Memorandum by the Isle of Wight Council
(CT 46)
INTRODUCTION
1. Coastal towns are special. They face
particular issues resulting from their geographic location, and
social, environmental and economic history. They require support
that is flexible, innovative and forward thinking. Funding needs
to be substantial, long term and locally focussed and national
and regional strategies need to be capable of interpretation,
relaxation or amendment to take account of the coastal zone's
particular circumstances. This needs to be supported by a planning
system and other mechanisms that will contribute to coastal town
regeneration within a framework of integrated coastal zone management.
Together these are vital for both the economy and communities
of coastal towns.
THE ISLE
OF WIGHT
COUNCIL
2. The Isle of Wight has a population of
138,000 (2004) and is part of the South East region of England.
In common with this region the Island has a rapidly growing economy,
a dominant service sector and a rapidly growing population. While
growth has outstripped national and regional indicators, this
has to be sustainable. The Island does not share in the general
wealth of the region, it has lower than average prosperity, a
large retired population and a service sector dominated by retailing
and the public sector, especially health. The Isle of Wight Council
is the Unitary Authority for the Island and, in partnership with
the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and the Isle
of Wight Economic Partnership, plays a major role in encouraging
investment and regeneration and is passionately determined to
focus on the right priorities.
3. The Isle of Wight has the longest coastline
of any Coast Protection Authority in England and over two thirds
of the population lies within 1 km of the coastline. Coastal towns
have common issues that need to be addressed in the context of
their individual characteristics. The peripherality of coastal
towns is magnified on the Isle of Wight due to their geographically
limited hinterland and the Isle of Wight coastline is particularly
vulnerable to the effects of coastal erosion and landslip. As
such, the Isle of Wight Council is particularly well placed to
comment on the special case for coastal towns.
THE CASE
FOR A
SPECIAL INITIATIVE
FOR COASTAL
TOWNS
4. Coastal towns have individual characteristics,
but there are a number of issues that are particular to most towns
situated in a coastal location. Many coastal towns originally
grew up around maritime industries with access primarily by sea,
not land. Such industries have declined over many years, as the
UK fishing industry demonstrates. However, in many coastal towns,
maritime industries were often replaced or supplemented by tourism,
particularly during the Victorian era. With the more recent decline
of the traditional British `seaside holiday' combined with that
of traditional maritime related industries, the economies of coastal
towns are struggling. Many have stocks of redundant property,
particularly outdated tourist facilities (old fashioned holiday
parks and hotels) lacking investment, which can become derelict
and vandalised. Employment prospects are often uncertain or reliant
on seasonal, low paid tourist related activities.
5. Access to coastal towns can be difficult.
Transport infrastructure is frequently outdated and inadequate
for current day requirements in respect of road, rail and maritime
access. Access from the sea can often have great potential, but
appears underexploited.
6. Social trends have seen many younger
people moving away from coastal towns to access training and jobs
whist older people move to coastal towns in retirement. This has
skewed the demography, with resultant additional pressure on health
and social support services as well as the economy and infrastructure.
The increased cost of housing linked to holiday homes and retirement
housing in some coastal towns creates a barrier for young people
to get into the housing market.
7. The effects of sea-level rise and the
potential for increased storminess related to climate change is
likely to have a substantial impact on coastal towns with the
possibility of increased flooding, erosion and other associated
impacts.
8. Integrated coastal zone management (ICZM)
is a dynamic continuous and iterative process considering all
physical, social and economic issues designed to promote sustainable
management of coastal zones. ICZM has been moving up the agenda
in Europe and will soon be a Member State imperative. The relationship
between ICZM and coastal town planning and regeneration is key.
9. A number of strategies are available
to develop more sustainable communities in coastal towns. A high
street that has local specialist shops and a unique feel establishes
an identity that can attract people to both visit and live locally.
Holiday homes which are left empty much of the year or rented
out on a short term basis can detract from the community aspect
of coastal towns. In both cases, it would be possible to positively
influence the development of coastal towns were the adoption permitted
of planning policies which protect housing for local people, encourage
the provision of high quality accommodation, and counter the development
of "clone-town" and "ghost-town" characteristics.
This would require co-operative working between public bodies
at national, regional and local level to ensure locally flexibility
in planning policies whist ensuring public, private and community
sector involvement in developing and implementing plans and proposals
which focus on the identity of a town. There could be substantial
financial implications, some of which could be borne by the private
sector provided they are adequately engaged in the process.
