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Shoreline Management Plans Policy Database

Published on 27/01/2012 13:13

All Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs) for England and Wales (status final or draft as of 31/08/2011) have been combined and are now available in a single SANDS database.

The SMP Policy Database provides the capability of visualising the SMP policy units and linking of SMP data and policy statement documents geospatially. Each SMP is represented as a layer in SANDS. Each SMP layer holds the geospatial representation of each individual policy units with an additional SMP Buffer layer showing the colour banding representing policy for the three epochs: short term (0-20 years), medium term (20-50 years) and long term (50-100 years). Each epoch is represented by five different categories, which are colour coded for the values of ‘Hold the Line’ (HTL), Managed Realignment with localised Hold The Line (MR/HTL), ‘Managed Realignment’ (MR), ‘No Active Intervention’ (NAI) and ‘Advance the Line’ (ATL). This enables the user to quickly view SMP policies for an area and access the policy statements for individual units by clicking on the line or banding and opening the associated document from the document links menu. 


Note that the policy lines or bands on the map show the preferred shoreline management policy for each period and do not represent either the shoreline or defence locations.

To view the SMP information on the map, click on the SANDS map button. This will show the SMP Buffer Layer for all the SMP Policy Units contained in the database. The SMP Buffer layer will be displayed as set of three polygons representing the three epochs defined in the SMP Policy. To view this information: 
  • Hovering the mouse over the buffer will show a hint window detailing the Location Name(Policy Unit), the PU number and each of the three epochs. 
  • At a less detailed scale each section will be labelled with the extent of the Policy Unit, along with the PU number. 
  • By zooming in on a Policy Unit the labels will also include the SMP policy for each of the three epochs.
  • Right clicking on a Policy Unit line will bring up a menu. Selecting SMP Policy Summary will bring up all the information for that PU.
  • Clicking on the Document links, eight via the popup menu or the Documents area (bottom left of screen), will open the SMP policy Statement at the specific page for the selected policy.

To open the SMP Policy Database select “SMP” from the main menu bar, then select SMP Policy Database from the drop-down menu. The SMP Policy Database Editor enables the data for the SMP policy unit to be entered/edited and linked to the respective policy statement document and page no (only if document is a .pdf).


When all of the data and links have been filled it is possible to view a summary of the information by selecting the Policy Unit you are interested in and clicking on the “Open selected SMP Policy Summary” button at the bottom left-hand side of the SMP page. From the page that opens up it will be possible to open the linked documents using the “Policy Unit Statement” and “Action Plan” buttons. 


Example of a SMP Policy Statement opened in SANDS:


NOTE: SANDS can open any linked PDF document as a form within SANDS if Adobe Reader v7.0 or later is installed. This option can be turned off by unchecking the ‘Open PDF Documents in SANDS’ button on the Options menu, SANDS will then open any PDFs externally in Adobe Reader or any other PDF viewer software registered on the users system. 

The SMP Policy Database is available for download (1.69GB) and contains the database and all associated GIS and SMP Policy Statements; extract the zip to a new folder of your choice alongside your existing SANDS Databases. 

You will need to add a new alias to the configuration file which points to the SMP Policy Database. When in SANDS, select the new alias from the Database List in SANDS. Please note that you will need to have SANDS v6.6 Professional or Viewer installed to use the SMP Policy Database. 
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Download SANDS Free today!

Published on 18/10/2011 17:03

The release of SANDS v6.5 includes the launch of SANDS Free, a restricted version of SANDS Professional, which can be used for commercial purposes at no cost!

Halcrow has developed SANDS Free so that it enables you to confidently apply it to smaller projects and to tackle different types of coastal management scenarios, and then seamlessly move to SANDS Professional should your project grow beyond the restrictions of the software.

To download SANDS Free, click here.

SANDS Free cannot be used to enter and analyse more than 10 profile locations, 1 coastal process unit, 5,000 time series records per location, 5 additional GIS layers and 50 diary entries. SANDS Free can only be used locally on a single database. SANDS Free does not include the life cycle cost module or the SMP policy database. The NFCDD, FCRM, wave transformation or data acquisition capabilities are also not included.

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SANDS Professional v6.5 released

Published on 18/10/2011 17:01

SANDS v6.5 was released on Tuesday 4th October 2011 and provides a variety of new tools, features and improvements. Halcrow has also introduced a new and more flexible licensing and pricing structure for SANDS which allows users to purchase only what they really need.

The first three organisations to purchase a copy of SANDS Professional v6.5 will be entitled to send two users on a free one-day training course at the Halcrow Swindon office in 2012.

Existing SANDS users with a valid support and maintenance contract will be entitled to a free upgrade to the newly rebranded SANDS Professional v6.5.

For additional information on SANDS v6.5, visit our website or contact Mike Stickley on +44 (0)1793 816 337 or at sands@halcrow.com.

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SANDS technical training

Published on 18/10/2011 17:00

Halcrow understands that effective training enhances capabilities and enables you to get the most out of the software you use. Our training courses are aimed at asset managers, engineers, researchers and scientists involved with the management, analysis reporting of monitored data.  Typical applications include coastal monitoring, regional monitoring programmes, data acquisition and asset management.

The SANDS training course is run as part of an open programme with scheduled dates at various venues throughout the UK. We also run bespoke, specifically tailored courses that are developed to meet your individual organisational requirements, at a venue and time suited to your exact needs.

The SANDS training course assumes no prior knowledge of SANDS and is presented from a practical point of view by expert Halcrow SANDS users.The course is a generally one day session; however a longer more detailed session can be arranged. The course is delivered through a series of presentations, hands-on practicals and open discussion sessions. At the end of this course attendees should have an appreciation of SANDS capabilities and be able to undertake basic analyses.

For additional information on SANDS training courses, contact Alastair Sheppard at technicaltraining@halcrow.com or on +44 (0)845 094 7990.

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SANDS quick start guide - download now

Published on 18/10/2011 16:56

The SANDS Quick Start Guide is designed to help first time SANDS users with the basics e.g. importing records, quality checking and simple analysis using the sample data provided, within SANDS Free.

The instructions describe the steps required in order for a complete novice to gain some hands on usage of SANDS and develop a very basic understanding which can hopefully in turn provide a basic foundation to be built upon.

Click here to download the SANDS Quick Start Guide.

For additional information on SANDS, visit our website or contact Mike Stickley on +44 (0)1793 816 337 or at sands@halcrow.com.

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