Resilient Plymouth

Connecting local and regional authorities to strengthen their preparedness for coastal, rain and river flooding
Plymouth lighthouse watercolour

Resilient Plymouth

Connecting local and regional authorities to strengthen their preparedness for coastal, rain and river flooding
Watercolour by Simon Poulter
Title: Resilient Plymouth
Funding amount: €210,000
Location: Plymouth
Dates: January 2026 – June 2027
University of Plymouth PI:  Professor Sheela Agarwal 
University of Plymouth staff: Professor Sheena Asthana, Dr Alex Gibson 
 
The Resilient Plymouth project brings together Plymouth's local and regional authorities, connecting them with the single aim of strengthening their preparedness for coastal, pluvial (rain) and fluvial (river) flooding. Funded by Pathways2Resilience (P2R), who have experience connecting over 100 authorities at local and regional level since 2023, the project advocates for a strong policy shift towards coastal communities, and the development of strategies tailored to their specific needs. 
The work is carried out through a partnership between Plymouth City Council, the Key Cities Innovation Network and the University of Plymouth and is based on issues highlighted in a report titled 'On the Waterfront' written by Kasper de Graaf, Kevin McKenzie, Rebecca Smith MP and Professors Sheena Asthana and Sheela Agarwal from the Centre for Coastal Communities. The report was produced by the Key Cities network.

It is now more imperative than ever that we prepare for a severe climate in the UK, particularly in coastal regions. This project unites the key authorities to enable us to tailor adaptation strategies to the individual needs of the places affected.

We look forward to sharing insights from the project with member cities – both coastal and inland – across the Key Cities Innovation Network, further enriched by the experience of cities all over Europe.

Sheela AgarwalProfessor Sheela Agarwal
Associate Head of School for Research and Innovation

Objectives

The project will receive financial and non-financial support from the P2R programme to build a climate adaptation strategy that draws together a set of ambitious, transferable and practical tools, including a detailed action plan, a coastal climate resilience strategy and a forward-looking investment plan.
The strategy will focus on the key systems identified by P2R as drivers of long term resilience:
  • Critical infrastructure: strengthening flood defences, transport corridors, energy networks and the Port of Plymouth, which serves as both a regional economic engine and a national strategic asset and has received significant public investment.
  • Health and human wellbeing: the project is guided by the Centre for Health Technology at the University of Plymouth, ensuring adaptation actions protect vulnerable groups such as the elderly, low-income households, and those in coastal communities facing multiple deprivations. The Centre also has its own digital living lab, one of the largest in the country, so adaptation can be co-created with the local community.
Ecosystems and nature based solutions: incorporating green and blue infrastructure projects to reduce flood risk, improve air and water quality, and create healthier urban environments.
Local economic systems: developing sustainable industries, including renewables and fisheries, and integrating adaptation with the regeneration of Plymouth's maritime economy, cultural identity, and workforce development, so climate resilience also strengthens livelihoods.
Urban planning and governance: embedding climate adaptation into planning codes, building standards, and investment criteria to ensure every future development contributes to long-term resilience, especially in the poorest areas of the city. Each component will be designed not only to benefit Plymouth directly but also to serve as a model for other UK and European coastal cities.

Centre for Coastal Communities

Finding solutions to the challenges facing coastal communities
The University of Plymouth is one of the few UK Higher Education Institutions with a critical mass of academics with a proven track record of research on coastal communities. The Centre for Coastal Communities brings together researchers looking at coastal economic performance, deprivation, migration, educational underperformance, displaced populations, health and social care, the blue economy (renewable energy, fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, recreation and leisure), plastic pollution and economic, social and environmental policy for coastal communities.
 
Fishing nets

Centre for Health Technology

Bringing together digital health and health technology expertise from across the University to drive the development, evaluation and implementation of innovative technologies, products, services and approaches to transform health and social care.
 
Centre for Health Technology