Development plans and the coastal zone

In the light of growing concern about increasing conflicts of use associated with coastal resources, this paper examines the contribution that development plans make to the emerging cascade of planning policy for the coast in England and Wales. It demonstrates, particularly, that coastal issues are receiving greater prominence in development plans than they did in the past and that planning authorities are developing more integrated approaches to the coast. However, it suggests that planning authorities have a "land by the sea' rather than a truly 'coastal' approach, and that this stems from the limits of local authorities' administrative control.