Context

Urban areas situated along the coastline of the North Sea and the Channel are particularly vulnerable to extreme sea level rise (a combination of SLR, tide and storm surges). Coastal flood plans and policies focus predominantly on deploying traditional grey infrastructure/heavy engineering and ignore the use of nature-based solutions (NBS), despite the overwhelming evidence of their potential to reduce flood risk and provide multiple benefits. NBS are often not considered by policy-makers in detail due to the perceived risks around costs, potential for success, requirements for immediate protection/improvement and uncertainties regarding future change. A clear knowledge gap exists across coastal cities to deploy NBS as a means to reduce future coastal flood risk and economic damage.