A RENAISSANCE

FOR THE RESORTS?

It may seem at odds to suggest all is not well with our much loved and historic
coastal towns, given the anticipation of a recession-driven resurgence in domestic
visitors to the UK’s seaside resorts. But, says Patrick Browne, Policy Officer at
Lincolnshire County Council and co-ordinator of the Coastal Communities Alliance
(CCA), these are anxious times for coastal communities and professionals as
climate change and deprivation disturbs the coastal idyll.

There are approximately four million people who live in or
near the 120 or so seaside resorts spread around the 6,250
miles of English coast. The combined population is greater
than that of Wales and many English regions, and, as can
be seen in the map, coastal deprivation rings the country. If
we were to roll-up the English coast into its own region, the
level of compressed deprivation would qualify the area for
substantial EU and national regeneration funding. As it is,
many of the dispersed pockets of coastal deprivation fail to
qualify for any support and addressing this issue remains a
major challenge and commands new approaches, new
leadership and new visions.
THE NATURE OF COASTAL
DEPRIVATION
Despite years of lobbying, it has always been
extremely difficult for coastal MPs and organisations
to raise the plight of coastal resorts and secure
national recognition for the distinctive form of
deprivation that exists there.

National statistics have often

submerged coastal deprivation within Coastal Deprivation
large geographical areas but the use of in England 2007
small area analysis has shown that this
distinctive deprivation could be
termed “ruban”, namely that our
resorts experience the worst aspects of
both rural and urban deprivation. Our coastal
towns, for example, suffer the rural problems
of poor communication, isolation, poor access
to services and jobs, lack of opportunity, and
affordable housing. They also experience the
urban problems of transient populations,
poor housing, crime, worklessness, poor
health, low educational attainment
and lack of community engagement.

© Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Lincolnshire County Council. 100025370 2009
This mixture of rural and urban CoastNet AM85/09

deprivation, set within undynamic

economies, ageing populations and 180 degree hinterlands,
combine to create the unique deprivation of our seaside
towns. The consequences of which are a poor and limited
quality of life for many residents, and higher costs in
delivering public services, such as health, social care
and education.

The problems range in intensity from being the dominant

and debilitating characteristics of many smaller resorts, such
as marginalsed Mablethorpe, to being hidden beneath the
cosmopolitan vibrancy of Bournemouth and Brighton, or the
niche market prosperity of towns such as Salcombe. However,
the scale and persistence of the problem and the associated
public costs require new national and local approaches.
THE SELECT COMMITTEE
INQUIRY, 2007
The difficulty faced by coastal MPs to gain national
recognition of the specifics of coastal deprivation was
starkly exposed when the conclusions from the 2007 Select
Committee Inquiry into Coastal Towns was initially
rejected by Government, creating outrage among coastal
local authorities and stakeholders. (see 2007 Edge article
Wish you were here for a review of the findings). As a result,
over 40 local authorities and coastal organisations came
together to form the Coastal Communities Alliance, a
network to promote best practice in coastal regeneration. A
more positive second response to the Inquiry was received
and a governmental cross-department working group on
coastal towns established. An RDA Coastal Best Practice
Network was also set up and the creation of the first
coastal-specific regeneration fund – for cultural and
heritage projects.

