Agenda item

Coastwise - the North Norfolk Coastal Accelerator Programme

Meeting of Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Wednesday, 15th November, 2023 9.30 am (Item 83.)

Executive Summary	The north Norfolk’ coast is vulnerable to climate accelerated coastal erosion. For decades it has been recognised that it is not technically, economically or environmentally viable to build and maintain erosion risk management structures along the whole coast. Over this period North Norfolk District Council and its communities have been at the forefront of coastal change management and have advocated the need to work together to seek to transition/adapt to the impacts of coastal change. North Norfolk was specifically selected by DEFRA in 2022 to receive funds to explore, develop and demonstrate coastal transition actions which prepare communities, infrastructure and government for coastal erosion. In August 2023 circa £15million was formally allocated by the Environment Agency through the Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme to NNDC. In North Norfolk this initiative is called ‘Coastwise’. This programme will seek to co-create Transition Plans and practical actions with communities and sectors from which learning can be transferred to other locations and shape future government approaches. Coastwise is formed of a multidisciplinary team and will instigate conversations with communities and sectors from Winter 2023. By March 2027, we will have delivered an integrated Strategic North Norfolk Transition Plan, and co-created community and sector Transition Plans from which there will be some practical actions identified and delivered; contributions to coastal transition research; capturing and sharing of transferable approaches and learning; identification of future funding and financing and sharing with government possible future options for consideration and adoption to enable coastal transition to become part of the Government’s national response to the climate/coastal erosion challenge.
Options considered	This report provides an overview of Coastwise, the North Norfolk Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme.
Consultation(s)	This report has undergone consultations with Portfolio Holder, Director, Section 151 Officer, Monitoring Officer and Communications.
Recommendations	That Overview and Scrutiny endorses the delivery of Coastwise.
Reasons for recommendations	That Overview and Scrutiny consider Coastwise, progress to date, and an opportunity to feedback constructive comments/input that may strengthen programme benefits and delivery.
Background papers	• Cabinet Report 3^rd January 2023
	•	North Norfolk Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme Outline Business Case

Wards affected

Coastal, Sheringham South, Sheringham North, Beeston

Regis and the Runtons, Cromer Town, Suffield Park,

Poppyland, Roughton, Mundesley, Bacton, Happisburgh

Cabinet member(s)

Cllr. H. Blathwayt – Coastal Portfolio Holder.

Note that Coastwise is a cross authority project which will seek to integrate coastal transitioning into council wide operations.

Contact Officer

Rob Goodliffe, Coastal Transition Manager – Rob.Goodliffe@north-norfolk.gov.uk

Links to key documents:

Corporate Plan:

Our Greener Future We will continue our work to create a cleaner, greener and zero-carbon future for North Norfolk

· Protect and Transition our Coastal Environments

o Realising the opportunities of external funding to secure a sustainable future for our coastal communities through transition and adaptation responses.

· Continue our journey to Net Zero

o Continuing our own annual emissions reductions to reach Net Zero by 2030.

o Introducing significant new projects which deliver on our Net Zero ambitions

Medium Term Financial

Strategy (MTFS)

Not applicable

Council Policies & Strategies

• Shoreline Management Plan 6 (Kelling Hard to Lowestoft Ness)

• Local Plan

• Coastal Adaptation Supplementary Planning Document (Draft)

• Net Zero Strategy

• Community Engagement Strategy

Corporate Governance:
Is this a key decision	No
Has the public interest test been applied	This report is exempt as there are no confidential appendices.
Details of any previous decision(s) on this matter	Cabinet 3^rd January 2023 March 29^th 2023 Delegated authority for submission of Outline Business Case May 24^th 2023 Corporate Leadership decision to recruit the Coastwise Team August 22^nd 2023 Corporate Leadership delegated decision to progress initial support package

Minutes:

The Chairman invited Cllr H Blathwayt, Portfolio Holder for the Coast, to introduce this item. Cllr Blathwayt said that there had been a Member Briefing on the new Coastwise scheme and the slides and recording link had been circulated to all members. He went onto say that the Coastwise project was a fantastic example of where North Norfolk was leading and others would be following. He added that the recent LGA Peer Review had praised it as ‘work of national importance’.

The Chairman invited members to speak :

Cllr P Fisher referred to recent storms and asked whether the sandscaping scheme was still holding up as expected. Cllr Blathwayt replied that regular surveys were being undertaken. It didn’t sit within the remit of Coastwise but the sandscaping scheme was still holding up well and was operating as anticipated. He added that the sandscaping scheme just bought more time and Coastwise was focussed on how to use that time to prepare for the future. The Coastal Transition Manager (CTM) confirmed that there was ongoing monitoring for the sandscaping scheme which was undertaken by Coastal Partnership East (CPE) in conjunction with Bacton Gas Terminal. He said that it was functioning well and although there were fluctuations, he believed that if the scheme had not been implemented there would have been many more flooding events following the increasing number of storms that were occurring. He agreed that it had bought time but said that Coastwise’s aim was to ensure that the most was achieved from this additional time. There were difficult challenges ahead but he was hopeful that Coastwise would support local communities to adapt and move forward in a positive way.

Cllr V Holliday commented on the risk register and asked whether it would go to Governance, Risk & Audit Committee (GRAC) for assessment. The Chief Executive replied that the corporate risk register went to GRAC on a quarterly basis but if members wanted to refer the Coastwise risk register to GRAC then that was an option. It was a large scheme with a considerable amount of funding (£15m). The Chairman of GRAC, Cllr J Toye, said that the committee could consider the risk register at the next meeting and decide if it was something that should be included in their work programme on an ongoing basis.

Cllr N Housden asked whether, under the Coastwise Scheme, the risks to NNDC coastal assets had been considered. The CTM replied that Coastwise was focussing on areas of the coast where there was erosion and not on the ‘hold the line’ areas. He said that the Council did own assets such as car parks in some of these areas and discussions would take place with local communities. Cllr Housden asked whether such issues that arose during each stage of the scheme could be reported to Overview & Scrutiny Committee. The CTM confirmed that this could be done if members requested it. He added that there was a new Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping project that was underway and the outcomes from this would be launched publicly in the summer of 2024. This new mapping would also take forward two different climate scenarios and this information would be analysed closely to help understand the impact on assets.

The Chairman said that it would be helpful to have more insight into the risk register and how the scores had been reached and he asked if this could be carried forward to GRAC. Cllr J Toye said that GRAC would consider the report and the risk scores and also assess how it sat corporately, particualrly regarding the risk to the Council’s assets. The CTM added that the risk log that was included in the Overview & Scrutiny agenda was an edited version of a much more extensive risk register. He said that there was an internal project governance board in place which had reviewed the risk register and the EA Large Project Review Group had also considered the initial risk register and added some additional risks. The Coastwise Board had also had a risk workshop to aid their understanding of the issues. He said that he welcomed GRAC considering the matter further.

It was proposed by Cllr R Macdonald, seconded by Cllr P Fisher and

RESOLVED to

1. To endorse the delivery of Coastwise

2. To request that Governance, Risk & Audit Committee reviews the risks presented by the Coastwise Project in respect of the likelihood and impact elements of the risk scores (pre and post the mitigation actions) so that there is clarity about how those actions will work and thus provide greater reassurance that they are being managed effectively and who owns them.

Supporting documents: