Solving the riddle of the sands: Regenerating England's seaside towns

Abstract

Many seaside towns are caught in a cycle of decline, stemming from the historic fall in demand for traditional 'bucket and spade' holidays. Economic stagnation, physical disinvestment and social problems feed into and reinforce each other in complex ways. Regenerating seaside towns is made all the more difficult by their relative remoteness and distance from the big cities. Political and academic interest in the subject means that there is now a greater awareness of the problem, but this only highlights the limits of knowledge of 'what works'. This paper outlines a framework for seaside regeneration that has diversification of the economic base of seaside towns at its core. There are grounds for cautious optimism, but re-making seaside towns as vibrant and sustainable communities is still a huge and long-term challenge: one made all the more complex by the recession.