Inquiry into coastal protection

Terms of Reference

The Welsh Government published their first National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy in November 2011, outlining their commitment to managing the risks of flooding and coastal erosion across Wales.

At its meeting on 21 March 2012, the Environment and Sustainability Committee agreed to undertake an inquiry into coastal protection in Wales.  The purpose of this inquiry was to:

• assess progress made by the Welsh Government and Welsh flood risk authorities in implementing the objectives of the National Strategy for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management in Wales;
• consider how the objectives of the Strategy are being reflected in Shoreline Management Plans and Local Flood Risk Strategies;
• to gather stakeholder views on the Strategy and its delivery and how these could be improved;
• to gather views on how coastal protection is funded and in what ways this could be improved;
• to make recommendations to the Welsh Government on how delivery and funding of coastal protection in Wales could be improved.

The Committee considered:

• whether there are any barriers to the development of coastal protection in Wales and how these could be addressed?
• what stage of development the Local Flood Risk Strategies are at and how they will implement the National Strategy and Shoreline Management Plans?
• how effective current funding mechanisms for coastal protection are?
• what is being done to communicate objectives and risks associated with coastal protection and plans for future communication?
• what the views of stakeholders are on these different aspects?