Coast and Heritage Master Plan

A large number of measures will be adopted in the coastal zone in the coming decades to improve the security of the Netherlands. The Dutch government has defined the main water challenges facing us in the coming decades in the National Water Plan and the Delta Programme with a view to keeping the country safe and attractive.

The Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency (RCE) and the five coastal provinces intend to take into account the strengthening of the cultural character of the coastal strip and the proper positioning of heritage in weighing up the interests concerned with planned coastal reinforcement. The Coast and Heritage Master Plan that we have drawn up on their behalf is the basis for the optimal positioning of heritage in the plans for the coast. It contains a long-term perspective for the entire coastal zone of the Netherlands with regard to the handling of cultural historical values in relation to water security projects and other major tasks such as urbanisation, infrastructure and (wind) energy. It is not a clear-cut vision but a line of thinking about how coastal defence and spatio-economic challenges can be deployed to strengthen the local identities along the coast, which are to a large extent derived from cultural history. This leads to a more beautiful and interesting coast with pronounced differences from one area to another and a differentiated and culturally variegated climate for the establishment of businesses.

The Coast and Heritage Master Plan describes the main cultural historical aspects on a national scale such as characteristics and structures of the landscape, typical patterns of access, defensive works and characteristics of islands and coastal places. On the basis of this, we have joined with the parties involved to develop a number of principles to bring cultural history more to the fore and to serve as a source of inspiration for the development of plans. These principles have been elaborated in the form of a trajectory for three coastal areas: the Wadden coast, the convex coast of North Holland, and the Southwestern Delta. The three trajectories are illustrated with design explorations for Zandvoort, Hook of Holland, Flushing-Breskens and the estuary of the Eems. In addition we have translated the future perspective into a number of guidelines for how to deal with cultural historical structures and systems that extend beyond the provincial boundaries. This will require active cooperation between the local authorities of the provinces and other stakeholders.