Final Report to DEFRA - Jurassic Coast

In this instance, to avoid the risk of ‘homes versus stones’ becoming the defining
narrative for the management of coastal change on the Jurassic Coast, Pathfinder
has taught us of the need for the public debate about coastal change to address the
real issue – namely, the potential conflict between private and public interest which is
increasingly arising as a result of coastal change. Private interest is clearly
represented by the property or commercial interests threatened by coastal change.
The public interest is more diverse but represented by goods such as coastal access,
‘eco-system services’ such as flood risk management which are provided when
natural processes are allowed to continue unimpeded, and the huge economic and
cultural asset represented by a naturally eroding coastline. Inevitably, the value of
these public goods is harder to quantify, but as the Natural Environment White Paper
suggests, then we must quantify them if they are to carry adequate weight in the
decision-making process.
While the Pathfinder project is in its evaluation phase, the debate about adapting to
coastal change which it has initiated is in its infancy. It has been a constant challenge
to persuade frustrated communities suffering from consultation-fatigue that more
discussion is needed before action can be taken. Our response has been that it will
be a different kind of discussion, involving a different group of people, which we hope
will lead to a different kind of action. Moreover, when that action happens, we hope
there is much wider public understanding of why it is necessary, and consent/support
for it to be taken.
It may never be possible to persuade communities threatened by coastal change to
wholly embrace the idea – but Pathfinder suggests it is possible to help them
understand why change is happening, and to come to terms with the need to adapt to
it. Far from being a ‘soft’ alternative to engineering solutions to coastal change,
Pathfinder has thus proven to be a very practical and pragmatic approach which, for
modest cost in the short-term, could deliver significant benefits, opportunities and
financial savings in the long-term.
6.2 Recommendations
Recommendations for public bodies locally and nationally
• Public bodies need to make a more co-ordinated effort to meet the public on
whose behalf they all work. It is too easy to avoid difficult issues and
situations but if such bodies go in with an open and honest approach, they will
find it an enlightening and rewarding experience, as well as better serving the
community. Put bluntly, we all need to ‘get out more’.
• Greater co-ordination between the responsible agencies – particularly
Government, the Environment Agency, Natural England and local authorities
– is required, both in terms of the message about coastal change, and the
means to manage it.
• Public bodies need to invest in the skills required to design and deliver
effective community engagement. These skills are different to conventional
communication skills, and will inevitably require a commitment of scarce
resources. However, these skills can be deployed in a much wider range of
settings than simply coastal change and it should be noted that effective
upstream engagement can save significant cost downstream in terms of
implementation. At the present time, public bodies need to resist the
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