About South West Flood & Coastal

Formed in 2021, South West Flood & Coastal is an award-winning centre of expertise (hosted by BCP Council) for flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM). We address the challenges of flooding and coastal change, working with local communities and partners to share understanding of the challenges faced, develop innovative solutions to strengthen resilience and enhance the environment.

We provide a co-ordinated service between BCP Council and East Devon District Council, where the service is aligned and staff budgets, skills and resources are fully shared. We operate under the name South West Flood & Coastal which recognises the broader support and guidance provided to neighbouring local authorities too, including New Forest, Dorset, Exeter, Teignbridge and Torridge.

As well as designing and delivering government funded projects, the main functions of the joint Flood & Coastal Erosion Risk Management Service will be to set long term Policies and Strategies for managing flood and coastal erosion risk, maintaining assets and influencing the industry through sound research and innovation.

Our values and our approach

Our values are what we stand for. We all have a role to play in contributing to addressing the challenges of flooding and coastal change. We are committed to playing our part and making a difference through living our values of respect, passion, integrity, innovation and pride in rising to these challenges:

We work with diverse communities and treat everyone with respect. We listen to and value all different views to develop shared understanding of the challenges faced in each area, and solutions to them.
We are passionate about our communities. Everything we do is intended to improve the lives, well-being and environment of the communities we serve. We take an active interest in the history, challenges and aspirations of the communities with whom we work, and are committed to seeking input from communities to deliver broader positive outcomes alongside improving resilience to the risks of flooding and coastal change.
We have integrity. We are committed to being open, honest and transparent with our partners and the communities that we serve in how decisions have been reached, even when it may require difficult choices.
We embrace innovation. We always seek to learn and drive continual improvement in how we deliver for our partners and communities. We challenge the established ways of working and are open to new ideas and technologies.
We take pride in what we do. We take pride in working hard to deliver high quality outcomes for our communities and the environment. We are proud to promote the work we do, share our learning with others, and celebrate our successes.

How we are funded

South West Flood and Coastal is funded from a range of sources, including revenue from BCP Council and East Devon District Council, and external funding such as FCERM Grant in Aid and Local Levy that we bid for from the Environment Agency and the Wessex and South West Regional Flood & Coastal Committees. We also achieve funding through provision of services to support several other Risk Management Authorities.