Adapting to Coastal Erosion: evaluation of rollback and leaseback schemes in Coastal Change Pathfinder projects REF: 858

The objectives of this project are:

  • To provide evidence to Defra and others as to whether rollback and buy/leaseback are feasible and desirable options for Local Authorities affected by coastal change where the Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) recommends a policy of managed realignment of defences or no active intervention.
  • To provide useful evidence on rollback and buy/leaseback for Local Authorities working through their options.
  • To provide Local Authorities with new approaches to adapting to coastal change if rollback and buy/leaseback are found to be feasible and replicable.

These objectives reflect that the focus of this study is on evaluating rollback and buy/leaseback, rather than the Pathfinder projects themselves. As such the emphasis is on identifying actions and activities related to rollback and buy/leaseback, including barriers to their uptake, costs and benefits that resulted.

The report is published on Defra’s website here