LGA Coastal SIG - annual report to LGA Board 2024

• Lead Member: Cllr Ernest Gibson
• Lead Officer: Rebecca Lofts
• Email: [email protected]
• Address: Town Hall and Civic Offices, Westoe Road, South Shields, NE33 2RL
• Telephone: 07787 697832
• Website: LGA Coastal SIG

• Adur District Council
• Arun District Council
• Blackpool Council
• Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council
• Boston Borough Council
• Brighton & Hove Council
• Canterbury City Council
• Chichester District Council
• Cornwall Council
• Cumberland Council
• Devon County Council
• Dorset Council
• Dover District Council
• Durham County Council
• Eastbourne Borough Council
• East Devon District Council
• East Lindsey District Council
• East Riding Of Yorkshire Council
• East Suffolk District Council
• Essex County Council
• Fareham Borough Council
• Fylde Borough Council
• Great Yarmouth Borough Council
• Isle of Wight Council
• Hastings Borough Council
• Havant Borough Council
• Hartlepool Borough Council
• Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk
• Lancaster City Council 
• Lewes District Council
• Lincolnshire County Council
• Maldon District Council
• New Forest District Council
• Norfolk County Council
• North Devon Council
• North East Lincolnshire Council
• North Norfolk District Council
• North Yorkshire Council
• Northumberland County Council
• Portsmouth City Council
• Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
• Rother District Council
• Somerset Council
• South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council (Lead Authority)
• Southend-On-Sea Borough Council
• Suffolk County Council
• Sunderland City Council
• Teignbridge District Council
• Tendring District Council
• Thanet District Council
• Thurrock Council
• Torridge District Council
• Wealden District Council
• Westmorland and Furness Council
• West Sussex County Council
• Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council
• Worthing Borough Council
• Wyre Borough Council

The LGA Coastal SIG delivers for coastal communities through themes that focus on the five strategic priorities as chosen by SIG Members and illustrated in the Aims; we also have a number of strategic objectives that underpin each of the priorities, all of which align in some way to those of the LGA. The Coastal SIG often seeks to engage the LGA and works collaboratively supporting its work within this niche, sharing its expertise to support wider LGA work. 

Four themes of the LGA and the connection to the LGA Coastal SIG priority objectives: 

• a sustainable financial future 
  • Advocacy around fairer funding formulas for regeneration, deprivation, and coastal defence
  • Investigate, catalyse and enable funding innovation, including provision of seed funding
• stronger local economies, thriving local democracy
  • Influence decision-makers to improve funding provision for the coast and communities
  • Working towards year-round sustainable economies
  • Support sustainable growth in marine and maritime sectors
• putting people first
  • All LGA Coastal SIG strategic priorities and objectives are focused on delivering for coastal communities and supporting those working across local authorities
• championing climate change and local environments
  • Achieve national and local recognition of coastal management challenges and opportunities leading to proactive approaches to deliver thriving communities
  • Identify existing and new routes to support strategic delivery of coastal resilience and adaptation 
  • Take an evidence-based approach to support our coastal resilience and adaptation work
  • Ensuring safe and clean seaside leisure

One LGA, One Voice –please see below a few highlights of the work that we deliver through the lens of the LGA priorities:

• strengthen our voice on behalf of local government and ensure we are relevant to and valued by our membership
  • As co-Secretariat to the APPG for Coastal Communities (dissolved at the time of writing), and a founding member of the OneCoast Coalition we constantly strive to have a strong voice for coastal local authorities and champion the work that they do
  • Our membership are frequently engaged and are provided with many opportunities to steer the work of the SIG including our awareness document – the Value of the Coastal SIG
• draw together our internal delivery plans and strategies into a single coherent programme to deliver our business plan priorities
  • LGA Coastal SIG annual workplan is co-developed with the membership and with external partners to ensure that delivery plans, particularly those relating to the themed working groups are collaborative and meaningful
• maximise our business efficiency and build our financial resilience
  • This year the LGA Coastal SIG will be reviewing its financial position and developing a strategy to becoming financially resilient
• identify and address gaps in our capacity and capability to deliver our business plan and new leadership priorities 
  • Contribution to Coastal Partnership Network’s Championing Coastal Coordination working towards raising awareness of the gaps covering coastal capacity
• support the development of the LGA as a learning organisation, committed to continuous improvement.

The LGA Coastal SIG is viewed, and used, as a vehicle for sharing of best practice on many aspects of the work of local coastal authorities by both its members and external partners. We champion for collaboration and sharing as it will only strengthen to lead to change for our coastal communities.

The LGA Coastal SIG exists to champion and represent the collective interests of coastal, estuarine, and maritime communities by increasing awareness and debate on environmental, economic and social issues at all levels in relation to the coast. It works in collaboration with other organisations with complementary aims to raise the profile of these communities direct to the government to ensure decisions support their unique needs to ensure that they become resilient and thriving.

The Coastal SIG delivers for its communities through the five strategic priorities of:

1. we are the trusted, go-to voice for the coast with a powerful political influence
2. we champion coastal resilience and adaptation in a changing climate
3. we champion sufficient and sustainable funding for our coast and communities
4. we are a resilient hub for knowledge sharing and innovation
5. we champion sustainable for the coastal communities we serve.

