Memorandum by the District of Easington
(CT 55)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Seaham is located in the North of the District
of Easington within the ex East Durham Coal field. There are many
coastal ex colliery settlements along the Durham coastline as
the coalfield stretched many miles under the North Sea, most of
those to the South relate more readily to the New Town of Peterlee
(1950s Radburn style development created to be a World Centre
for Mining and aimed at "stitching together" surrounding
colliery settlements.
Seaham is not a traditional coastal town. It
developed as an industrial town centred on coal mining. Seaham
had three super pits excavating coal and exporting it all over
the world via Seaham Port.
The demise of the industry left a legacy of
unemployment, severe economic disruption, poor health and huge
environmental problems, most notably the state of the coastline.
Efforts have been made over the last 20 years
to regenerate the town with over £400 million being invested.
Key developments have been the A19 link road, the relocation of
Seaham Harbour Dock Company offices, the development of a new
shopping mall, two new housing developments, Dalton Park and Dawdon
and Foxcover industrial estates.
The District has benefited from a number external
funding regimes that have been allocated to Seaham to kick-start
the regeneration of the area. However this funding is beginning
to decrease and there is a need to think of new ways to attract
investment.
Tourism has been highlighted as one of the key
ways of turning the town of Seaham around. The "Turing the
Tide" project has cleaned up the coastline and it is now
an area that the local community can be proud of. With the continued
support from regional agencies and emerging regional economic
policy drivers Seaham has real potential to become a sustainable
coastal spa town and a much used visitor attraction for the North
East.
1. Background
1.1 Seaham is located within the District
of Easington that covers an administration area for the former
East Durham Coalfield. It lies immediately to the South of the
City of Sunderland, East of Durham City itself and North of the
New Town of Peterlee and Hartlepool. The District benefits from
being located on the A19 Trunk Road and is located between the
North East's two City Regions (Tyne and Wear/Tees Valley).
1.2 The District itself lost over 10,000
direct coal mining in the late 1980s early 1990s and a further
25,000 associated jobs above ground over the same period. This
is reflected in migration figures where approximately 112,000
people were resident in the District in 1971 and the population
is now stabilising at around 93,000 at the last census. Current
demography now reflects and ageing population. It has a blanket
problem of social and economic problems manifesting in out migration
of skilled workers, low levels of entrepreneurship, low incomes,
low attainment rates, generational joblessness, health, housing
and environmental problems resulting in being positioned seventh
worst Authority in the Country within the Index of Multiple Deprivation.
1.3 The town of Seaham forms part of the
North East region and benefits from good links north and south
via the A19 road network and the Durham Coastal rail line. Seaham
has a population of approximately 21,000 (2001 census), and it
is the most northerly town in the district, bordering Sunderland
City. It is one of two principal towns in Easington (the second
being Peterlee New Town) and is included in the Durham County
Structure Plan and the Major Centres Programme. It is closely
adjacent to the village of Murton and settlement of Cold Hesledon
(both to the East of the town), the increasing proximity of the
urban form provides a sense of a wider town in land use and planning
terms.
1.4 In many ways Seaham is not a traditional
coastal town. It has a recent history of heavy industry albeit
alongside a long-standing one in relation to Christian heritage.
The tourism potential of the town is only recently coming to light.
Indeed it has been incremental since the demise of the coal mining
industry across the County. The town of Seaham grew around the
coal mining industry and the Port. It had three collieries located
in the area, Seaham Colliery, Vane Tempest Colliery and Dawdon
Colliery, all of which were super pits employing 1,000 people
in direct mining jobs.
1.5 Seaham Harbour was constructed in 1828,
by Lord Londonderry for the transhipment of coal from the Durham
Coalfields around the world. All of the local pits were connected
by rail links so that the coal could come from the pits directly
to the ships to be exported. There is still evidence of the railway
lines in and around the town today and it is interesting to see
how Seaham has developed around them, instead of the usual road
network.
1.6 The last of the collieries in Seaham
closed in the late 1980s. Leaving behind a legacy of heavy industry,
poor health, unemployment and most notably huge environmental
problems. In response to these issues the East Durham Task Force
(EDTF) was established to coordinate the regeneration activity,
not just in Seaham, but also across the whole district. The EDTF
comprised of a number of public, private and voluntary sector
organisations and acted as the coordinating body for new public
and private sector investment in East Durham. The EDTF also defined
a number of strategic objectives, which sought to tackle a wide
range of economic, social and environmental problems. One of the
key objectives that emerged was making Seaham a geographical priority
given the fact that it had been hit by three colliery closures.
