 12 October.
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