About SWCM

Our Vision

To provide standard, repeatable, long term and cost-effective monitoring of the South West coast to support FCERM (Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management) decision makers.

South West Coastal Monitoring (SWCM) is one of six regional Programmes which collectively monitor the entire coast of England and Wales. We have been collecting, collating, and reporting on a variety of data since 2006, building one of the most comprehensive coastal datasets in the world. We are funded by Defra, administered by the Environment Agency.

Our Programme monitors over 2,450 km of coast between Portland Bill in Dorset and Beachley Point on the border with Wales. All of the high quality data that we collect is freely available from the National Coastal Monitoring website.  It can be used by anyone and everyone with an interest in the coast, from risk managers such as the Environment Agency and local authorities to academics, engineers, conservationists and many more!

Background

Our Programme was created following the example of the Channel Coastal Observatory, to address the inconsistent collection and archiving of coastal data in the South West region. Before we started routinely collecting coastal data, data collection occurred at a project level for a particular scheme or study and was then archived. Therefore, data capture was often duplicated by various projects and often only spanned short temporal scales.

To remedy this, we agreed core data types, devised robust specifications for how they might be collected and identified the type of deliverables expected from each survey.

Our guiding principle is 'collect it once, use it many times'.  This enables us to build up a comprehensive long-term dataset and make huge efficiency savings, both in time and resources.

Our mission focuses on creating a high-quality baseline of the South West coastline and to keep this data up to date.  Since 2006, the datasets we have collected have identified the ongoing changes to the geomorphology, diversity and composition of the South West coastline. This valuable insight enhances our understanding of coastal processes, empowering impartial, scientifically grounded management decisions. With reliable data, coastal managers can proactively plan for the future and design effective beach and coastal defence strategies.

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Meet the Team

Our Programme is run by a team of expert Coastal Process Scientists, who manage the data and outputs of SWCM to ensure it meets very specific, high standards. Our team also produces reports and provides advice for coastal managers.

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Ruth Adams

Programme Manager

Ruth is responsible for strategic and operational delivery of SWCM, including working with the team to deliver and develop the technical and scientific direction of the Programme and ensure strong links to partners.

Emerald Siggery

Emerald Siggery

Coastal Process Team Leader

Emerald manages the SWCM team and is responsible for developing and delivering the technical and scientific direction of the Programme. Emerald is the primary contact for all enquiries relating to SWCM.

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Isabel Kelly

Coastal Process Scientist

Isabel is responsible for data management for North Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and is the point of contact for any queries relating to this area. Isabel is also the lead for hydrodynamics in the South West.

Joshua Webborn

Josh Webborn

Coastal Process Scientist

Josh is responsible for data management for South Devon and Dorset and is the point of contact for any queries relating to this area.  He is also our lead for surveys in the South West.

Joseff Saunders

Joseff Saunders

Coastal Process Scientist

Joseff is responsible for data management for South Cornwall and is the point of contact for all queries relating to this area. Joseff is also the lead for the CoastSnap South West project.

Josie-Alice Kirby

Josie-Alice Kirby

Coastal Process Scientist

Josie is responsible for data management for South Devon and Dorset and is the point of contact for any queries relating to this area. Josie is also the lead for coastal policy enquiries for the South West.

Tom Darley

Thomas Darley

Coastal Process Scientist and GIS Lead

Thomas is the technical lead on GIS applications and is responsible for streamlining quality control procedures and developing the coastal assets database infrastructure.

Dr Mark Wiggins

Dr Mark Wiggins

Coastal Process Scientist

Mark is responsible for data management for North Devon and Somerset and the Severn Estuary and is the point of contact for any queries relating to this area.

Miriam Cattermole

Miriam Cattermole

Coastal Process Scientist

Miriam is responsible for the coastal assets programme, collating and quality assuring information on the SWCM asset database. Miriam is the point of contact for any queries relating to the coastal assets database.

Lucy Bracegirdle

Lucy Bracegirdle

Coastal Process Scientist

Lucy works on the assets programme, collating and quality assuring information on the SWCM asset database.

Lee Skittrall

Lee Skittrall

Contracts and Programme Officer

Lee is the contracts and programme officer, providing assistance to the Programme Manager.

Thank you to our Placement Students

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Phoebe Cole

Placement Student 2023-2024

Phoebe is our year-long placement student and is currently in her third year of studying BSc Geography with Ocean Science at the University of Plymouth. Phoebe analysed and wrote a technical report on the Holistic Overview of the Severn Estuary, including topographic, LiDAR and Hydrodynamic datasets. Phoebe has also assisted with the QC of CoastSnap.

Placement Experience Blog

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Cecily Eaton

Placement Student 2021

Cecily joined us in 2021 and studied MSc Applied Marine Science at the University of Plymouth. Cecily was involved with using historic data to justify the efficiency of surveying at Downderry (south Cornwall) where historically we surveyed the rock platform. Cecily's analysis informed a re-assessment of our survey regime.

Governance

The SWCM is overseen by a Programme Board of senior coastal executives, chaired by the SWCM Executive Lead. The Board are responsible for the strategy, direction, and funding of the Programme. The SWCM is advised by key stakeholders from the coastal community, who together form the Programme Team.  This is responsible for overseeing progress, managing issues arising and identifying future requirements.

We operate on behalf of the South West (SWCG) and Severn Estuary (SECG) Coastal Groups, in partnership with all maritime Local Authorities and the Environment Agency. Teignbridge District Council have acted as the Lead Authority since the Programme’s inception in 2006.

We are funded by Defra on a six yearly basis, with the current funding running to 2027. We are kindly hosted by the University of Plymouth, where we work closely with the COAST Engineering Research Group and the Coastal Process Research Group.

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Our Partners

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Let's Keep In Touch

We’ll keep you up-to-date with all the latest news on this website, but we’d also love to be able to send the occasional update.

We promise we'll only use your details to tell you about what we’ve been doing.

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