Memorandum by Lancaster City Council (CT
04)
1. Lancaster District encompasses the coastal
town of Morecambe, which has one third of the District's population
but which also demonstrates some specific characteristics and
challenges peculiar to coastal towns and resorts, and which are
not exhibited elsewhere in the District.
2. The Council and its partners have taken
a proactive approach to the tackling of the specific issues in
Morecambe, and attached is the Morecambe Action Plan developed
jointly with the NWRDA and which has resulted in some specific
proposals for the town. A number of key schemes are currently
underway, including some that have links directly to governance
policy and specific funding streams. These include :
NRF—Neighbourhood Element
Neighbourhood Management Pilot programme
Cleaner, Greener Safer funds
English Partnership investment
Regional Housing Board funds
Townscape Heritage Initiative
Housing Corporation Investment
3. It is clear that the application of these
funds and others alongside Council investment and private sector
investment will target the multiple problems that exist in a coastal
town like Morecambe.
4. It is worth listing some of the core
problems suffered by coastal towns such as Morecambe which require
public intervention but which are very often different in character
or scale to urban areas which, more commonly, are targeted by
regeneration funding:
— Significant levels of transience
and instability in the population. It is not uncommon for primary
schools to experience 30-40% turnover of pupils in a single year.
— High numbers of housing in multiple
occupation as a result of a failing tourism market. These properties
provide a business opportunity for housing vulnerable people,
are expensive to convert to family accommodation as they are not
always in poor structural condition and, indeed, can represent
a reasonable financial return for landlords with no incentive
to invest.
— A limited travel to work area, coastal
towns are often, by their nature, at the end of a cul de sac and
detached from the infrastructure of major population centres.
— Labour markets tend to be low skilled
and low paid and are often seasonal. In Morecambe, we have direct
experience of illegal working to exploit natural resources such
as cockles. The existence of low rent, poor quality, unregistered
accommodation further fuels this activity.
— The knock on effects on crime, anti
social behaviour and poor environment are extreme but often in
areas that are close to more affluent areas. This masking of the
levels of deprivation often results in a lack of recognition and
a lack of funding. The recent focus on super output areas has,
to some extent, corrected this problem but there are still funding
gaps compared to areas more conventionally defined as deprived.
— Concerted action to deal with coastal
resorts and towns that, if focused on improving floor target performance
can, for relatively modest funding, reap considerable benefits
but the key issues of:
Stability.
Links to more robust employment opportunities.
Structural issues related to housing tenure.
All need to be addressed if lasting change is
to be achieved. Too often, the particular characteristics of coastal
towns are not recognised and, as a consequence, fail to receive
the appropriate investment compared to other urban areas.
5. Lancaster's approach to dealing with
Morecambe's problems has been concerted and has sought to involve
all key statutory partners and, crucially, the private sector.
Attached to this note is the Morecambe Action Plan produced four
years ago which has laid the foundation for work we are currently
undertaking.
If the committee wish to investigate the approach
taken in Morecambe or if more information is required on current
projects, the Council would be happy to co-ordinate a response.
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