Source/Archive record SEM8565 - Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey: Phase One desk-based assessment for South-West England: Exmoor National Park

This report has been prepared between April 2016 and November 2017 by Exmoor National Park Authority and represents the results of research carried out for the RCZAS Phase One Desk- Based Assessment for the coastline of Exmoor National Park. The survey covers the entire coastline of the National Park, extending from Combe Martin Bay in the west to just east of North Hill near Minehead, in the east. The overarching aims of the survey are to provide an enhanced Historic Environment Record for coastal heritage assets in order to permit an improved curatorial response to strategic coastal planning or management initiatives at a national and regional level, and to provide a broad assessment of the likely archaeological potential and vulnerability of all stretches of the coast within Exmoor National Park. A total of 350 new Historic Environment Records have been created as a result of research associated with the Exmoor RCZAS project. All monument records created or enhanced by the project are available through the Exmoor National Park HER. Research generated by the project has been used alongside HER data to provide an assessment of the historic assets within the project area. This has included an overview of coastal change along the Exmoor coast from the Palaeolithic period onwards in order for all coastal assets to be understood within their wider historic landscape context. This has also helped to inform the assessment of significance for each of the heritage assets within the project area. The HER data has been assessed against the preferred policy options within the draft Hartland Point to Anchor Head Shoreline Management Plan (SMP), as well as the National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping (NCERM) data and Environment Agency data relating to Flood Zones 2 and 3. This has informed the assessment of vulnerability and the degree and nature of threat posed to heritage assets along the Exmoor coast. A series of research themes and future research priorities for the Exmoor coast has been identified and developed with reference to the Historic Environment Research Framework for Exmoor 2017-2021; the South West Archaeological Research Framework (SWARF); and the Maritime Archaeological Research Agenda for England. These will help to inform future research, as well as the RCZAS Phase 2 fieldwork project for the Exmoor coast. The results of the Exmoor National Park RCZAS are intended to feed into Defra and the Environment Agency’s Shoreline Management Plans. The results will also inform appropriate management strategies and planning decisions and will provide an active management and research tool for those involved with the management of the historic environment along the coastline of Exmoor, including the Exmoor National Park Authority, Historic England and the Marine Management Organisation.