For many years now, coastal towns throughout England and Wales have been suffering from a number of social and economic problems and, despite initiatives promoted by the various regional development agencies (RDAs), little appears to have happened in terms of regeneration. Could the Government’s proposals for a new breed of so-called eco-towns provide any additional momentum for a long-overdue overhaul of the nation’s dilapidated coastal areas?
In March 2007, the Communities and Local Government (CLG) report on coastal towns brought to the fore the pressing issues facing coastal regions and emphasised the urgent need for regeneration. That report identified several common challenges for coastal resorts, namely:
- physical and social isolation due to peripheral location and poor transportation links;
- a low-paid workforce lacking in professional skills and dependent upon seasonal employment and tourism;
- out-migration of young people and in-migration of the elderly, leading to a population with a higher than average number of residents over 65;
- a shortage of affordable housing for those resorts popular with second-home owners;
- problems associated with flood risk and coastal erosion.
