Free Round Table Webinar – “The Coastal Housing Crisis and Levelling Up” – Thursday 14 March
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Sidmouth does not suffer from many of the problems of other coastal communities – but nevertheless it does share in having to deal with an above-average elderly population and a jobs market over-reliant on the hospitality and care industries.
Sidmouth is also where ‘the housing crisis is fast approaching breaking point’, where competition for housing often feels about being locals vs tourists, and where it might actually be possible to deal with levelling up – by tackling housing issues.
Whilst Westminster forgot its promises to ‘coastal communities’, and left them to rot – there is considerable interest from coastal universities – from Coastal Communities @ University of Essex to Coastal Communities, Coastal Stories @ Bournemouth University
Meanwhile in Devon, we have the Centre for Coastal Communities @ University of Plymouth:
Based in one of Britain’s major coastal cities, the Centre for Coastal Communities brings together one of the few critical masses of academic researchers in any UK university, who have a proven track record on coastal communities and strong collaborative links with public, private and third sectors. Working with our partners, we are uniquely placed to co-ordinate problem identification and co-create solutions, committing to an area of research that traditionally has seen limited investigation of the problems.
Unemployment, low incomes, seasonal jobs, low educational attainment, poor social mobility, high rates of anti-depressant and opioid prescribing, and poor health outcomes mean coastal communities are facing a high burden of health challenges. The ‘levelling up’ of Britain’s periphery to create dynamic, thriving coastal communities is difficult to achieve.
Here’s a short video with an overview of their work:
Centre for Coastal Communities: Addressing the complex problems facing coastal communities – YouTube
Next week they will be putting on an event focussing on The Coastal Housing Crisis and Levelling Up – all very relevant to Sidmouth and East Devon. All are welcome to attend this virtual webinar – just register here for free:
Round Table Webinar : The Coastal Housing Crisis and Levelling Up
Thursday 14 March 2024, 12:00-13:45
This event brings together key stakeholders to discuss the coastal housing crisis, its social and economic implications, and the levelling up agenda.
With some further interesting reports of relevance to East Devon:
The future of seaside towns: Follow up report
Digital exclusion is leaving coastal communities behind – University of Plymouth
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