Swanage - Research And Fieldwork

Question 1

Methodology

Research techniques

Answer 1

• www.police.uk was used to see how crime rates have changed over time.
• www.zoopla.co.uk and www.rightmove.co.uk were used to see how property prices have changed over time, and also to see variations in property prices (e.g. prices in vulnerable areas of coastline).
• www.dorsetforyou.com used to get data from Dorset County Council, such as the council’s published Purbeck Labour Market Profile (a document saying in what industries/sectors people are employed).
• www.old-maps.co.uk used to get a 1902 Ordnance Survey map of Swanage to compare with our current land use map.
• www.twobays.net for information from the Poole and Christchurch Bay such as recent coastal defence projects.
• Geographical Information Service used to overlay 1902 OS map, along with our current choropleth land map and geological map (www.bgs.ac.uk) to find trends between the number of properties and how exposed their are to vulnerable geology (which results in landslides, e.t.c.). Boolean logic used to analyse spatial patterns between layers.
• www.halcrow.com used to find information on coastal erosion – Halcrow is an engineering firm empoyed by Dorset County Council to analyse coastal vulnerability.

Question 2

Results and conclusions

Answer 2

• Shift from primary to tertiary in the local economy. Our photos and choropleth map show importance of tourism, and the Purbeck Labour Market Profile shows 39% of people are employed in food and accommodation sectors (www.dorsetforyou.com).
• In contrast, the 1902 OS map (www.old-maps.co.uk) shows tram lines which is evidence of big mining industry (mining of Purbeck limestone) 100 years ago.
• The sediment build-up measurements on either side of the groynes showed that, for 95% of the groynes, sediment build-up was at least 3cm higher on the southern side, which indicates effectiveness of groynes (they are trapping sediment being transported north to south by LSD).
• The longshore drift surveys were anomalous in 2015, as 80% of the surveys showed a movement of the device from the north to south (prevailing wind direction is usually the other way round).
• People think that Swanage has improved over the last 50 years (mean score of 6.6 on questionnaire).
• Chloropleth land use map show that Swanage had increased its overall size by a factor of three when comparing it to 1902 OS map (evidence of population growth).
• According to ONS (www.ons.gov.uk), Swanage’s population has grown from 7,100 in 1920 to 10,100 in 2011. Significant growth, but not as not significant as other towns (e.g. Bournemouth).
• Report from Met Office (www.metoffice.gov.uk) showed cliff stabilisation has failed in Swanage as the Pine Hotel lost 15m of land and a a beer garden as a result of rainfall and resulting landslip. The report blamed the fact the cliffs had 70 different landowners and many (such as Sheps Hollow) were SSSIs so it was difficult to hard engineer.

-Interview with Mike Goater showed three-fold increase in landslides in last 20 years.
A report from Halcrow Group (www.halcrow.com) showed Swanage is losing 500 cubic metres of material each year. But, report also showed that 50% of the material lost is actually deposited straight on the beach at Swanage Bay. This suggests groynes are effective.

Question 3

Methodology

Fieldwork techniques

Answer 3

• Groyne surveys carried out systemically and collaboratively on all 18 groynes.
• Survey involved two elements – measuring sediment buildup either side of the groyne from the high water mark to start of groyne, and a longshore drift survey using a flotation device.
• Stratified questionnaires carried out systematically along transects in Swanage.
• Questions made to give quantitative data by using likert scales (e.g. 1 is bad, 10 is good). We had a sample size of 62.
• Land use survey in groups along transects. Universal category system used to put properties in colour co-ordinated categories on a choropleth map.

-Environmental bi-polar surveys carried out systematically (every 50m) along transects
Interview with Mike Goater, Chief Engineer at Purbeck District Council (this is for the coastal defence question).

-Photos of high street to be compared with previous photos. Same for photos on beach front.