Culture-led regeneration in seaside towns

England’s North West: Crosby

Acceptance among local people and businesses can take time to win over, and it is often the case that arts and cultural projects need, somehow, to ‘prove their place’, to ‘justify their worth’ in gaining local respect. In small towns, large art projects can cause controversy.

One such example is Antony Gormley’s Another Place, which was installed in Crosby in 2005.³ Over the first 18 months, the installation attracted an estimated 600,000 visitors to the coast, but despite this it generated a lot of local controversy. Initially a temporary installation brought to Crosby Beach by Liverpool Biennial in partnership with South Sefton Partnership in 2005, local public opinion was split between some who considered that the work was beautiful and poignant and others who claimed it was ugly, dangerous and even pornographic (owing to the simplified genitalia on the statues). 

Local concerns over safety issues caused by the statues included claims that they created a hazard for people involved in sailing, windsurfing and watersports, and that visitors were at risk from incoming tides. Despite these strongly raised concerns, other local pressure groups wanted the work to stay. The case for the work to remain was won and, in 2006, Another Place was secured by Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council to be permanently located on the beach and maintained by them. This recognition of the power of culture-led regeneration, and the need for long-term sustainability both in terms of ownership and maintenance plus promotion through partnerships, has significantly increased profile for the region.

The installation was honoured in the waterside regeneration category of the 2006 Northwest Business Environment Awards, and has also been recognised as best tourism experience of the year in the Mersey Partnership Tourism Awards and as one of the best examples of regeneration in the region by the RENEW Northwest Exemplar Learning Programme. Professor John K. Walton comments:

How much regeneration is actually going on at (what has become) Gormley's Crosby?

One could ask, does there need to be? What is the ‘measurement of success’? The work has been hailed as one of the best examples of culture-led regeneration anywhere in the North West and artist Antony Gormley credited with the ‘democratisation’ of art. A visitor to the work comments:

We’ve been several times to see this in Crosby. We love it. It looks different each time, depending on the time of year and the tide. At Christmas, we’ve seen people dress them up in tinsel, Santa hats and foam reindeer antlers. There’s nothing else here though!

This example is not untypical of many culture-led initiatives in seaside towns which, although perhaps not as widely known, receive initial strong local opposition, generate outstanding international recognition and ultimately become owned and locally loved! The example is included here to share knowledge and expertise amongst readers who are looking to innovate, take risks and ride the waves to support bold initiatives in seaside resorts.