6th Report - Erosion of trust: the impact of coastal erosion on communities

Key findings

• Coastal erosion causes profound psychological harm including anxiety, stress, and long-term mental health impacts; communities report deep sense of abandonment and social injustice.
• Conveyancing and estate agent processes fail to disclose coastal erosion risks despite publicly available data through NCERM and Shoreline Management Plan tools, leaving homebuyers uninformed.
• Coastal Erosion Assistance Grant of £6,000 per property unchanged since 2010 falls far short of actual demolition costs (£25,000–35,000), leaving homeowners and councils bearing substantial costs.
• Shoreline Management Plans are world-leading but non-statutory and unfunded; only one-third of coastal Local Plans use SMPs as evidence base, creating planning mismatches.
• FCERM funding framework biases toward flood defence over coastal adaptation; reforms proposed from 2026 remain unclear on whether they will adequately fund relocation and broader non-monetised community benefits.

Recommendations

• Defra should set out how it recognises full range of human impacts of coastal erosion in policy development and funding, with clear actions and defined approach to community engagement.
• Coastal erosion and landslide risk should be mandatory material information in conveyancing; estate agents and lenders must inform buyers if properties fall within NCERM risk zones.
• Defra should review and update Coastal Erosion Assistance Grant eligibility (currently capped at 2009 property purchases) and increase grant value from £6,000 by December 2026, implementation by April 2027.
• Defra should establish national strategy for financial assistance and relocation support for properties at coastal risk, in place by March 2027, incorporating lessons from Coastal Change Pathfinder and CTAP pilots.
• Environment Agency and MHCLG should establish statutory requirement for coastal planning authorities to incorporate Shoreline Management Plans as core evidence base in Local Plans, with roadmap published by December 2026.
• Defra should provide plan for incorporating non-monetised benefits into reformed FCERM funding (2026), specifying benefits, commissioning independent research on coastal erosion health costs, and explaining assessment methodology.
• Government should publish indicative ratio or allocation range for projects under £3 million, broken down by flood and coastal projects, to prevent unintended competition and ensure balanced investment.

Key actors

Alistair Carmichael, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Environment Agency, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), North Norfolk District Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Happisburgh Coastal Erosion Collective, Coastwise