Culture-led regeneration in seaside towns

What is the role of culture and its link with regeneration?

The first part of the process is to question what you want to achieve and at what level? A report compiled for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), The Contribution of Culture to Regeneration in the UK,2 looked for evidence of culture as a donor (a contributor), as a catalyst or – at the very least – a key player in the process of regeneration or renewal across the UK, identified three predominant roles for culture in regeneration:

  • Culture-led regeneration. In this model, cultural activity is seen as the catalyst and engine of regeneration. The activity is likely to have a high public profile and frequently to be cited as the sign of regeneration. The activity might be the design and construction (or re-use) of a building or buildings for public or business use; the reclamation of open space; or the introduction of a programme of activity that is then used to rebrand a place. 
  • Cultural regeneration. In this model, cultural activity is fully integrated into an area strategy alongside other activities in the environmental, social and economic sphere. This model is closely allied to the ‘cultural planning’ approach to cultural policy and city regeneration.
  • Culture and regeneration. In this model, cultural activity is not fully integrated at the strategic development or master planning stage (often because the responsibilities for cultural provision and for regeneration sit within different departments or because there is no ‘champion’). The intervention is often small-scale, such as a mini-festival (a public art programme for a business park, once the buildings have been designed), or a heritage interpretation or local history museum tucked away in the corner of a reclaimed industrial site. In some cases, where no planned provision has been made, residents (individuals or businesses) and cultural organisations may respond to the vacuum and make their own interventions.
This chapter focuses on culture-led regeneration as described in the above definition, and cites caase studies in relation to different approaches being undertaken in seaside resorts in England’s South East, North West and East Midlands.

Case Studies

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    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.
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    England’s South East: Folkestone

    Folkestone Triennial4 includes headline artists and mixes temporary and permanent art in a deliberately small geographic area of Shepway. The Triennial is one part of a larger culture-led regeneration programme led by the Creative Foundation,5 which includes property acquisition and letting for creative and cultural industries and links with education and communities.
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    England’s South East: Margate

    Turner Contemporary6 is a visual arts organisation that celebrates J. M. W. Turner's association with Margate and, through a varied programme of exhibitions and events, promotes understanding and enjoyment of historical and contemporary art. Work is under way to build a permanent gallery which is due to open in Margate in 2011. As many readers will know, the project has not been without its complications over the past several years and lessons learned are generously shared. James Kennell, Senior Lecturer in Tourism and Regeneration, University of Greenwich suggests:7 
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    England’s North West: Blackpool

    The Great Promenade Show8 is a permanent outdoor linear public art gallery – ten permanent installations over two kilometres, commissioned and curated between 2000 and 20033 by a small team of north-western artists as part of a culture and regeneration scheme in the development of Blackpool’s South Shore Promenade. Artist and co-curator Michael Trainor conceived They Shoot Horses Don’t They?, a 20-feet diameter rotating mirrorball as part of the project.9 He comments:
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    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. 
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