Skip to content
Feedback button

Email this page to a friend

Beach Dune Management Plans


Contents

Many of the sand dunes and beaches around Cornwall’s coast are currently experiencing net erosion and sediment loss. This is due in part to lack of new sediment input to the shoreline system and rising sea levels. This is a pressing concern as these sand dunes and their associated sandy beaches are one of the most important resources in Cornwall due to:

  1. Their role in providing protection against the risk of coastal flooding due to the dynamic nature of beach-dune interactions and their sheer size preventing the sea from impacting upon the hinterland behind the dune systems.
  2. Their role in providing important biologically diverse habitats that cannot be easily recreated elsewhere if it were to be lost to coastal erosion or inappropriate development.
  3. Their role in providing access to the sea for residents and visitors alike, which is vital to the holiday industry upon which a significant proportion of Cornwall’s economy depends.

It is vital therefore that the sand dunes and beaches around Cornwall’s coast, that represent some 15% of the total sand dune habitat in Britain, are managed in a sustainable way over the long-term that balances the needs of each of the three distinct functions of sand dunes and beaches that combined make up the beach-dune system.

For each Beach Dune management Plan (BDMP) a 4 stage approach has been used:

  1. Baseline understanding
  2. Define issues and objectives
  3. Develop future management options
  4. Reporting

The 10 BDMP locations are: Constantine Bay, Fistral Beach, Harvey's Towans, Marazion, Par Sands, Porthcothan, Porthtowan, Praa Sands, Summerleaze and Widemouth Bay.  The full BDMP reports, and also summary leaflet on each, can be accessed from the links below.

Map showing site locations of Cornwall Sand Dune and Beach Management Strategy

Please use the links below to access the reports. 

  • Appendix A is the Decision Support Tool
  • Appendix B is an overview of coastal sand dunes
  • Appendix C is the baseline report
  • Appendix D is the options appraisal
  • Appendix E provides a site actions summary map
  • Appendix F is a summary leaflet

Appendices A and B are the same for all locations and can be accessed from links at the bottom of this page.  Appendices C to E are provided as separate documents as required according to file size. Appendix F is provided as a stand-alone document for each BDMP site.

Constantine Bay

Fistral Beach

Harvey's Towans

Marazion

Par Sands

Porthcothan

Porthtowan

Praa Sands

Summerleaze

Widemouth Bay

Appendices

Need help?

Most issues can be resolved online, it's the quickest and most convenient way to get help.