More information: Engagement
General
- Understand how we can best engage with you
- Share the dilemma this coastline is facing over the next 100 years
- Inform you of how risk will be managed in the short- and medium-term
- Gather your input for the long-term plan
What are your engagement aims?
We want to:
Our engagement activities will vary depending on the stage of the scheme. How we engage with you will fall into the following categories:
Hover over each bubble to learn more. Read the accessible version of this diagram: Methods of Engagement.
Inform: We will provide you with balanced information to help you to understand the issues and potential options.
Consult: We will ask you for input, about scheme delivery, at various stages. Your responses will be given due consideration.
Involve: We will work directly with groups (e.g. Coastal Community Groups) to make sure that public concerns and aspirations are understood and considered in decision making.
Collaborate: Where appropriate we will work with other organisations to deliver elements of the scheme in partnership.
Scheme communications
Which social media channels do you use?
You can follow us on these social media to keep updated about the Scheme and relevant events:
Facebook: PevenseyandEastbourneCoast
X: @EnvAgencySE
Nextdoor: Environment Agency - Solent and South Downs
Do you have a newsletter?
You can subscribe to our mailing list on the Engagement page or by emailing us at PevenseyandEastbourneCoast@environment-agency.gov.uk
Previous newsletters are available to view on the news page.
Schools
How are you engaging with schools?
Project team engaging students at the Festival of Creativity and the Environment (Nov. 2023)
Young people will play an important role in the future of the coastline. Through the Coastal Schools Partnership, we work with secondary school students to share information about the scheme and listen to their views, as we do with other stakeholders.
From time to time, we support education activities that help students learn more about the coastline and the challenges it faces. One such activity involved working with local schools to coordinate a field visit to Eastbourne beach, where students and teachers took part in hands‑on geography activities supported by the project team. They worked in groups with maps and tools, exploring the coastline together in a lively, collaborative outdoor classroom.
This short video captures that school visit, alongside aerial and ground‑level footage of the coastline:
Our changing coastline: Art project 2024
To mark World Ocean Day on 8 June, we invited local students to explore this theme and help tell a story about how the area has changed over time and how it may change in the future, and to share their ideas with the wider community.
Students were encouraged to express their ideas in a range of creative formats, including posters or illustrations, digital art, textiles, poetry and short stories. We received artwork from four local schools: Cavendish School, Eastbourne College, St Andrew’s Prep and Willingdon Community School. Their artwork is on public display along Eastbourne seafront.
One of the display boards showcasing the artwork
This art project has been a fantastic way for local students to investigate coastal change and produce some amazing artwork. As with all the work we do with Coastal School Partnership, this project has provided a wonderful opportunity for the project team to get an insight as to what students think so we can shape the future of this coastline together.
For more information about the Coastal Schools Partnership, see their website: www.coastalschoolspartnership.org
Coastal Community Groups
How are Coastal Community Groups involved in the Scheme?
Coastal Community Groups have been created for Eastbourne, Sovereign Harbour and Pevensey Bay. These groups include stakeholders that represent a broad range of local perspectives (e.g. commerce, leisure, tourism). At the meetings members discuss with the team elements of the scheme that impact their local areas. Agendas and minutes are available in our document library.
If you want to get involved in one of the Community Groups please email us (PevenseyandEastbourneCoast@environment-agency.gov.uk) with details of which group you are interested in.
Events
Do you host public engagement events?
Our team engaged with stakeholders to update them on the designs for the medium-term project (Phase 1) during October and November 2024, through an online consultation and ticketed face-to-face events. We have hosted a variety of engagement events, at key points, to update stakeholders on project progress. We also attend community events to raise the profile of the scheme.
Public engagement event in Eastbourne, November 2023