Coastal management plan

A coastal management plan is the framework document that sets policy and works for a stretch of coast: the defense line, the sediment budget, permitted development, and the response to erosion and flood risk. In England the Shoreline Management Plan defines one of four policies for each coastal unit, hold the line, advance the line, managed realignment, or no active intervention, over short, medium, and long epochs. The plan works from a littoral-cell sediment budget so that a structure in one place is not allowed to starve the coast downdrift. It frames whether a given frontage gets a sea wall, nourishment, or planned retreat.