Improving governance through local Coastal Partnerships in the UK

The effectiveness of institutional arrangements and policies for governance has become a key question within the sustainability paradigm. The term 'Coastal Partnerships' describes a variety of arrangements in the UK that bring together interested stakeholders to advocate sustainable management of the coast, based on the principles of integrated coastal management (ICM). This paper considers the unique role, achievements and challenges facing local Coastal Partnerships in the UK. The paper examines empirical evidence of how Coastal Partnerships are contributing to sustainable coastal management. The first section considers their shortfalls, the second section their achievements, and the final section discusses their potential role in the context of the evolving policy framework. The policy drivers include European Directives, the reform of the Terrestrial Planning System, and proposals for Marine Spatial Planning through a UK Marine Bill. The authors present a blueprint for the future of Coastal Partnerships, based on this policy analysis. The findings contribute to the ongoing debate in geographical literature on how the scale and structure of governance can be best organised to deliver local sustainability.