Centre for Coastal Communities

Finding solutions to the challenges facing coastal communities
Centre for Coastal Communities
Based in one of Britain’s major coastal cities, the Centre for Coastal Communities brings together one of the few critical masses of academic researchers in any UK university, who have a proven track record on coastal communities and strong collaborative links with public, private and third sectors. Working with our partners, we are uniquely placed to co-ordinate problem identification and co-create solutions, committing to an area of research that traditionally has seen limited investigation of the problems.
Unemployment, low incomes, seasonal jobs, low educational attainment, poor social mobility, high rates of anti-depressant and opioid prescribing, and poor health outcomes mean coastal communities are facing a high burden of health challenges. The ‘levelling up' of Britain’s periphery to create dynamic, thriving coastal communities is difficult to achieve. 

Our mission:

To advance new approaches and transform thinking to address 21st-century challenges facing coastal communities

 

Expert commentary and top stories

<p> </p><div>Looking down over the village of Torcross and the beach at Slapton Sands on the south coast of Devon.</div><p></p>
Coastal Health Outcomes – Contributing to the Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report 2021
<p> Aerial view of Plymouth Sound <br></p>
Plymouth and Britain’s coastal community: creating the UK’s first national marine park
<p>Edited photo getty family coastal community bench sea&nbsp;</p>
Digital inequity: a major health risk in coastal Britain
 

Coastal Communities webinar series

Previous events

Reimagining Britain’s ‘left behind’ coastal communities

Economic decline in many of Britain’s coastal communities have been associated with political and cultural dislocation. This webinar considered the extent to which creative place-making can advance the levelling up agenda, notably by addressing the socio-economic disparities that many of Britain’s coastal communities are experiencing.

Levelling Up: what about coastal communities?

In order to truly 'level up' Britain, it is crucial to have a better understanding of the problems and challenges those on the periphery face so that potential solutions can be effectively deployed to create dynamic, thriving coastal communities.   
Five thought-provoking questions posed by Professor Sheela Agarwal and Professor Sheena Asthana, were discussed with a prestigious panel of UK Government experts during a roundtable discussion held as part of the Research Festival 2022. The recordings of this event are shown below. 
<p>Research Festival 2022 visual ID - web header</p>
Find out more about Research Festival 2022
 

Research themes

 
<p>Plymouth Pioneers. Professor Sheena Asthana<br></p>

Promoting policy to end coastal poverty

The Plymouth Institute of Health and Care Research brings together world-leading research from across the University to improve the health and care of the South West and beyond. Professor Sheena Asthana, the Institute's director, is a leading advocate for improved distribution of funds to ensure fairer access to healthcare for all, focusing her attention on communities disproportionately lacking in support.

"We need to make a better clarification between addressing health inequalities and promoting equal access to equal need; making sure that the people who need the healthcare access are able to get it, and it’s not dependent on a postcode lottery." – Professor Sheena Asthana

Find out more about our actions to end coastal poverty

Collaborating nationally – the Coastal ARC Group

A number of NIHR funded Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) have been working together to collaborate on co-developing and evaluating public health initiatives to improve health and wellbeing and address health inequalities within depressed coastal populations and areas. These represent peripheral areas in the North West, North East, East, South East and South West of England. All of the participating ARCs work well with their Local Authorities and other key partners. This grouping also provides opportunities to scale up research initiatives to support generalisability.
For more information about the Coastal ARC group, please contact Professor Mark Gabbay.
<p>Landscape view of the scenic tourist town of Instow in north Devon. Viewed from further down the Torridge estuary, at high tide. shutterstock&nbsp;<br></p>

Centre for Coastal Communities news

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<p> A kelp forest of warm-water <i>Laminaria ochroleuca</i> on the coast of Plymouth, UK, at low tide (Image Credit: Albert Pessarrodona)<br></p>

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