The Edge
www.coastnet.org.uk/theedge | August 2009 magazine
The Select Committee Inquiry found a similar range of socioeconomic problems in coastal towns,
ranging from poor health and transport connections, to greater unemployment and coastal erosion.
The publication from the Inquiry acknowledged that coastal
resorts, while all different, experienced a similar range of
socioeconomic problems that combine to produce a
distinctive form of deprivation. These included:
• Coastal erosion and flooding
• Sea defences and regeneration
• Lower employment levels
• Higher sickness and disability benefits
• Affordable Housing, HMOs, caravans
• Placing vulnerable adults/children in coastal towns
• Seasonality of the poor coastal economy
• Need for economic diversification
• In-migration of older people
• Out-migration of younger people
• Peripherality issues
• Poor transport connections
• Low educational attainment levels
• Poor health issues
• Enhancing the public realm
• Attracting investment
• Low skills and wage economy
• Public and private sector recruitment issues
• Need for greater business development
While coastal towns are diverse by size, prosperity, access,
dynamism, popularity, culture and prospects, they do share
the issues listed above that impact heavily on public
services. For example, a transient population can be very
disruptive in schools, where the churn of pupils can reach
40 per cent during a year. Similarly, the ageing coastal
population and the enormous influx of summer visitors
make considerable demands on medical and social services,
as indeed do teenage pregnancy levels, high benefit
claimants and the established worklessness. All these
circumstances are compounded by the difficulty of
recruiting public and private sector professionals in many
coastal areas.
The Edge
www.coastnet.org.uk/theedge | August 2009
COASTAL REGENERATION
BARRIERS AND PRIORITIES
The objectives of coastal regeneration are to improve the
standard of living and quality of life for coastal residents
and to improve the quality and reduce the costs of
delivering public services.
Economic vitality is regarded as essential in addressing
deprivation and most coastal regenerators strive to diversify
low wage, tourism towns into more balanced, all-year
round, well-paying, mixed economies.
However, the emphasis on the economic as the solution to
coastal deprivation is a concern. Until the current recession,
the UK had experienced almost 15 years of unprecedented
economic growth that had enriched many of our towns and
cities. However, the rising economic tide did not reach the
majority of our coastal towns, and while there have been a
number of notable regeneration projects in the larger
resorts, deprivation has actually increased in many
coastal areas.
Given this relative failure to induce market forces into our
seaside economies, and a predicted future of low or no
economic growth, coupled with reduced public and
individual spending, what should be the priority for
coastal regeneration?
If the solution is not economic, should coastal regenerators
focus on quality of life and local distinctiveness issues,
rather than standard of living? Could a focus on the quality
of people’s lives and the environment in coastal
communities (for example, reducing transience, improving
housing, reducing crime, enhancing the public realm,
improving health and lifestyles) actually lead to social
regeneration by attracting new residential groups and new
priorities to the area?
magazine
ENTERPRISING THE COAST
This is not a cry to abandon the economic challenge. There
are products and services that coastal areas could develop that
maximise on the location and the existing demographics.
One of the key tests for resort regeneration, especially in the
smaller resorts, will be the ability to generate niche markets
based on demography, leisure, risk, authenticity, history,
culture, design and the environment. In order to develop
these market opportunities, strong local leadership, an
enhanced environment and clear visions are required.
The one market force that appears to favour seaside towns is
the influx of the elderly and retirees. Professor Heinz Wolff,
the former TV scientist is a passionate advocate of the use of
technology to improve the health and independent living of
an increasing elderly population. He states, “There are gaps in
the market for seaside resorts that embrace elderly people by
actively seeking to build communities that can deal with a
high level of elderly by providing services, security and leisure
that reinforce health, mobility and independent living”.
At the other end of the age range, there are business
opportunities in a risk-averse society for leisure, adventure
and sports facilities that have controlled risk elements.
Seaside resorts and the coast could be natural bases for such
new markets. Energy generation and bio-fuels present green
opportunities for coastal areas, while seaside entertainment
has the potential to enhance resorts, with their existing
infrastructure for entertaining summer visitors. The potential
role of seaside heritage and historical experiences in
promoting distinctiveness and authenticity are also worthy
of exploration.
Climate change and flood risk provide regeneration
opportunities, but first there must be a clear national
statement on which parts of the coast will be defended and
where there will be managed retreat. Sea defences that
integrate with public realm and regeneration projects could
have a powerful positive impact on coastal regeneration. In
fact, many areas claim the lack of clarity on sea defences are
inhibiting investment in coastal areas.
The Edge
www.coastnet.org.uk/theedge | August 2009
While visitors may be returning to our seaside towns
because of the recession, more lasting opportunities are
emerging to review what our coastal towns are now for,
how we can make them better, and how they could actually
lead, not on maintaining, but on reducing the deprivation
that scars so many communities, coastal and inland.
COASTAL REGENERATION
HANDBOOK
The handbook seeks to stimulate new approaches to
coastal regeneration through a realistic assessment of each
coastal area’s potential and promoting local leadership to
find local solutions to local problems. The national
framework for regeneration is creating the circumstances
whereby national programmes can be adjusted to address
local circumstances. The economy may not be strong, but
stronger local understanding and leadership can harness
and drive coastal renaissance through greater cooperation
and realistic visioning.
At a time of climate change, global financial uncertainty
and the new emphasis on the local, the Coastal
Regeneration Handbook will be an exhortation to all those
concerned with our coastal communities to review their
visions, partnerships and delivery methods in order to
create new futures for our seaside resorts. We would
welcome help in developing the handbook by providing
examples of regeneration good practice in your areas and
your visions for our resorts.
Patrick Browne is Policy Officer at Lincolnshire
County Council and coordinator of the Coastal
Communities Alliance
CONTRIBUTE TO THE HANDBOOK
Please contribute your examples of regeneration good
practice and views by contacting Patrick Browne
magazine