Image Collection Environment Agency
A black and white aerial photo of coastal wetlands. The image has the appearance of abstract swirls and patterns in shades of black, white and grey. There seem to be a few trees in the centre and an area of water to the left.

The internationally important wetland site of Pagham Harbour, West Sussex
Collection: Environment Agency, Sortie: MAL/0010/82, Frame: 0256 (26 May 1982)

Environment Agency

The Environment Agency (EA) Collection contains aerial photography of coastal locations across south-east England. The EA regularly commissions aerial surveys to support its work. The EA Collection at the National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP) focusses specifically on coastal areas, and as such is a valuable record of quickly changing areas over time.

A black and white aerial photo of buildings on a coastline. The coast runs along the top edge, with a small amount of water visible right at the top. The buildings are arranged along the bottom edge and are interspersed with a few trees.
Shornemead Fort on the Kent coast, when it was still an active military facility; Collection: Environment Agency, Sortie: AOC/390708, Frame: 34161 (08 July 1939)

History

Prior to the Water Act of 1973, water management throughout England and Wales was carried out in a highly localised manner. From 1973, numerous smaller water authorities were grouped into 10 regional bodies. Southern Water was responsible for an area from the Thames Estuary around to the Isle of Wight.

When the major water authorities were privatised in 1989, responsibility for regulating the aquatic environment passed to the National Rivers Authority (NRA), which was subsumed into the Environment Agency in 1996.

A black and white aerial photo with a city at the top half of the image and the sea at the bottom half. Right of centre a pier protrudes into the sea. Buildings and trees are visible on the land, with the domes of Brighton Pavilion at top middle.
Brighton, home to one of the UK's longest piers and the famous Royal Pavilion; Collection: Environment Agency, Sortie: MAL/0014/81, Frame: 0242 (02 June 1981)

Aerial survey photography has been vital to all these bodies to support their work. Southern Water, the NRA and the Environment Agency all commissioned or acquired numerous aerial photographs for the purposes of monitoring and analysis.

Today, the Environment Agency is responsible for regulating industry and waste, water quality, fisheries, navigation, conservation and ecology. It also has responsibility for managing major flood risk from main rivers, reservoirs and the sea.

A black and white aerial photo of a coast, with land in the image’s top half and sea in the bottom half. The large buildings of Dungeness nuclear power station are visible to the left, and a pebble beach to the right. A structure stands in the sea.
The shingle at Dungeness is important shelter for the low-lying land behind it; Collection: Environment Agency, Sortie: MAL/0019/82, Frame: 0075 (19 July 1982)

Acquisition

The Collection was owned by the Environment Agency from its creation by the contracted survey firms. Following analysis and exploitation of the imagery, its holdings of analogue aerial photographic film covering south-east England were transferred to the care and management of NCAP in 2016.

A black and white aerial photo of a coast, with land in the image’s top half and sea in the bottom half. Buildings, a carpark and a road are visible just above centre. The coastline looks rocky, and the sea is foaming white on the shore.
Cottages - some since demolished - at risk to coastal erosion at Birling Gap; Collection: Environment Agency, Sortie: MAL/0063/76, Frame: 0073 (11 July 1976)

Scope

The photographs in the Environment Agency Collection cover coastal areas in Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire, and Dorset, as well as the Isle of Wight. While the photos range in date from 1939 to 2005, the bulk of them were taken from 1971-84 and 1989-98, with a smaller amount dating to the 1950s and 1960s.

Geographical coverage
England

Collection contents

The Collection is made up of:

  • c.4400 monochrome diapositives
  • c.1000 colour diapositives
  • c.3050 monochrome contact prints

Air Photo Finder

This Collection has been digitised and is available to view on the Air Photo Finder. 

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IN THIS SECTION

A black and white aerial photo of about a dozen ships pulled up on a beach. The land beyond the beach has been divided up into a grid, and the scene is slightly obscured by clouds or smoke.

Allied Central Interpretation Unit

The ACIU Collection is home to 5.5 million photographic reconnaissance images taken during the Second World War, providing a visual record of occupied Western Europe.

A colour aerial photo of the Wimbledon area in London. Streets of houses are visible at the right and left edges. A golf course with bunkers and trees occupies the middle. To the left of centre are about 20 tennis courts and a tennis stadium.

British Aerial Survey Firms

NCAP has extensive holdings of photography taken by several important British aerial survey companies over a period of 50 years.

A black and white aerial photo of a city on the edge of the sea. There are buildings and an industrial area in the centre and fields to the right. The photo has been marked with purple pencil highlighting blocks of buildings.

Defence Geographic Centre

The DGC Collection contains aerial photographs of locations around the world, originally used to create maps for issue to British and Commonwealth forces.

A black and white aerial photo of a city. The streets are arranged in a grid. There is a coastline to the right with an area of dark sea at the right-hand edge. To the left are two meandering watercourses and an area of undeveloped wetland.

Directorate of Overseas Surveys

The DOS Collection provides a unique historical perspective, recording the changing landscapes of much of the Commonwealth throughout the 20th century.

A black and white aerial photomap of a town surrounded by an irregular grid of black and white fields. The photomap is annotated with place names – including Stargard, the name of the town – and is overlaid with numbered map grid squares.

German Air Force

The GX Collection contains photos taken by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War, which were then used for intelligence purposes during the Cold War.

An oblique black and white aerial photo of a city with a coastline. The sea is at the bottom left corner. A small number of ships are on the water. The city is made up of what appears to be low-rise apartment blocks. There is a park in the centre.

Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre

The JARIC Collection holds millions of Cold War reconnaissance images and forms unique record of British interests and activities.

A black and white aerial photo of 17 planes at an airfield. The planes are all situated in bays off two tracks running vertically through the image – one light-coloured and one dark. The planes and tracks are surrounded by featureless fields.

Mediterranean Allied Photo Reconnaissance Wing

The MAPRW Collection contains c.150,000 aerial photographs taken during WWII by Allied units operating from North Africa and Italy.

A colour aerial photo with a park containing trees and red paths at the left, and Buckingham Palace in the bottom left corner. The River Thames is to the right with the London Eye lying flat over it. The shadow of Big Ben is to the right of centre.

Millennium Mapping

NCAP is home to the Getmapping and UK Perspectives Collections, two parallel projects to create a visual record of the UK at the turn of the millennium.

A black and white oblique aerial photo of an airborne plane from side-on. The plane has one propellor and a see-through cockpit with the pilot visible. There is a rear-facing gun turret, and the fuselage is marked with an American star and ‘312’.

National Archives and Records Administration

The NARA Collection contains worldwide imagery digitised as part of a partnership with the United States National Archives and Records Administration.

A colour aerial photo of the sea, very dark blue to the left and white from the glare of the sun on the right. In the middle a thin peninsula covered in brown grass extends into the sea. It has white cliffs and ends in a series of individual stacks.

Natural Environment Research Council

The NERC Collection contains over 27,300 aerial photographs taken around Europe for research purposes on behalf of the British Geological Survey.

A colour aerial photo of islands surrounded by a deep blue sea. There is one big island left of centre and a small one to the right. The islands have green grass and a mix of rocky and sandy shores. The sea is light blue over the sand.

Scottish Office Air Photographs Unit

The Scottish Office APU Collection provides a remarkable, 100-year record of Scotland’s changing landscapes from 1.5 million aerial photos of Scotland.