CURRENT ODPM WORK
TO ADDRESS
THE PROBLEMS
OF COASTAL
TOWNS
10. At present there are no programmes targeted
specifically at coastal towns. Some coastal towns may benefit
from socio-economic development programmes, generally via ad hoc
funding streams accessed through competitive bidding. Examples
such as the Market Towns Initiative, Single Regeneration Budget
(SRB), Area Investment Framework (AIF) and Leader+ have all benefited
coastal towns on the Isle of Wight but there has been little consistency
of approach in terms of addressing the issues faced by coastal
towns. Should a portion of the business rate be transferred to
local level (perhaps be under the control of the Chamber of Commerce)
from Government?
11. At a local level funding has been used
where possible to target the achievement of agreed priorities
in accordance with local and regional strategies, but too many
of these strategies (such as regional spatial and transport strategies)
are handed down from Government or the region, rather than developed
from the localities up. However, the criteria and purpose for
which the different funding streams can be used (and the time
scales) are rarely compatible with one another, and not always
"fit for purpose" when assessed in relation to local
need. There are far too many competing and conflicting schemes
which demand a high level of administrative activity up-front
(at both grant-seeking and grant-giving ends of the process) for
limited return. The ODPM should publish the full cost, at both
ends, of each £ distributed. Overall, the end result has
not been particularly focused or effective. In many instances
the funding available is limited which can only enable minor,
often short term, improvements which are frequently unsustainable.
EFFECTIVENESS OF
ODPM'S LIAISON
WITH OTHER
DEPARTMENTS
12. ODPM is working towards a national agenda
that often appears to take little account of local need or provide
appropriate solutions at the local level. The messages given by
ODPM are frequently inconsistent with those given by other government
departments, which can prove confusing to local authorities. This
gives the impression that there is little or no liaison between
government departments.
13. The most recent example of this has
been the formation of Local Area Agreements (LAAs) where the stated
agenda is for these to be "locally driven". However,
additional funding linked to the delivery of Local Public Service
Agreement targets (LPSA) has in some instances been dependent
on delivering government targets, whether or not these address
a local need. This is well illustrated in the Isle of Wight where
one of the local targets was to "reduce the perception of
crime on the Island". There was considerable pressure from
ODPM to change this to "reduce crime on the Island"
when in reality there is a low crime rate, but a higher perception
of crime.
14. It would be valuable if a consistent,
co-ordinated policy could be agreed by central government departments
in relation to local authorities and local agendas.
THE CASE
FOR SPECIFIC
REGIONAL INITIATIVES
WITH ATTENTION
TO REGIONAL
DISPARITIES
15. Not all coastal towns are the same,
but they do have a lot of issues in common. Any initiative targeted
at coastal towns must therefore allow for regional, sub-regional
and local variations, not least to promote the individual character
of the town and avoid the "one size fits all" approach
that historically has had limited success.
16. The Isle of Wight is a good example
of sub-regional variation. Whilst it has coastal towns of varying
size and character, it is also an island. Therefore, in addition
to issues in common with other coastal towns, there are problems
of insularity. In particular, the hinterland for coastal towns
is geographically restricted and shared with the Island's capital,
Newport. Regional Strategic Guidance (RSG) does not take account
of such Island factors.
17. Access as a barrier to regeneration
and investment is exacerbated in the Isle of Wight as cross-Solent
transport places additional costs on a range of services and supplies
both through the ferry cost and the additional costs associated
with increased delivery time.
18. The Isle of Wight also has a limited
ability to take advantage of economies of scale, for example in
the provision of health and fire services. It is not practical
to share a fire engine with Hampshire so the cost per head of
population in providing such services is greater than on the mainland.
19. Unlike regional airports and some rail
routes which are subsidised, there is no such support for Isle
of Wight ferry crossings. Therefore competition with other areas
is not on a level playing field.
SECURITY OF
FUTURE FUNDING
FOR REGENERATING
AND SUPPORTING
COASTAL TOWNS
20. If there is serious intent to regenerate
coastal towns in a holistic way to help maximise their contribution
to the national economy, whilst strengthening social infrastructure
and safeguarding the environment, there needs to be a dedicated
initiative to address the specific needs of these communities.
21. Funding should be tailored to address
the relevant issues and should be of sufficient magnitude to have
a significant impact. Where possible, the duration of funding
should be a minimum of three-five years to ensure assisted projects
can become self sustaining. These problems are faced by many Western
European coastal settlements and the Island is leading research
to establish knowledge transfer to find sustainable solutions.