The delivery of these priorities is done so through the focused work-themes of: 

• Coastal Communities
• Coastal Adaptation
• Beach and Water Safety
• Regeneration and Maritime
• Fishing and Marine Conservation
• Coastal Water Quality
• Historic Coastal Landfill.

The LGA Coastal SIG Secretariat (hosted by South Tyneside Council) runs an annual health check on strategic priorities and work areas. This year, our review determined a change was needed within our internal reporting to ensure that our priorities are targeted and success is measurable. We are working closely with our working groups to finalise our 2023/24 Workplan to be adopted at our June 2023 meeting. The internal review of our strategic priorities, and their objectives, resulting in minor amendments and an alteration to the order of our priorities. Our 2023/24 Workplan, once agreed and adopted, will be available on our website

Progress against our 5 Strategic Priorities, in 2022/23 we delivered:

1. We are a resilient hub for knowledge sharing and innovation

Our quarterly meetings have become a hive of activity and discussion attracting high calibre expert speakers who seek out the opportunity to present to our membership. At each meeting our Member Champions and officer leads update the membership on the work of our working groups (Adaptation, Coastal Water Quality (was Bathing Waters), Beach & Water Safety, FCERM Funding & Policy, and Coastal Landfills). Their continued achievements have included presentations to the APPG for Coastal Communities, a Coastal Landfill report accepted by Minister Pow and resulting in the commission of work on the subject via Defra, a Lunch & Learn on Coastal Landfill through the LGA and a highly successful workshop at Flood & Coast 2022.

The website has been redeveloped and has been regularly updated to reflect our key achievements, events, and press releases. Alongside this we are enhancing engagement through the re-establishment of our KHub group and a Team Senior Officers Channel. We also highlight key elements through our Twitter account @LGACoastalSIG to 449 Followers (grown from 368 in our last report).

In partnership with the Marine Management Organisation, we delivered a very successful workshop on Marine Licencing and the Coastal Concordat to officers and planners which will be an annual event alongside a session for elected members. We also delivered a demonstration session with the Environment Agency held a for our elected members on a new product to gain their feedback to influence its development.

2. We are the trusted, go-to voice for the coast with a powerful political influence

As co-Secretariat of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coastal Communities we work closely with the Chair Sally-Ann Hart MP to deliver the group’s aims. The Coastal Inquiry was developed around focus topics and has been run as a series of parliamentary briefings, roundtables and information events, which have been very successful. Sessions have been held on Coastal Erosion, Coastal Landfill, Ocean Literacy, Levelling Up in Coastal Communities and Year of the Coast as part of our Coastal Inquiry. At our AGM our MP membership expanded and the next series of events have been approved.

Our working group Member Champions and Officer Leads are members of national groups such as the National Bathing Water Group and National Water Safety Forum. We are regularly approached to be involved in national projects and our lead officer represents the Coastal SIG on ~12 groups, is regularly invited to attend meetings such as the Roundtable on Regenerating Coastal Communities attended by Alex Norris MP Shadow Minister Levelling Up and present at conferences including Coastal Futures 2023 and PaCCO.

3. We champion sustainable regeneration for the coastal communities we serve

In partnership, we delivered the Communities on the Edge report by Pragmatix Advisory highlighting the challenges and opportunities raised through Levelling Up. This report has been discussed through the APPG for Coastal Communities leading to its messages being debated as part of a backbench debate on local government funding and has been shared with the Chancellor, SoS for Levelling Up and the Prime Minister.

Our Lead Officer delivered evidence at the House of Lord’s Liaison Committee’s review of the Report delivered on the Regeneration of Seaside Towns and Communities in consideration of Levelling Up.

4. We champion coastal resilience and adaptation in a changing climate

We are part of the National Steering and Technical Advisory groups for the Coastal Handbook, NCERM2, Shoreline Management Plan Refresh, Shoreline Management Plan Explorer, Assets Review, Coastal Concordat, ReMeMaRe, National Marine Parks, National Coastal Framework and the Central Design Group for Offshore Wind. Through these we seek to influence progress to ensure there is net benefit to coastal communities and their environments.

We delivered an excellent Workshop at Flood & Coast 2022

Our Adaptation Working Group Lead was spoke to MPs through the Coastal Communities APPG on the challenges raised through Coastal Erosion.

5. We champion sufficient and sustainable funding for our coast and communities

Please see Priority 3 for cross-cutting highlights.

Ambitions for the LGA Board to be aware of:

1. Ensure LGA are engaged with the APPG on Coastal Communities
2. Build relationship between our Chair and LGA Leadership
3. Build relationships between our Member Champions and relevant LGA Boards/Champions
4. Build our understanding of LGA work and better understand where/how we add value
5. Promote the Motion for the Ocean to all local authorities to embed a source-to-sea approach to support climate resilience, coastal communities and their economies.

Produce a training package for Elected Members on the areas covered by the Coastal SIG to be delivered in collaboration with our partners