Roles and regulation

A number of different organisations have a role in flood and coast protection as follows:

Source: Havant Borough Council

• The Environment Agency implements flood defence policy, including flooding from the sea, and has permissive powers for establishing and maintaining sea defence works

• Maritime District Councils, such as Havant Borough Council, have permissive powers to carry out coast protection works to prevent erosion.

These authorities will only act where:

• there is a clear economic benefit,

• an appropriate engineering solution is achievable

• environmental legislation is not contravened.

Funding defences is assessed according to Defra’s Priority Scoring System that gives consideration to economic, social and environmental criteria. The economic benefit of maintaining defences for developed coastlines is obvious but where the benefit is largely environmental or recreational the equation is more complicated. Where the local coast protection authority or the Environment Agency do not think it is in the public interest to fund defences it is then up to the private landowners (once various permissions have been obtained) to defend their own land.

Various permissions e.g. planning permission, coast protection act, FEPA licences which need to take into account the impact on navigation, coastal processes, the environment and nature conservation are also required before any body can build sea defences.

Policies for future coastal defences are outlined in Shoreline Management Plans and Coastal Defence Strategies.

Hampshire County Council does not have any responsibility as a coast protection authority. As a private landowner, highways and Right of Way authority, the County Council can protect its assets, however they are required to obtain permissions from the relevant authorities for any coastal defences, as is any other private landowner, they need to ensure that they meet their obligations under various acts of legislation and that schemes are in line with current coastal defence strategies. Under its responsibilities as a public body the County Council would also need to assess whether it was in the public interest to spend funds on defences, and this would be dependent on the value of the assets at risk.

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