East Suffolk Council

Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs)

A Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) is a strategy for managing flood and erosion risk for a particular stretch of coastline, over short, medium and long-term periods. SMPs identify the best ways to manage coastal flood and erosion risk to people and the developed, historic and natural environments. They also identify opportunities where shoreline management can work with others to make improvements.

A national refresh of SMPs began in 2019. This was to make sure that the plans were reliable, visible and up to date in the light of any new evidence. It also aimed to allow for their ongoing maintenance and delivery, particularly in guiding policy transitions from 2025 onwards. 

The refresh process led to new national Supplementary Guidance and Health Check recommendations for each SMP in 2020. These recommendations are being taken forward and a national SMP Explorer tool is being developed to allow people to access SMP policies for each part of the coast.

If you would like to view the review documents for a particular SMP policy under East Suffolk Council responsibility, please contact our Coastal Management Team.

Information about SMPs for particular places can be found at Defra’s SMP Explorer.