Research Centre

Centre for Coastal Communities

students sitting on Southend beach looking at the sea

Championing our coast through research

Our new centre will be delivering research, innovation and impact to address the challenges coastal communities face and take advantage of the opportunities they offer.

Part of the Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing, our centre will become a national hub of excellence and champion coastal communities. We are committed to making an impact locally, regionally and internationally by engaging with and supporting coastal communities.

We will be working in partnership with service users, policy makers, frontline professionals and the public.

We will build on the University’s track record of working in collaboration with local authorities and national groups, including the Coastal Communities Alliance, the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care System, Essex County Council and Tendring District Council.

The Centre will benefit from strong links to the University’s strengths in data analytics, public health, outreach, the arts, new technology and cross-disciplinary research.


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Our Director

Dr Emily Murray is an international expert on health inequalities with a particular interest in the challenges faced by coastal communities. She grew up in a coastal community, so she shares Essex’s commitment to creating a national centre of excellence for championing coastal communities.

Dr Murray has completed extensive research into health inequalities and improving health outcomes including the effects of where people live on their health and wellbeing across their life course.

Dr Emily Murray
"My vision for the centre is one of inclusivity. That the research questions we ask, the data we create and the solutions we offer are truly informed by and for coastal communities"
Dr Emily Murray Director

The future

The new Centre for Coastal Communities will have a base in Clacton as part of the £20m town centre improvement project being backed by the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

The University of Essex was one of the partners which supported Tendring District Council’s successful bid for the transformational funding from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

We want the Centre for Coastal Communities’ Clacton site to play a key role in extending the educational opportunities in Clacton and the wider Tendring area.

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Centre for Coastal Communities