Case Studies

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  Weymouth and Portland

  Over recent years it has become clear that the longstanding economic activities of virtually all of our coastal communities have faced rapid and unprecedented change. Centuries of fishing, ship and boat building and repair, coastal shipping activity, traditional family seasonal holidays and even military operations have largely gone. The result is frequently an imbalance of financial wellbeing between the resident population and those who move in for leisure or retirement.
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  Thanet

  In many ways the decline and rise of the Thanet towns is typical of the problems and opportunities experienced by many coastal communities. Nevertheless it is worth describing the story because it provides the clues that tell us how the problems can be tackled better in the future. In parallel to this story is a brief commentary on the effectiveness of the public service environment and how in the past this may have hindered delivery and hastened the economic decline of our area.
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  East Lindsey

  The East Lindsey district in Lincolnshire encapsulates the majority of the Lincolnshire coastline (the bit that sticks out on the right as you look at the map), with its two best known seaside towns of Skegness and Mablethorpe. This has been a favourite holiday destination over the years for visitors from Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Yorkshire, as well as further afield. Skegness continues to attract many thousands of visitors in the summer months, who come for a traditional bucket-and-spade holiday. However, the visitor spend is generally low value, and many tourism businesses run on small margins resulting in a lack of development and investment (in property or staff training). Other than tourism (hospitality and retail trades), there is still a reliance on agriculture (though no longer being a big employer), the public sector (probably accounting for a large proportion of our ‘knowledge economy’ jobs), and a range of small businesses. The result is a low-value economy – low average incomes, a continuation of seasonal work patterns, and a lack of high value-added business.
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  Scarborough

  Managing risks remains critical if local government is to be instrumental in driving economic and cultural change in their communities. In Scarborough we appear, so far, to have got the balance between risk and reward just right, but it’s a constant challenge.
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