Coastal defence: design and practice guide

A guide to help coastal managers choose, design, build and maintain coastal defences.

• From: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Research and Development Programme and Environment Agency
• Published: 12 February 2021

• Category: Whole life asset management
• Topics: Asset maintenance, Asset monitoring, Asset performance, Asset system optimisation, Coast, Design and build and Sea level rise
• Project status: Completed
• Project code: SC960002
• Date of completion: 31 May 2001

Documents

Coastal defence: design and practice guide - technical summary (28 KB) PDF

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email: enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

Background

There have been changes in policy and legislation over the years regarding coastal defence. The range of issues and disciplines that coastal managers need to deal with have increased.

In 1996 The Marine Board of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), with help and funding from the Environment Agency, set up a research and development project. This was to produce a comprehensive guide on coastal defence. The guide helps coastal managers understand policy and legislation changes so that they can choose, design, build and maintain coastal defences.

Outcome

The guide includes:

• a history of coastal defences in the UK - the legal administrative arrangements
• a description of the important processes causing changes on the coast - examples of the most common types of coastal defences
• information on whether or not to install or adapt the defences
• information on how to choose appropriate types of defence
• detailed design, construction and post-construction activities

This report was completed in May 2001.

Published 12 February 2021