Single Regeneration Budget funding was too focussed on unsustainable
outcomes ("hairdressing and hanging baskets") than long-term
economic development.
22. Local authorities undertake a very broad
range of functions, many of which are inextricably linked with
the coastal zone. These responsibilities range from planning to
construction and maintenance of coastal highways and footpaths,
to water quality, food safety, coastal defence, monitoring and
studies of coastal processes, tourism, leisure and seafront amenities,
emergency planning, oil spill response and addressing maritime
incidences as well as offshore dredging. Alongside these functions
local authorities are often major coastal landowners and have
responsibility for all aspects of maintenance and public safety.
As such, local authorities have a leading role to play in terms
of economic regeneration of coastal towns and are will placed
to implement policies which reflect local needs. This requires
support at the Regional and National level, both in terms of investment
and policy.
ADDITIONAL MEASURES
TO SUPPORT
COASTAL TOWNS
23. Funding is not the only factor which
could support the long term viability of coastal towns. Additional
measures such as changes to, or relaxation of, relevant planning
regulations and policies could help in the delivery of local scale
benefits that, by helping coastal towns to become thriving and
viable communities, will enable them to contribute to the regional
as well as the local economy.
24. Current inflexibility in planning regulations
make it extremely difficult to control the designation of disused
holiday chalets or caravans as housing stock. This results in
a stock of sub-standard housing and restricts the potential for
redeveloping, often prime sites, into viable commercial assets
for the community. The ability to place a time limit on any such
arrangement could help address this problem.
25. Many such holiday parks are located
by the coast and, aside from any commercial potential, could have
implications for coastal defence provision in the future. It would
be necessary to carry out any such changes of use within the framework
of integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) to ensure that any
planning decision is time limited and no permanent structures
are built in those locations.
26. Changes in VAT rules to include new
build as well as building repairs could generate new funds to
be spent locally. At the same time, such a change in VAT could
encourage renovation of existing disused building stock such as
hotels in coastal towns this could contribute to regeneration
and help restore coastal towns and their communities. Other measures
to encourage this would also be welcomed.
27. Developing a knowledge based economy
is a key focus of current European and Regional (SEEDA) strategies
and could be targeted towards coastal towns. By linking this with
higher education and training specific to such industries it could
provide a specialist pool of knowledge that would generate well
paid local employment. However, currently there are few mechanisms
in place to enable this to be taken forward.
28. The Isle of Wight has already had proven
success in enhancing investment potential through innovation and
maritime clusters in the Medina Valley, developed through the
Cowes Waterfront project and supported by substantial Regional
Development Agency (RDA) funding and investment. This has been
a major, long term project and its success to date has been largely
due to extensive consultation and partnership working, both vertically
between the Isle of Wight Council, Isle of Wight Economic Partnership
and SEEDA, and horizontally with extensive local consultation
and partnership working between public and private sector organisations.
29. Short-breaks are already developing
significantly, but a national strategy is needed to reduce long-haul
tourism in the interests of the global environment. Initiatives
such as this will benefit coastal towns.
30. The Isle of Wight could potentially
benefit from developing improved port facilities to better manage
trade by sea in the 21st century, but it is unclear whether there
would be a funding source for related scoping studies. For instance,
if the Isle of Wight could solve the problem of importing construction
materials by boat, then other coastal towns which are not on islands
could learn by our example. This will be reviewed as part of the
Island Plan within the Local Development Framework (LDF).
EVALUATION OF
PAST SUPPORT
FOR REGENERATING
AND SUPPORTING
COASTAL TOWNS
31. Whilst by no means excluded from accessing
a range of RDA funding and being part of RDA driven initiatives,
coastal towns have been reliant on matching the criteria of these
to their specific needs and arguing the case on a project-by-project
basis. Dependant on the funding stream, the amount available,
the associated criteria and the timescale, this approach has had
mixed success.
32. Where substantial funding has been available
to run a programme, such as European Objective 1 or 2 areas, the
potential to have a successful, coherent regeneration programme
is increased. Coastal towns which have accessed small amounts
of funding on an ad hoc basis have only been able to take forward
isolated small scale projects.
CONCLUSION
33. Coastal towns need support to help them
regenerate in a sustainable way if they are to achieve the economic
potential that they and the nation deserve. Global risks and tensions
are opening up opportunities to reposition these towns in the
market place and these can be exploited positively if the right
priorities and planning regime can be put in place.
34. The Isle of Wight has grown successfully
over recent years outstripping regional and national indicators.
There is still a lot to do, and a passionate determination to
raise standards and create opportunities.
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