Cliff End to Beachy Head 3
General actions for this subsection
There are no actions generic to the whole of this subsection. For actions relating to specific locations, select an area on the map above or use the postcode/location search and click on the Action Plan tab.
All actions are subject to funding and approval, often by other parties than the Lead Organisation shown.
Download SMP documents
The information on this website represents the current SMP management approaches adopted by the local authorities within its area, and current actions needed to deliver them. These management approaches have been approved by the Environment Agency under its Strategic Overview for coastal flood and erosion risk management and are considered to be local policy.
The documents below provide the full SMP adopted locally and approved by the Environment Agency at the time of publication. Some of the information has changed in response to new government policy, new evidence or new work identified.
Data on this page
Main report
Appendices
- Appendix A- SMP Development
- Appendix B-Stakeholder Engagement
- Appendix C -Baseline Processes
- Appendix C- No Active Intervention Maps
- Appendix C- Present Management Maps
- Appendix D- Heritage Designations
- Appendix D- Nature Conservation Designations
- Appendix D- Thematic Review
- Appendix E-Issues and Objective Evaluation
- Appendix F- Policy Appraisal
- Appendix G (pt1)- Scenario Testing
- Appendix G (pt2)- Scenario Testing
- Appendix H- Economic Appraisial and Sensitivity Testing
- Appendix I- Metadatabase and Bibliographic Database
Supporting documents
About this subsection
The western subsection of the SMP includes a series of cliffs intersected by low-lying areas. It includes the important regional centres of Hastings, Bexhill, and Eastbourne.
The shingle barrier beaches on the foreshore of these towns are heavily managed to offer protection from coastal erosion and (between Bexhill and Eastbourne) flooding. The sea front in these towns is dominated by a combination of hotels, leisure facilities and residential properties. Some of the tourist infrastructure is built seaward of coastal defences.
The subsection also includes smaller settlements at Fairlight Cove, Normans Bay and Pevensey Bay, which are at risk from erosion or flooding. Behind the Bexhill and Eastbourne shoreline the low-lying land extends into the large area of the Pevensey Levels. This National Nature Reserve is legally protected for its important nature conservation interest, as are the cliffs between Cliff End and Hastings.
Throughout this subsection, the beaches in front of developments are largely made of relict or imported material. There are very few sediment linkages along the highly developed and defended shoreline to provide beach-forming material from one section to another, other than by using artificial methods such as the recycling operations around Pevensey and Normans Bay. With rising sea levels, the protection of the shoreline development in this subsection is likely to lead to the narrowing and eventual loss of beaches in many locations.
The area of sea between Hastings and Beachy Head is a Marine Conservation Zone.