From Decline to Prosperity: Revitalising Seaside Towns in the UK

As summer arrives, it’s a good time to reflect on new ways to revitalise seaside communities across the UK and to recognise the challenges faced by these once-thriving towns.

Over the past decade, urban regeneration projects have shown to be a powerful force in rebuilding coastal economies. However, they aren’t a quick fix and many communities remain overlooked and pushed to the fringes of economic growth (such as it is right now).

My recent consultancy work for the High Streets Task Force in a number of UK coastal locations has highlighted that behind the veneer of trendy staycations and coastal lifestyles, there is still much work to be done.

Seaside locations often feature in lists of the most deprived communities in the UK with low skill, low wage, seasonal economies. And for many, the rising cost of coastal homes has raised the barrier to access affordable housing even higher - it’s not just a Cornish problem!

It occurs to me that there is an opportunity for Government to invest in our seaside towns by creating green-tech innovation hubs designed to tackle the climate change emergency – after all, these communities will surely be at the forefront of its impacts before too long.

Progressive policies and action is needed now. In some places, Levelling Up monies are being used to develop projects, but they are not happening fast enough. Nor do those working for local authorities have the level of expertise needed to keep up with the global pace of technological change.

Businesses and residents must have access to skills essential for future economic growth and to me, there seems an opportunity to tackle climate change and coastal regeneration with some joined-up thinking at a national level