About us

The Local Government Association (LGA) Coastal Special Interest Group (SIG) is uniquely placed to influence government, national agencies and support local authorities deliver on a range of coastal issues.

Who are the LGA Coastal SIG?

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The LGA Coastal SIG has a membership of 57 local authorities from around the coast of England. Together we cover 60% of England’s coastline and serve 16 million people.

2022/23 Forward Work Plan

The LGA Coastal SIG and its working groups develop a forward work plan each year to set out the ambitions and actions for the group. Please view the document opposite to see the Forward Work Plan for this year, alternatively you can download it by using the button.

Value of the SIG

The LGA Coastal SIG is, uniquely:
• The trusted, go-to voice for the coast with a powerful political impact
• A one-stop shop for accessing unparalleled experience and expertise
• A think tank to innovate new solutions with seed funding to get things off the ground
• A friendly and supportive forum for members of all experience-levels

To find more about how our members value the LGA Coastal SIG please click here

Annual report to the LGA

As a Special Interest Group of the Local Government Association, we produce annual reports on our work.

Our most recent annual report can be viewed or downloaded opposite.

Working in partnership

We work in partnership with other organisations with similar aims to enhance our workstreams and ensure actions have the greatest benefit for our communities and their coastline:

Terms of Reference

As a Special Interest Group we have agreed Terms of Reference that can be viewed or downloaded opposite. These set out our:

  • Objectives
  • Key accountabilities
  • Membership
  • Meetings and leadership
  • Sub-group
  • Workplan
  • Reporting
  • Finance
  • Review

OneCoast is a cross-sector coalition established by the Coastal Partnerships Network, Local Government Association Coastal SIG, Coastal Communities Alliance, National Coastal Tourism Academy, Natural England and New Economics Foundation, to create a unified voice to advocate on behalf of coastal issues. As a coalition, we represent: 56 local authorities, over 100 Coastal Community Teams, over 87 Coastal Partnerships and wider initiatives, 35 Coastal Destination Management Organisations and thousands of small businesses.

OneCoast aims to grow to become a cross-sector group representing industry, the public sector, environment, commerce and national bodies, wishing to partner with Government to deliver change across the coast and support the levelling up agenda to build back better, increasing community and environmental resilience. The Year of the UK Coast will form part of OneCoast’s 10-year strategy, to be developed this year.​

A letter to the Chancellor requesting significant Government investment in coastal communities and habitat restoration, as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review, was submitted in 2020. It includes the key asks such as: the appointment of a dedicated Minister for the Coast, reinstatement of the Whitehall cross-departmental working group for the coast, provision of direct investment (£25M over the next five years) and support into the Coast’s key work streams with activities to aid recovery, and a joined up UK Coastal Strategy.