Skip to content

Young people ‘struggle to envisage a future living by the sea’

  • by JW

Scarborough might well be attracting tourists by balancing what it offers:

The secret behind Scarborough’s success > “the perfect balance between traditional seaside charm and up-to-date attractions that appeal to people of all ages”

 

The problem is that young people are not necessarily among them:

 

England’s seaside towns where young people might disappear

More than half of England’s coastal communities could see a decline in the number of residents aged under 30 by the year 2039.

Analysis by BBC News of population projections has found seaside towns in northern England could see the biggest decline in under-30s. The Parliamentary Group for Coastal Communities said funding cuts meant seaside towns were “being left behind”.

Some young adults living in the North Yorkshire town of Scarborough said they struggled to envisage a future for themselves living by the sea.

“There aren’t many career options in Scarborough,” said 24-year-old Kayleigh Wilkinson. “You either work in a care home like I do, or you work in a shop. That’s one of the many reasons why people my age are already leaving to work in bigger cities like York and Leeds.”

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces population projections based on previous and current demographic trends., including how many people have moved away from areas in previous years as well as birth and death rates. According to these figures, Scarborough could see a 10.5% fall in the number of people under 30 living in the area by 2039, meaning a potential loss of some 9,000 young adults over the next two decades.

England’s seaside towns where young people might disappear

 

And Sidmouth is looking at a 17% increase in over-55s:

Sidmouth is singled out as one of the towns facing the biggest increase in the elderly

 

A pedestrianised shopping street in the town centre.
© Copyright Mike Faherty and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Sidmouth, Old Fore Street