Coastal erosion: implications for your business

How coastal erosion risk affects business premises, planning restrictions in Coastal Change Management Areas, Shoreline Management Plan policies, and options for coastal businesses including adaptation, rollback, and relocation.

UK-wide
Guide summary

Check if your coastal business is at risk from erosion. Look at Shoreline Management Plans and Coastal Change Management Areas. You may need to adapt your premises, move inland, or relocate entirely. There is no compensation for property lost to erosion.

  • Check Shoreline Management Plans for your area
  • See if you are in a Coastal Change Management Area
  • Get erosion risk maps from the Environment Agency
  • Adapt your business if erosion is not imminent
  • Apply for rollback permission to move inland
  • Consider relocating if the risk is too high
  • Standard insurance does not cover gradual erosion
  • 60-year lifetime rule applies to coastal development
  • No compensation for property lost to erosion
  • Check Flood Zones if your area is flood-prone
On this page
UK-wide

Related guides in Environment & Sustainability

Who this guide is for

This guide is for businesses that operate on or near the coast, or are considering establishing a business in a coastal area. Coastal erosion affects business premises in ways that differ significantly from inland flooding. There is typically no defence against erosion, no compensation for lost property, and limited insurance cover for gradual land loss.

Understanding the long-term erosion outlook for your location is essential for business planning, investment decisions, and insurance arrangements.

Shoreline Management Plans

Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs) set out how the coastline will be managed over the next 100 years. They are the single most important document for understanding the long-term outlook for your coastal business premises. The SMP for your stretch of coast will tell you whether defences will be maintained, whether the shoreline will be allowed to retreat, and over what timescale.

How erosion risk affects planning permission

If your business is in or near a Coastal Change Management Area (CCMA), planning restrictions may limit what you can build or how you can modify your premises. Understanding these restrictions is critical before investing in property improvements or expansion.

The key principle is that local planning authorities should not approve new development that would be threatened by erosion during its expected lifetime. For commercial development, this lifetime is assessed at 60 years. If the SMP policy for your stretch of coast is "no active intervention" or "managed realignment", your premises may fall within a CCMA and face planning restrictions.

Options for your coastal business

Stay and adapt

If erosion is projected but not imminent, you may be able to continue operating while adapting your premises. This could include using temporary or demountable structures that can be removed before they are at risk, or modifying your business model to reduce dependence on fixed infrastructure.

Rollback

Where existing premises are threatened by erosion, planning policy allows for replacement development further inland. This "rollback" approach may enable you to maintain your business in the area while moving to a less vulnerable location. Local planning authorities may grant planning permission for replacement premises even where they would not normally approve new development.

Relocate entirely

For some businesses, relocating away from the erosion zone may be the most practical long-term option. There is no statutory compensation for loss of property to coastal erosion, unlike compulsory purchase. The decision to relocate is therefore a commercial one, and early planning gives you the most options.

Insurance for coastal erosion

Standard building insurance typically excludes gradual coastal erosion and subsidence caused by erosion. Cover is usually limited to sudden storm damage rather than progressive land loss. This means that the long-term erosion risk falls on the property owner.

Some specialist insurers offer policies covering coastal erosion risk, but these are limited in availability and may be expensive. You should:

  • Check your existing policy wording carefully for erosion exclusions
  • Ask your broker specifically about coastal erosion cover
  • Consider the long-term financial impact of operating in an area where insurance may become unavailable

Checking your erosion risk

Take these steps to understand the erosion outlook for your premises:

  1. Find your Shoreline Management Plan - search for your local SMP on the Environment Agency website. Identify the policy for your stretch of coast across all three epochs (short, medium, long term).
  2. Check EA erosion risk maps - the Environment Agency publishes coastal erosion risk maps showing predicted erosion rates over 20, 50, and 100 years.
  3. Contact your local planning authority - ask whether your premises are within a designated Coastal Change Management Area and what planning restrictions apply.
  4. Take professional advice - for significant investment decisions, consider appointing a coastal engineer to assess site-specific risks.

Coastal erosion guidance