Erosion is constantly reshaping coastlines as land is swept into the sea, sometimes along with buildings and infrastructure. The UK has some of the fastest eroding coastlines in Europe. Of the mainland’s 17,000km of coastline, around 2,900km (17%) is affected by erosion.
Defending this entire coastline would be prohibitively expensive and destroy many of the things we love about the coast – few want to see boulders dumped on their local beach or large stretches of concrete wall. So instead of asking how UK coastlines can be “saved” from erosion, we need to instead consider how they can be managed in a sustainable, holistic way that protects people who live along the coast and allows them to adapt to change.
