Catalogue description National Parks Commission: Regional Conferences on Coastal Preservation and Development: Maps

The coastline of England and Wales has been under rapidly increasing development pressures since the Second World War. The migration of many forms of industry to coastal areas, the expansion of urban settlements, and widespread recreation and holiday developments all threatened the coastal landscape and amenities.

By the 1960s widespread concern was being expressed over the need not only to review the existing control of coastal development (within the context of the Town and Country Planning Acts) but also to develop strategies and techniques for coastal conservation.

In 1963 the Ministry of Housing and Local Government issued a circular (56/63), Coastal Preservation and Development, to maritime local planning authorities, who were asked to make a study of their coastal areas in consultation with the National Parks Commission and, for scientific advice, the Nature Conservancy Council. Coastal Development Surveys were carried out in 1963.

In 1966 the National Parks Commission was invited by the Minister of Housing and Local Government to conduct a study of the national coastline in co-operation with the maritime local planning authorities. The study was based on a series of nine regional conferences with those local planning authorities, held between May 1966 and March 1967, the chief purpose of which was to 'provide a firm foundation for long-term policies for safeguarding the natural beauty of the coast as a whole and promoting its enjoyment by the public' (Housing and Local Government Circular 7/66). Each maritime local planning authority was asked to prepare a report and maps showing the development, protection and recreational use of the coast within the authority's area.

The national picture was collated in two further reports: The Planning of the Coastline and The Coastal Heritage which were submitted to the Minister in 1970. These reports made wide-ranging recommendations and, initially, thirty-three outstanding stretches of coastline, defined as 'heritage coasts', were identified as priority conservation areas.