Regeneration for coastal communities

Coastal communities that once thrived as pleasure resorts in the 19th century have been neglected for “too long”, according to a report by the House of Lords Select Committee on regenerating seaside towns.

The committee has called for the government’s help in enabling Britain’s seaside towns to once again become prosperous and desirable places to live in, work in and visit. For this to be achieved, peers have put forward a series of recommendations:

• Prioritise enhancements to the coastal transport network due to poor links “severely hindering” opportunities to bring about improvements to tourism or for attracting inward investment; and
• Promote initiatives to support digital connectivity as substandard internet connections and poor infrastructure mean many coastal areas are lagging considerably behind urban areas; and
• Raise educational standards as a limited access to education, particularly further and higher institutions, is cited as “disadvantaging young people and acting as a barrier to growth”; and Regenerate the existing housing provision and construct better quality new builds to attract key workers to the area.

Think long-term

The realisation that there is no quick fix or one size fits all approach is vital, according to Sara Boonham, head of town centre regeneration at Gleeds.

The need to be strategic

Instead of resolving issues on a town-by-town basis, a collective response and strategy is likely to be required between several seaside communities, according to Deborah Rose, head of development services at Pick Everard.

“It is unlikely that each seaside town can provide their own independent offers when it comes to tourism due to duplicate attractions in neighbouring communities,” she continued.

“By working strategically, nearby seaside towns within travelling distances of each other could join forces to offer a very strong collective offer of a broad range of all weather, four season attractions, destinations and facilities.”

Deborah believes the strategic approach to planning and visioning would also mean that it could be possible to create a ‘lifestyle offer’ that is more capable of attracting key workers and creating a more balanced population.

She added: “Even a top-class marketing campaign, as suggested by the report, would be unlikely to attract professionals if the area cannot provide all the lifestyle components they require.

“In the short term, it may not be possible to attract good teachers, as an example, to live in the towns themselves. However, it may be more likely to entice them into nearby, high-quality locations, which provides them with access to everything they seek, along with a reasonable commute to their seaside town workplace.

“As the seaside town improves, partly through the improved education, the commuting teachers may then choose to relocate, and so the process of regeneration continues.”

A balance of tourism and liveability

While the report places a significant emphasis on tourism, this will not be appropriate for all seaside towns as a key driver for economic sustainability, Deborah explained.

“Firstly, each town has to be a ‘living town’ where people want to be for 12 months of the year,” she continued.

“Some can also be tourist destinations, but in order to meet that aspiration, they will need to ensure they have a strong enough offer to provide employment for local people. Without it, there is little point training people for tourism-related jobs.

“For some towns, the coast is part of their offer and a key asset that contributes to the overall attractiveness of the community but will not in itself lead to sustainable economies or communities.”

Read part two of the series, which focuses on industrial port towns and the future of seaside communities