Coastal Towns Project Interim Report V.1

Coastal Towns ProjectScoping phase July 2008

Dominic CampbellProject manager, FutureGov

http://coastaltowns.wordpress.com

Photo: http://snurl.com/2xec2

There'll be buckets, spades and bingo, cockles, mussels, rainy days,seaweed and sand castles, icy waves,Deck chairs, rubber dinghies, old vests, braces dangling down,sun-tanned stranded starfish in a daze.

Oh Blackpool,oh Blackpool.

“Up the ‘Pool”, Roy Harper (1996)

Seaside sunshine

It's a warm day, the sun is shiningSomeone says 'let's go to Brighton’…We left a London a-where it's hotWe're heading for our favourite spotDown on the coast way past the town of CrawleyWhere the breeze blows and the air tastes of the seaWe a-walk along the promenade pierSpend a pound or two on fun and beerThen look around, see what we can seeBikini girls and everybody smiling happily

“The Seaside Shuffle”, Terry Dactyl and The Dinosaurs (1972)

Trudging slowly over wet sandBack to the bench where your clothes were stolenThis is the coastal townThat they forgot to close downArmageddon - come armageddon!Come, armageddon! come!

Everyday is like sundayEveryday is silent and grey

Hide on the promenadeEtch a postcard :How I dearly wish I was not hereIn the seaside town...that they forgot to bombCome, come, come - nuclear bomb

Coastal erosion

“Everyday is like Sunday” Morrissey (1988)

The seaside needs us more than ever

“Seaside”, Ordinary Boys (2004)

1. Project background

2. Scoping the project

3. Key policy initiatives

4. Priorities and policy headlines

5. Next stepsAgenda

Project background

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mariajc/230113604/

Many English coastal towns have been experiencing a long-term economic and social decline

Since 2005 there has been a resurgence in interest in policy for coastal towns at a national level

Policy remains in early stages of development at national level, in the past tending to focus on ‘hard’ regeneration fixes with little attention paid to wider place shaping agenda until very recently

Coastal Towns project aims to support and supplement current policy development in this field with particular focus on working with local authorities responsible for coastal towns to develop place shaping strategies

Summary

To supplement current national policy work on coastal towns and seaside resorts

To support the delivery of an agenda for action for place shaping in English coastal areas

To raise the profile of coastal towns in national policy

To identify some of the key issues and challenges facing local authorities managing coastal towns

To support local leaders to develop organisational capacity and place shaping strategies and to ensure the future success of coastal areas

Project aims

This project will focus on a number of key research questions including:

What makes a coastal town successful and how can their local authorities identify and build on their key factors of competitive advantage?

Conversely, where are coastal towns currently failing in Britain and why?

What are the key barriers to success (skills, transport etc)?

What are the characteristics of the resident and visitor populations of coastal towns? How does this impact on the success of these towns?

How can coastal towns work better together to ensure success?

What are the key challenges for leadership and place shaping within coastal local authorities?

Key research questions

Scoping the project

http://www.flickr.com/photos/barbararich/221443998/

Headline quantitative analysis and benchmarking of coastal areas using Local Futures’ Local Knowledge system

Conversations with group of local authorities and other stakeholder organisations

Review of existing coastal towns related groups and partnerships

High level literature review of policy landscape

Project blog

Scoping phase activities

East Sussex County Council

East Lindsey Council

Canterbury Council

South East Economic Development Agency (SEEDA)

Communities and Local Government (CLG)

British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA)

Audit Commission

British Resorts and Destinations Association

Organisations consulted with

Seaside resort vs coastal town vs local authority area by the sea

Perhaps we’re talking about a Coastal Councils project then?

How best do we select areas to focus on?

How do we best categorise different types of coastal towns?

How many should include in all – 35, 37, all?

How many we want to have in core group? Which are the key authorities?

Do we want a diverse group or more homogenous? Diverse with one representing each ‘category’ of place?

