I am pleased to present the first annual report for the year 2025 of the Save Our Shoreline Charitable Incorporated Organisation (registered charity no. 1210048) as well as the financial accounts for the same period. This was the first year of operation of the charity with a focus on refining our messages and approach as well as raising awareness of our existence and objectives.
A recap of the objectives of Save Our Shoreline
Save Our Shoreline aims to examine the feasibility of, and to implement an urgent naturebased offshore intervention to save the South Devon coastline from Hallsands to Strete Gate and protect Slapton Line, the vital A379 and the unique wildlife habitat of Slapton Ley.
This vulnerable coastline is threatened by the erosion that was accelerated by the man-made dredging of the Skerries Bank at the turn of the last century to provide sand and shingle for the extension of Plymouth naval docks. The removal of millions of tons of sand and shingle from a closed, relict, coastal system set in train a vicious cycle of damage. Rising sea levels and changing weather patterns have exacerbated this process in recent years. Reversing that dredging would not only provide a natural barrier breaking the power of the most destructive Atlantic waves but would also generate the material to replenish the beaches all along the coastline, thereby providing a sustainable and environmentally sound solution.
We aim to work with a Dutch company Royal Haskoning DHV, who are partnering with the Crown Estate in a range of sand and shingle offshore coastal defence interventions around the British Isles. Our project has four phases: (i) full professional proof of concept study including mathematical and computer modelling based on tides, currents and wind directions; (ii) beach replenishment from the Hallsands end of the bay to provide vast quantities of identical material which will then be naturally redistributed along the length of the bay by the natural process of longshore drift; (iii) rebuilding the Skerries bank to restore its function as a natural wave break and shore defence; and (iv) exploring the possibility of vertical kelp farming inside the Skerries to provide a further wave energy dissipater, a source of local employment , and a fish nursery.
Each phase is stand alone and could be combined in a different order. The restoration of the Skerries bank as a natural wave break could take the form of replacing the lost sand and shingle or of exploring other environmentally sound options such as using boulders to create a breakwater or sanitised wrecks.
Save Our Shoreline is a Registered Charity no. 1210048
Policy developments during the reporting period
The continuing rise in global sea temperatures during 2025 and corresponding rise in levels and resulting increase in hydraulic wave power have increased the risk of increased erosion of Slapton Line in the absence of any large-scale action to prevent it. International attention is increasingly focusing both on the ocean but also on the land/ sea interface with coastal resilience becoming a key part of the international agenda at the UN Oceans Conference (Summit, Nice, June 2025), the All-Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Area AAORIA (Forum, Brussels, September 2025) and the EU Oceans and Waters Mission. This trend is likely to continue in 2026 with the upcoming Our Oceans Conference to be held in Kenya in June 2026. The focus of international attention is increasingly on protecting coastal communities and habitats through the testing and deployment of sustainable, offshore nature-based solutions of the type that Save Our Shoreline is advocating.
In the UK, the national Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England (FCERM Strategy) — and its accompanying “roadmap to 2026” — explicitly recognises that risk-management should combine engineered defences and “working with natural processes” where possible. Nature-based (NbS) coastal erosion measures now form a defined part of the strategy: under “Natural Flood Management (NFM)” and other “coast and estuary management” measures. Crucially, the policy lists reef creation, submerged aquatic vegetation and beach nourishment as valid interventions.
The UK Government recently committed to increased funding for these solutions: in a 2025 written statement, ministers confirmed that at least £300 million over ten years will go towards NbS through the flood and coastal programme — the largest ever allocation. At the same time, Barriers to nature-based projects are being removed: as of April 2026 (start of the new investment programme), projects will no longer need to demonstrate that protected properties shift risk bands; the previous cap on environmental outcomes (max 20% of a project’s benefits) is being lifted; and more types of delivery partners (including NGOs and community groups) will be eligible.
At the same time, the government is also continuing heavy investment in “grey” infrastructure — building and maintaining conventional flood and coastal defences. The overall commitment is the biggest ever: about £10.5 billion allocated across flood and coastal erosion defences through to 2036.
In Wales, programmes by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) are explicitly aiming to deliver “coastal adaptation … through nature-based solutions as part of coastal management wherever possible.” Under the national innovation programme for flood and coastal risk, a pilot at South Tyneside is trialing marine-habitat based measures: establishing seagrass beds, kelp forests, and oyster reefs that decrease wave energy (reducing erosive force) and support local economy by harnessing nature’s services.
