Culture-led regeneration in seaside towns

England’s East Midlands: Lincolnshire

Bathing Beauties®¹¹ was conceived by Michael Trainor in response to his appointment as lead artist on the Lincolnshire coast from 2005 to 2008 and part of a series of coastal environmental improvement projects commissioned by Lincolnshire County Council, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund. Bathing Beauties® – ‘Re-imagining the British Beach Hut for the 21st Century’ – was initiated after identifying the potential based on an already existing 15-kilometre stretch of over 500 beach huts in varying states of repair. The project launched one of the most popular international art and architecture competitions in the UK this century – attracting 240 scale model entries from 15 different countries, gaining over 400,000 visitors to the website, and welcoming more than 10,000 additional visitors to the Lincolnshire coast in its first two-day festival in 2007. It has resulted in the commissioning of eight permanent small structures on the coast and additional strands, including a UK touring scale model exhibition and local annual festival. Additional European and other funding is being sought for a second phase. 

The project, over its three-year span, included many successes and challenges. Positive outcomes have included world-wide attention on the tiny towns of Mablethorpe, Sutton-on-Sea, Chapel St Leonards and Anderby Creek, global media coverage and thousands of new visitors to the region. Challenging elements have been at a local level and included lack of professional infrastructural support (arts, education), outright rejection from one of the parish councils to permanently site one of the series of commissioned beach huts in their town (it will be located elsewhere on the Lincolnshire coast), and ownership regarding ongoing cost and maintenance of the work.

While positive global recognition of a culture-led regeneration and increased tourist visitor numbers may exist, local level leadership, ownership and support is essential. Revenue costs as well as capital costs for ongoing maintenance of permanent installations is critical in long-term sustainability. Positive public relations at local level, knowledge sharing and capacity building are crucial to embed long-term success.