dataset · England

National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping (NCERM) - National (2024)

The National Coastal Erosion Risk Map shows projected areas at risk from erosion. The erosion risk zones are created by splitting the coastline into ‘frontages’. These frontages are defined as lengths of coast with consistent characteristics based on location, the cliff behaviour characteristics and the defence characteristics. It is intended as an up-to-date and reliable benchmark dataset showing erosion risk extents for: Two periods: Medium Term (up to 2055) and Long Term (up to 2105) Two mana

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Source details

Licence: ["There are no public access constraints to this data. Use of this data is subject to the licence identified.", "There are no public access constraints to this data. Use of this data is subject to the

Evidence quality: 64.7

Listed in data.gov.uk public catalogue API on 2026-10-16; relevance/value screened (haiku).

Metadata checked: 2026-10-14T13:20:00.000Z

What's in it

Data offered docs-verified: coastal erosion risk zones (projected areas at risk from erosion) · ground instability zones (geologically complex cliffs) · erosion buffer zone (potential future movement over 100 years) · defence type and SMP policy per frontage
Coverage docs-verified: National coverage; bounding box 49.943° to 55.816° N, -6.236° to 2.072° E · Present day (2020) baseline; Medium Term to 2055 and Long Term to 2105
Update frequency docs-verified: Annually
Formats docs-verified: Shapefile (ZIP) · GeoPackage (ZIP) · GeoJSON (ZIP) · File Geodatabase (ZIP) · OGC API - Features · WMS · WFS
Access docs-verified: Free and open; no public access constraints; Open Government Licence

Useful for

Use cases llm-inferred: Coastal site screening: check whether a development site falls within medium-term (2055) or long-term (2105) erosion risk zones · Shoreline management and strategy options: compare present-day and higher central sea level rise erosion extents · Cliff-top ground risk screening: overlay ground instability zones and buffer zones on proposed works · Planning constraints mapping: add coastal erosion extents as a GIS layer for coastal planning assessments
Audience llm-inferred: coastal engineers · flood risk consultants · geotechnical engineers · planners · GIS analysts

Limitations

Constraints docs-verified: Guidance only; cannot provide details for individual properties · Does not show the precise future position of the shoreline; erosion may be faster or slower than shown · Considers predominant coastal risk; foreshore feature erosion is generally not included · Percentile ranges are not provided (unlike the previous NCERM) · Ground instability zones may need more detailed local authority information · Succeeds the 2018-2021 NCERM dataset; not a live feed

Evidence

Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.