2. Strategic vision
2.1 As a result of Seaham being made a priority
settlement, the "Seaham Regeneration Strategy" (Drivas
Jonas 1994) was commissioned by a partnership of the District
of Easington Council, Durham County Council, Seaham Town Council,
English Partnerships, British Coal Property and Seaham Harbour
Dock Company. The Strategy had two principal objectives:
— To secure the physical regeneration
and economic development of Seaham; and
— To provide an environment that was
attractive to residents, in which businesses could flourish and
that would serve to attract visitors and inward investment alike.
2.2 To govern the work outlined in the strategy,
the Seaham Regeneration Member Panel was established with elected
Council members from the Town, District and County Councils represented
to drive projects forward. To support the Panel an officer group
was set up to implement/facilitate projects on the ground and
report back to the Panel. This approach has been very successful
and we are looking to mirror the approach in Peterlee.
2.3 This work is now being revisited and
a "vision" for the area is being re-established in light
of the fact that a significant amount of development has been
progressed in the Tow, developer confidence has grown and private
sector investment has been forthcoming. The development potential
of the Town has aspirations to maximise the opportunities of its
coastal location and seize its potential to become a one to two
day visitor destination in a growing regional tourism and leisure
market.
3. Investment profile
3.1 In the period since the strategy has
been published, considerable progress has been made in achieving
most of the projects recommended, via a series of inward investment
programmes totalling some £400 million, with approximately
50% being sourced from the private sector.
3.2 Such investments have included the relocation
of the Dock Company Offices to free up a prime location for a
retail development in the heart of the town. Seaham Harbour Dock
Company has benefited from new bespoke accommodation and Modus
properties were successful in gaining the retail site. The development
is due on site in 2006 with ASDA acting as an anchor tenant for
the proposals.
3.3 Plans are also underway to redevelop
St Johns Square, a civic space within the town. The area currently
suffers from high levels of anti social behaviour and many of
the buildings have fallen in to disrepair. The aim of the scheme
is to provide a new Integrated Service Centre, providing cross
authority services, a new Primary Care Trust facility and a new
Job Centre.
3.4 The implementation of the A19 link road
has fostered the development of Dawdon and Foxcover Enterprise
Zones (location of the former Dawdon Colliery). This has bought
some much needed investment and employment into the area with
over 38,000 square metres of floorspace being constructed.
3.5 The other two colliery sites in Seaham
have been reclaimed and sold off for large scale housing developments.
The Vane Tempest colliery (now East Shore Village) has been sold
to a housing consortium that has nearly completed the construction
of around 600 new dwellings. Seaham Colliery has just been master
planned by Browne Smith Baker Architects and is due to go out
to the market for a preferred developer for the construction of
400 homes, within the next month. The three former colliery sites
mentioned are strategic sites within English Partnerships National
Coalfields programme. The programme was established in 1996 and
includes 101 sites with an estimated value of £600 million
to be developed by 2012.
3.6 Improvements have also been made to
the existing housing stock, in order to improve residents quality
of life. Investment has been targeted at Dawdon and Deneside wards
and has featured a programme of selective demolition and replacement
in the Parkside area, improvements to Local Authority stock in
Deneside and group repair to private housing in Dawdon.
3.7 A vital aspect of the regeneration activity
in Seaham is the A19 Link Road and its proposed extension to meet
with the A690 and the A1 to the west. This link will become a
route of strategic importance, acting as a catalyst for economic
investment. As well as facilitating the existing developments
of the new shopping complex, the port and Dawdon and Foxcover
Enterprise Zones, the extension will also promote the development
of Hawthorn Prestige Industrial Estate (just off the A19) and
the potential use of a Strategic Reserve Site for economic development.
There has already been interest from the GREAT Institute (Geothermal
Research Education and Training Institute) to develop economic
activity based on utilising local geological resources as an energy
source for the Hawthorn Site. It is hoped that this link will
become a strategic economic corridor for the District and the
region as a whole.
3.8 The concentrated efforts within the
Town since the early 1990s has brought real potential benefits
for economic change. This is reflected by the fastest growing
land and property prices in England over the past five years.
Emerging small business retail growth in the Town. An increase
in development enquiries for hotels and serviced/non-serviced
guest accommodation (This has resulted in two developments one
including a golf course, fishing lakes and wider leisure activities).
3.9 The focus on the Town over a concentrated
period has been brought about through close working and collaboration
with partnerships at a regional and National level based around
the issues of ex coalfield areas, (particularly the Coalfield
Communities Campaign, English Partnerships and the Coalfield Regeneration
Trust), not due to its location as a coastal settlement or Authority
or due to its potential contribution in Regional Economic terms.
4. Tourism potential
4.1 As previously mentioned the tourism
potential of Seaham has only been explored in the last 20 years.
