There was a time when coastal towns were synonymous with the good times. Families would flock to them during the summer holidays. Others were blessed with thriving small ports, or fishing and shipbuilding industries that employed entire towns and sustained positive identities. But many have suffered a long period of decline. The rise of cheap foreign travel has reduced their pull as holiday destinations, and globalisation has affected patterns of work and seen the slow dwindling of the old jobs that were a source of local pride.
Levelling up narratives have so far centred around north-versus-south or urban-versus-rural, with little attention given to specific challenges faced by coastal communities. A chronic lack of investment has caused a litany of issues across employment, education, health and overall prosperity.
