Working collaboratively, the Centre for Coastal Communities brings together a breadth of transdisciplinary academic expertise with partners across the public, private and third sectors. Through these webinars, leading academics from across the University are joined by prestigious panels of government experts, industry leaders and colleagues from other higher education Institutions to identify the complex and interlinked challenges our coastal communities are facing; and to co-create solutions to help 'level up' Britain's periphery.

2023: Reimagining Britain’s ‘left behind’ coastal communities

This event was held on 4 May 2023
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.
Webinar hosts, Professor Sheela Agarwal and Rupert Lorraine , were joined by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Parliamentary Under Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport), Peter Gingold (Director of the Time and Tide Bell organisation), Emma Wilcox (Director of Creative Estuary) and Professor Robert Brown for this thought-provoking event.

2022: 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 Sheena Asthana and Professor Sheela Agarwal were discussed with a prestigious panel of UK Government experts during a roundtable discussion held as part of the Research Festival 2022.
The roundtable discussions were recorded and are available to view on YouTube. Each question is linked to the relevant recording.

Previous events

Building back Britain and levelling up: to what extent can the challenges facing UK coastal communities be addressed?

Unlocking the economic potential of English seaside towns: opportunities and barriers

Growing up on the coast: an exploration of educational and health trajectories on the periphery