The incident took place at Penarth Head in the Vale of Glamorgan, and environmental campaigners from Friends of the Earth have warned it highlights shortcomings in how the draft Replacement Local Development Plan (RLDP) addresses coastal erosion. The group said the Vale of Glamorgan Council is relying on the 2005 Shoreline Management Plan, which the Welsh Government reportedly instructed the council to update in 2020 to reflect more recent sea level and storm intensity predictions. Friends of the Earth said: "Not only is the draft RLDP complacent, it’s also wrong in accepting Shoreline Management Planning dating from 2005. "They need to show real urgency to comply with the 2020-21 policy change to meet coastal storms and coastal erosion." Friends of the Earth said: "No longer can the Vale dismiss episodes of wave overtopping the Esplanade and flooding its commercial premises as 'exceptional'."