COASTAL GROUPS, LITTORAL CELLS, POLICIES AND PLANS IN THE UK

Major changes in attitude and in procedures relating to physical manag ement of the coast have taken place over the last decade in the UK. Th ese changes have been prompted by increasing problems of sediment depl etion on beaches and evidence that conventional engineering solutions may themselves have detrimental effects. Pressure for changes in techn iques and organisation of management has been further stimulated by pr edictions of the possible effects of global warming and questions of t he long-term sustainability of a strategy of protection. The changes i n attitude and procedure have involved an increased awareness amongst decision-makers of the benefits and value of a more integrated approac h to coastal management and a realisation of the need to use wide spat ial perspectives. A growing appreciation of the needs to manage whole coastal landforms and landscapes is beginning to supersede traditional site-specific structural engineering approaches. This is an approach long advocated by geographers and geomorphologists (Bowen and Inman 19 66; Brunsden and Thornes 1979; Hooke 1988) but nom being applied at a strategic level. The geographical community needs to be aware of these developments and the associated opportunities in this rapidly expandi ng field. This paper reports on progress so far and explains, from dir ect experience, how one of the most important developments, formation of 'coastal groups', has operated. The group described also provides a n interesting example of interaction amongst elected and appointed dec ision-makers and the nature of influences upon them.