‘Coastal’ ‘towns’: getting to a definition

BURA Seaside Network (over 70 member cross-sector organisations)

LGA Coastal Issues Special Interest Group (over 50 members)

Permanent cross-departmental working group on coastal towns, recently set up and led by Communities and Local Government (6 departments)

Regional Development Agency network (led by South East England Development Agency)

Coastal Communities Group (30+ members)

British Resorts and Destinations  Association (60+ members)

Coastal Action Zone (Lincolnshire)

South East Coastal Group (Kent and Sussex)

Urban Regeneration Companies

Existing networks

Our list of 35 authorities

Arun East Lindsey Shepway

Berwick-upon-Tweed Eastbourne South Hams

Blackpool Fareham Southampton

Bournemouth Gosport Southend-on-Sea

Brighton and Hove Great Yarmouth Suffolk Coastal

Canterbury Hastings Thanet

Caradon Isle of Wight Torbay

Carrick Kerrier West Somerset

Christchurch North East Linconshire Weymouth and Portland

Colchester Poole Wirral

Dover Scarborough Worthing

Easington Sefton

Bold text = overlap with CLG’s list of 37 coastal towns

Policy headlines and priorities

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davedove/2534546426/#DiscussPhoto

CLG’s third and definitive update (April 2008) in response to the committee agreed to take forward 4 areas:

1. Benchmarking study

2. Study into incapacity benefits

3. Review alternative approaches to measuring the importance of tourism

4. Update day visitor indicator in formula grant distribution

In addition, cross-government working group to pay particular attention to skills, employment and housing issues faced in coastal towns

CLG response to Parliamentary select committee report

£45m investment over 3 years

Cultural and heritage projects

Blackpool, Dover and Torbay first to receive £4m each in year one

Further 12 grants of £200,000 - £1,000,000 each year

CABE Sea Change initiative

Lobby Government to “coastal proof” policy, initiatives and funding

Facilitate networking of Coastal Local Authorities and Coastal RDAs

To be a focal point and reference group for coastal debate and research

Disseminate the knowledge of Alliance partners

Support the cross-departmental working group

To work with SEEDA and RDAs to facilitate the role out of best practice in socio economic work with communities on the coast

Ensure that the review of the Sub National Economic and Regeneration Strategy is cross-referenced against key coastal issues

Ensure that the voice and experiences of smaller coastal areas are represented at central Government level

Coastal Communities Alliance

Coastal strategy

Lead on RDA coastal towns network

Draft strategy “Coastal South East: a framework for action”, with four action areas including

1. Identify and build high quality mixed use development sites

2. Improve productivity and business performance across a range of sectors

3. Develop priorities for investment to improve coastal connectivity across a number of modes

4. Build civic leadership, skills and aspirations to build a strong economy

Coastal South East: a framework for action (SEEDA)

Lack of skilled workforce

Low levels of economic development

Housing affordability and quality

Periperality and connectivity

Poor health

Lack of aspiration

Reliance on state benefits

Common issues

Lobby for coastal towns to be treated as per any other town on investment in core public services

Economic growth (mixed views on how best to achieve)

Skills and education

Tackling low employment and participation rates as well as high levels of benefit claims

Housing quality and mix

Transport (air of resignation?)

Climate change (covered by Defra/Environment Agency?)

Profile raising and reimagining of coastal towns (for instance develop young, vibrant and up market image)

Common priorities

More balanced approach to regeneration – all agree the regeneration agenda needs to move beyond merely the ‘hard’ infrastructure (promenades and civic art) into other areas such as housing policy and educations and skills

Opportunities to innovate – digital economy, innovative transport solutions, sustainability agenda

Coordinated ‘diverse specialisation’ to avoid zero sum game competing between coastal towns – understand sense of place and each build own strong identity/place brand

Chance for coastal areas to work together and better link up cross-authority and cross-sector coastal networks (for instance CCA to provide capacity for a core cities style group)

Emerging opportunities

Next steps

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10239287@N06/2068605305/

Interviews with wider group of stakeholders

Further research

Resident satisfaction data

Learning from CPA and other inspections

International good practice research

Social media campaign “what’s it like to be beside the seaside?” to gather resident and visitor views on coastal towns advertised locally by authorities

Report production, including creation of typologies for coastal councils

October policy summit

Project scope and work plan

For a comprehensive list of key literature on coastal towns and seaside resorts, please visit:

http://del.icio.us/coastaltowns

References

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10239287@N06/2319194858/