The Jurassic Coast of Dorset and East Devon has been selected as one of 15 areas awarded a share of Government funding to help meet the challenges of rising sea levels and coastal erosion posed by climate change.

Dorset County Council, in partnership with Devon County Council and a range of other partners under the banner of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, has successfully bid for a £376,500 portion of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' (Defra) Coastal Change Pathfinder Fund.

The money will be used to support a range of activities aimed at helping coastal communities along the Jurassic Coast to better understand and adapt to the impacts of coastal change. 

It is hoped that this will start on this as soon as possible in order to meet the requirement of completing the outlined work by spring 2011.

The authorities have identified six of the coastal communities most vulnerable to environmental change along the Jurassic Coast that will benefit from the fund.  They are:

• New Swanage
• Ringstead
• Preston Beach Road, Weymouth
• Seatown
• Charmouth
• Sidmouth

Suggested projects outlined in Dorset and East Devon's Pathfinder bid include:

• Developing a range of site-specific coastal change scenarios to encourage discussion and a deeper understanding of the issues and to help form strategies and contingency plans to respond to future events.
• A range of high quality visual media to illustrate the extent of past coastal change and potential future change, including dedicated web pages at the Jurassic Coast website.
• Developing a ‘coastal change champions' network of community leaders to stimulate and shape debate around coastal change at a local level.
• Developing a training programme for a network of coastal change facilitators, drawn from planning officers and community development workers, to carry out specialist discussion around coastal change and responses to it.
• A major conference in 2011 to spread best practice and promote communication between communities.

Hilary Cox, Dorset County Council cabinet member for environment, said:

"We are delighted that our bid has been successful.  The coastal communities of Dorset and East Devon have lived with dynamic change for generations but it is clear that the risks and impacts from erosion, storms and rising sea levels are going to increase in future

"The Pathfinder funding will help take the future discussions we are having with the communities most at risk from these changes to a new level, helping us to visualise what change may look like and develop options to adapt."

Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council cabinet member for highways and transportation, said:

"This successful Pathfinder bid is an excellent opportunity for the two county councils and their partners to work together to look at this common issue across the full length of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. 

"The challenge is how our communities like Sidmouth will respond to the threat of coastal change, yet remain vibrant and thriving communities.  I look forward to the outcomes of this work."