WIREDGOV

A further 28 new Coastal Community Teams will be set up across the country.

Coastal Communities Minister Andrew Percy gave seaside areas last Friday a cash boost and urged an army of activists to help revitalise our Great British coast.

Mr Percy announced that a further 28 new ‘Coastal Community Teams’ will be set up across the country and tasked with producing radical economic plans which create jobs along the shore.

Each team – made up of local volunteers, councils and local businesses – will receive an initial £10,000 each to develop a blueprint for economic growth and be offered support from a network geared towards regenerating our much-loved seaside areas.

They will now join 118 existing teams who in less than 2 years have helped the seaside regain its position as the most popular overnight holiday destination for Brits – with a massive 13.7 million visits in 2015.

Coastal Communities Minister Andrew Percy said:

The Great British Coast has enormous potential and we’re determined to see it thrive all year round.

By 2020 we’ll have invested nearly a quarter of a billion pounds in our seaside areas providing thousands of jobs, training places and opportunities along the shore. Now we are backing another 28 coastal communities with cash and urging them to take back control of their own economic futures.

We want to see radical plans of action and I’d urge these new coastal community teams to go out and create a further wave of enthusiasm along the shore.

A tide of investment

In 2015, 118 Coastal Community Teams were created, and given a share of £1.18 million to help drive forward coastal areas growth.

Last year, every Coastal Community Team unveiled radical economic plans covering areas like housing, business opportunities, jobs and skills, health and civic pride.

This planning has meant the teams are attracting significant investment. Already they have secured over £3 million through the Coastal Revival Fund, which has helped restore 35 heritage sites – from lighthouses to lidos – back to their former glory.

Now thanks to their success, the government is creating a further 28 teams across the country.

Alongside Coastal Community Teams the government has a dedicated Coastal Communities Fund, with £120 million invested since 2012 in over 200 projects – an investment which is predicted to safeguard or create up to 18,000 jobs. Analysis has shown that for every £1 spent, local areas will see up to an £8 benefit.

The extension of the Coastal Communities Fund for another 4 years will make at least another £90 million available to support many more innovative projects and Coastal Community Teams are given priority within the bidding process.

This sea-change in investment has resulted in coastal tourism regaining its position as England’s largest holiday sector – now worth £8 billion to the economy each year.

With one third of all domestic overnight trips to the coast – 13.7 million visits in 2015 – there is now huge potential for our Great British Coast to thrive all year round.

Further information

Full list of new Coastal Community Teams.

1. Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire
2. Old Sunderland, Tyne and Wear
3. Morecambe Bay, Cumbria
4. Amble, Northumberland
5. Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland
6. Cleveleys, Lancashire
7. Promenade to Port (Morecambe and Heysham), Lancaster
8. Blakeney Channel, Norfolk
9. King’s Lynn Renaissance, Norfolk
10. Sheringham, Norfolk
11. Leiston and Sizewell, Suffolk
12. Southwold, Suffolk
13. Adur Cultural Economy, West Sussex
14. Worthing Town Centre and Seafront, West Sussex
15. Canvey Island, Essex
16. Harwich and Dovercourt, Essex
17. Medina Valley, Isle of Wight
18. Portsmouth, Hampshire
19. Hythe Town, Kent
20. New Romney, Kent
21. Westgate-on-Sea, Kent
22. Marazion and St Michael’s Mount, Cornwall
23. The Tin Coast Partnership, Cornwall
24. North Devon Surfing Beaches, North Devon
25. South Hams Coast, South Devon
26. Tarka Trail Coast, North Devon
27. Combe Martin, North Devon
28. Porlock, Somerset