Local participation in adaptation decisions in the UK: between promise and reality

In the early years of the twenty-first century, the UK government stressed the importance of working in “partnership” with communities in England and Wales in seeking just outcomes for policies not to defend some coastal areas from the sea in the longer term. Whilst government acknowledged that some communities would need support if they were to contribute to policy decisions, a critical reading of policy statements and academic literature suggests dissonance between government prescription and the attitudes of citizens towards coastal change, their propensity and willingness to make representation through collective action and their experiences of engagement with authority in this context. Policy rhetoric underlined the importance of communities participating directly in decision-making processes. However, promises of participation were only partially fulfilled in planning exercises covering Selsey and the Isle of Sheppey in southern England – the core of this study. The availability of resources to communities seeking influence over decisions was a significant factor in the effectiveness of community representation. Whilst the authorities may have the capacities to open deliberative processes to non-traditional actors, major exercises were structured to exclude direct representation, were impermeable to some discourses and failed to deliver the promise of participation enshrined in relevant policy statements.