Before this time the sea and the port were an integral part of
the coal mining industry, with much of the coal being extracted
from seams underneath the sea bed, or spoil being dumped out to
sea. This of course had a major impact on the coastline, with
the sea and local beaches being heavily polluted with coal and
other waste products. This point is highlighted by the number
of properties along the seafront that are facing away from the
water, which in other seaside towns would be taking advantage
of the prime views.
4.2 However, as part of the Seaham Regeneration
Strategy 1994, it was recommended that Seaham's location should
be exploited to help shape the economic future of the town. A
massive project, "Turning the Tide", was established
to clean up the Durham Coastline after the many years of excavation
and dumping of coal out to sea. The overall cost of the project
was £10 million and also included improvements to the promenade
and a focal point around Bath Terrace and Terrace Green. As a
result of this initiative the area has been designated Heritage
Coast Status and a trust has been set up to ensure its continual,
protection, management and development.
4.3 Work has commenced to redevelop the
North Dock. To date £½ a million (from the Liveability
Fund and the District of Easington Council) has been invested
in public accommodation works to ensure that the local community
have access to the area. Funding applications are currently being
prepared to finance future phases of work, including birthing
facilities, new workshop units for small businesses and the restoration
of the historical features on site such as the coal chutes, railway
tunnels the Lifeboat House and the North Breakwater.
4.4 The private sector is also beginning
to take an interest in what the town has to offer. Tom Maxfield,
a partner in the Sage Software Company, has redeveloped Seaham
Hall into a multi award winning hotel and serenity spa, popular
with visiting sports personalities and touring bands/artists who
are performing in the region. The hotel has been so successful
that they are currently looking to expand and build a boutique
style hotel on the same complex (recently awarded best spa hotel
in the world by the Sunday Times).
4.5 Private investment has also been seen
at Dalton Park in Murton, an adjacent village to Seaham, in the
form of a new out of town outlet retail facility. The developers
chose the site due to its excellent on the A19. The facility is
exceeding all expectations in terms of footfall and profits and
they are currently looking at phase 2 of the development, which
will aim to include an extreme sports facility, a cinema and a
bowling alley, which will give the park a more regional focus.
5. Current issues
5.1 As highlighted by the content of this
report Seaham is not a traditional coastal town, in respect of
it being a resort that is reliant on the tourist industry for
economic growth. However it does suffer from many similar issues,
such as unemployment, and high levels of deprivation (Easington
District is the seventh most deprived Local Authority in England—Index
of Deprivation 2004). These issues have arisen as a result of
demise of the coal mining industry and not through the seasonality
of the tourist industry and decline in numbers of people taking
holidays in Britain.
5.2 As a result of our status as one of
the 88 most deprived authorities, Easington District has received
a substantial amount of funding to help bridge the gaps between
this area and the national averages. The area has benefited from
European Monies and assistance from English Partnership as part
of the National Coalfields Programme as well as other grants and
initiatives. However, as is the case with many areas throughout
the country a continually resourced and focussed effort is required
in an environment where there is a need to think of new ways to
attract inward investment to support future regeneration.
5.3 Unlike many coastal towns, we are at
the very start of creating a tourist industry and there is a need
within the region to raise the profile of the town so that the
Durham coastline is not forgotten when regional tourism strategies
are brought forward so that there is support for future growth
and development. This is to ensure that the town of Seaham has
an economic focus and can look to increase visitor numbers and
employment levels in what is a beautiful part of the North East.
5.4 The need define Seaham's future as a
Northern Coastal Spa Town is becoming recognised more widely and
this is reflected in emerging investment and development. Its
role and function in relation to the regional and pan regional
policy agenda is less clear. The emergence of the Northern Way
and City Regions presents potentially both opportunities and threats
in the continued renaissance of the District as a whole. It is
vital that tourism within this process plays a major part and
compliments rather than competes with the existing regional visitor
offer.
5.5 The North/South transport links in terms
of the rail line and trunk road are assets yet connectivity and
targets of decreasing travel times between City Regions could
potentially lead to exclude the area at faster speeds. The continued
diversification of the Towns and District business base is reliant
on this infrastructure to re-establish economic stability and
take benefit of the potential growth of the region as well as
significantly contribute to its success.
5.6 Areas in coal field or coastal areas
have significant contributions to make to these emerging wider
policy agendas and support in a time where tourism and leisure
markets are flourishing and yet there is a lack of recognition
within broader city region approaches of the contribution of either
types of localities in developing regional economic policy approaches.
5.7 The Environment Agency's recent coastal
recreation strategy for the North East Region identifies that
it is vital that Seaham Harbour becomes a focal point for investment
in this respect. This has to be considered in the wider economic
sustainability of the Town and will hopefully influence the view
of the Regional Development Agency in terms of its continued commitment
to Seaham.
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