Save Our Shoreline is a Registered Charity no. 1210048
Overall, the latest policy shows a significant shift from reliance solely on “hard” sea walls and concrete barriers, toward a hybrid and adaptive strategy that sees nature-based solutions as integral rather than optional where NbS are treated not just as environmental add-ons but as core components of coastal risk management.
Financial Overview
Given that 2025 was the first year of operation of the CIO, by the end of 2025 fundraising remained at low level against the £70,000 target set for the first phase of the charity’s work – the funding of a full study and modelling to prove the concept and to provide a basis upon which to obtain estimates for the costs of the proposed additional phases. Funding came exclusively from private donations rather than businesses, charities or government. The SOS 2025 accounts are attached to this report and show that the charity remains a considerable way off being able to deliver on its objectives at present.
Key achievements in 2025
Cost of No Action Study . As part of Save Our Shoreline’s efforts to demonstrate the cost benefits of taking proactive measures we asked a former UK government economist to conduct a Cost Benefit Analysis using UK government methodology and ratios for the value of a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the value of the environmental resource of the coast and Ley as well as the value to the local economy and communities of the A379 road (using the study previously published by Slapton Line Partnership. We deliberately used a top end estimate of the cost of the project of £150 million – it is worth noting that the major sand engineering at Bacton in Norfolk recently cost only £12-£14 million. Based on our higher estimate the analysis produced a Beneft: Cost Rato of 9:!, clearly demonstrating the economic sense of taking pre-emptive, nature-based action rather than waiting for a major weather event to breach the Line. The study has been published on our website.
Slapton Ley: A Call to Action . To counterbalance the focus on safeguarding the vital transport link of the A379 Slapton coast road, Save Our Shoreline produced a short call to action highlighting the risk that a breach of Slapton Line would pose to the unique habitat of Slapton Ley which is home to a number of rare species, with its national importance being recognised by its status as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. This is also published on our website.
Festival of Nature 2025, Field Studies Council Centre Slapton. Save Our Shoreline was pleased to accept an invitation from Slapton Field Studies Centre to participate and have a stand at their 2025 Festival of Nature event on 10 August 2025. This provided an opportunity to publicise our campaign and to network with other environmental charities and local groups.
Save Our Shoreline is a Registered Charity no. 1210048
Leaflet Campaign . Save Our Shoreline launched a leafleting campaign in the local area to raise awareness, build support and to raise funds. This remains ongoing.
Meeting with Caroline Voaden MP . In addition to correspondence, Save Our Shoreline was able to meet our local MP Caroline Voaden during her visit to South Hams villages on 13 August 2025 to discuss our project and how we are keen to work closely with Slapton Line Partnership.
Meeting with Plymouth University Centre for marine Applied Research (CMAR ). Save Our Shoreline met Dr Tim Poate of CMAR on 25 June 2025 to discuss our project, feasibility, data and modelling.
Conclusion
2025 was the first year of operation of Save Our Shoreline and as such the CIO was very much in the start-up phase. The organisation made solid progress in raising awareness locally and remains focussed on this as a core activity. The major shift in UK government policy on coastal erosion and mitigation during the year makes the sort of nature-based solutions increasingly relevant and in step with both UK but also wider international thinking on the challenges posed by climate change and rising sea levels. Save Our Shoreline is open to new ideas and realistic about the likely availability of large-scale public funding. As such the four phases it advocates in addressing the challenges faced by Slapton Line could be deployed individually or in tandem with other measures. The basic components – large scale shingle replacement, at the low water mark combined with offshore wave energy dissipation could be achieved by various combinations of nature-based solutions. The need for pre-emptive action however remains clear both to avoid massive and irreversible environmental damage to Slapton Ley and the loss of the vital A379 coast road. In 2026 we will redouble our efforts and seek the closest possible working relationship with Slapton Line Partnership as well as other charitable and environmental groups.
Post Script
Following the devastating storms of February 2026 and the damage to the sea defences at Torcross and loss of part of the A379 coast road, the Board of Trustees has taken the decision to wind up the CIO and instead to give our support to the efforts of our local MP, Caroline Voaden, in securing funding for a comprehensive, climate resilient and sustainable solution to the problems faced by this historic stretch of coastline.
Save Our Shoreline is a Registered Charity no. 1210048
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For th• period To Section A Receipts and payments Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment fund5 Total lunds Laslyear A1 Receipts 961 ARJ 961 inwstmènt sa {58• tabl•l. 961 A3Pa Bank Charges 93 Sub total 93 A4 Asset and inve5tm8nt urcha seg iabl• Sub totsl 93 93 Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end CCXX R1 a¢Unts ISSI 1210512026
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