Things may not be as bad as you think.

Because there is a history of many centuries of winning land from the sea and creating strong sea defences, there is a natural aversion of people living in coastal areas to any reversal in this policy. There is a general feeling that any let-up in defences in the light of global warming, sea level rise and land subsidence in the south and east, will result in massive losses of coastal land (especially low land protected by shingle). With the evidence of current examples of managed realignment (dealt with in more detail in the "Good Practice Guide for habitat restoration, re-creation and creation on the coast", it is important to highlight that 'letting nature take its course' may be a reasonable option where current defences are unsustainable in the long term. The case of Porlock also suggests that 'things may not be as bad as they seem' when 'natural' realignment of the coast takes place.

Recommendation: Take a more proactive approach to promoting the environmental and socio-economic benefits of taking a less interventionist (more realistic) approach to shingle barrier breakdown. This should include an explanation of how the coast will change in response to sea level rise/climate change.