Coastal protection partnership set to be disbanded

A project that has helped to protect the coastline of two counties for nearly a decade is set to be disbanded.

Since 2016 three councils have worked together as Coastal Partnership East (CPE) to manage 57 miles (92 km) of vulnerable coastline between Holkham, Norfolk, and Landguard Point in Felixstowe, Suffolk.

The scheme aimed to pool resources to better tackle the threat of climate change and coastal erosion, but enthusiasm for the partnership has waned.

Great Yarmouth Borough (GYBC), North Norfolk District (NNDC) and East Suffolk (ESC) councils are set to decide whether to continue with the project at meetings later this month.

ESC will discuss the matter in private at a cabinet meeting this week, while GYBC and NNDC will decide their position later this month, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

In a report to councillors at Conservative-controlled GYBC, officers said the partnership had worked well in some instances but "given the increased pace of coastal change, it has not worked in practice".

It added: "It is a prudent time to make changes that enable local resourcing and prioritisation of coastal matters."

Cabinet members have been recommended to leave the partnership and form their own coastal management team.

It is also understood that ESC – ruled by a coalition of Greens, independents and Liberal Democrats – where the team is based, is also seeking to focus resources on local issues.

It is not thought ending the partnership will affect the councils' abilities to get funding from the Environment Agency for coastal management projects.

However, it will mean they have to bid for cash independently, which could incur higher costs.

In a statement, ESC said its cabinet had agreed to proposals that would lead to the dissolution of the CPE programme.

"When Coastal Partnership East was created in 2016 it was anticipated that peaks and troughs of resource demands would mean a partnership approach would work efficiently across a shared coastal frontage," it said.

"Since then the pace of coastal change has increased, with several significant events over the intervening years, which has led it to be challenging to prioritise shared resources effectively to meet local need."

David Beavan, Liberal Democrat ESC cabinet member and a CPE board member, said the partnership had achieved a huge amount, but ending the partnership was "in the best interests of East Suffolk's coastal communities".

James Bensly, Conservative GYBC portfolio holder for tourism, culture and coastal management, said it was a "prudent time" to review its resourcing of coastal matters and that the change would help "find innovative solutions... to the specific effects of coastal and climate change at a local level".

Harry Blathwayt, Liberal Democrat portfolio holder for coast at Liberal Democrat-controlled NNDC, said the council would "take this opportunity to... continue to innovate and positively address" the challenges presented by climate change".

The CPE has been approached for comment but ESC said it would not be issuing a statement.

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