South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership – Written evidence (RST0001)
Coronavirus brought a severe economic shock to the economy of the area. The Royal Society of Arts identified East Lindsey as third highest in the league table of local authorities at risk from Covid-19. The Centre for Towns identified Mablethorpe and Skegness as 1 and 2 in the listing of the coastal towns most at risk from the impacts of the pandemic. Although at a functional level (ie in terms of fluctuations within the local economic model which predominates in terms of a low skill, low wage, seasonal, tourism dominated, economy) the area has fared relatively well from a macro-economic perspective with an increase in tourism activity, driven largely by external and global events. STEAM data for 2021 shows visitor numbers for the coastal strip reaching 2.3m, generating £477m and supporting 5,147 jobs (2019 figures were 2.9m visitors, £542m value and 6,435 jobs; 2020 data 1.4m visitors, £294m value and 3,548 jobs).
The Lincolnshire coast remains however constrained in realising its full potential by the seasonal restrictions to the opening arrangements for caravan parks, particularly around the Christmas period, which if liberalised could have a major impact on the profitability of the sector.
The sort of change to increase the value and depth of the economy which we desire in the longer term is being addressed through the ground breaking town deal investments such as the development of the Campus for Future Living in Mablethorpe and the development of a new Learning Campus in Skegness, which will inevitably take time for these changes to track through into an increase in the wider economic potency of the area. These investments will not be sustainable without a package of incentives to encourage the private sector to respond to the exciting initiatives of the public sector which whilst fantastic for the local area form only one half of the development equation in a healthy economy.
The Connected Coast Board – established to support the town deals for Mablethorpe and Skegness – has also spearheaded cultural-led development of the coastal resort towns to build pride in place, support the visitor economy recover post-Covid and address seasonality. This is leading to: National Trust developing a new visitor centre and nature reserve; new leisure facilities in Mablethorpe; and the Colonnade at Sutton-on-Sea – a new landmark building with café, restaurant, gallery and exhibition spaces. In Skegness, the regeneration of the foreshore is attracting inward investment and an innovative Scandinavian Culture House concept is transforming a traditional seaside theatre into a community and social hub with culture at its heart. The overall footfall trend for Skegness, the number of unique visitors is more consistent throughout 2022 when compared to pre-pandemic, which used to see large spikes over the Summer period but stay relatively low throughout the Winter and Spring.
A partnership with the charitable trust Heritage Lincolnshire is seeing a package of town centre investment support shop front grants and public realm improvements commence later this year. Also through the towns fund investment, and working with East Midlands Railway, is the renovation of the railway station in Skegness.
Unfortunately the Coastal business improvement district did not secure a second term and ceased in 2022. This has left a gap in support for businesses, marketing and an event programme. However, the newly formed Destination Lincolnshire, is building its programme of activity with the support of East Lindsey District Council and Magna Vitae. A good example is the current ‘In Orbit’ campaign which has brought all three art installations (Earth, Moon and Mars) from international acclaimed artist, Luke Jerram, to the theatre, which is attracting thousands of visitors during February and March 2023.
In total the Towns Fund is supporting 12 projects across the two towns with £48.4m funding, which has leveraged £34.6m match funding. Further investment is also planned through Arts Council England funding (NPO), bidding for Cultural Development Funding for development of the Pier and Culture House, as well as private investment with a local development order to create new housing and business growth at Skegness Gateway.
As identified in the Mablethorpe Town Investment Plan, the former Conoco gas distribution site on the edge of the Mablethorpe Towns Fund area was identified for having significant scope for repurposing to embrace the growth opportunities in the renewable energy sector. NWS has identified the area as a potential geological waste disposal facility with many benefits associated with jobs, infrastructure and major investment. Community consultation is in progress.
The provision of UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Rural Prosperity Funding have enabled us to begin to build on some of the opportunities to diversify the community capacity, skills and enterprise deficits facing the area. Towns Fund investment is having a major transformational impact on the development of the core settlements on our coast, enabling us to diversify our economy around medi-tech, extend the post 16 learning offer radically and broaden the nature and appeal of our cultural and visitor offer.
The ongoing challenge is having a mechanism to work with the private sector to address the market failure which predominates around our local economy. The subsidy control regime is too inflexible (and has not in reality become any less onerous than when we were part of the EU). Institutions such as the UK Infrastructure Bank lack the focus and interest to work at the relatively modest scale which could transform our towns by providing the right incentives to align private sector funding with the major Levelling Up resources we have been able to access. Extending the notion of freeport status to our most deprived coastal settlements could deliver a major private sector and sustainable boost to build on the public sector investment we have received.
Our economic growth approach is complicated by multiple government departments with competing rather than complimentary agendas, yet local authorities are in a good position to bring together agendas – housing, environment, education, health, transport and employment – to level-up coastal communities.
There is a need for a major re-think about the digital and transport challenges facing the area. These are deep seated and need radical post pandemic thinking if they are to improve the living standards of those based in the area. Only a national programme of world class digital development will address the deficit we face by providing 5G infrastructure to make our private sector investment ready. Major road or rail infrastructure investment on the scale needed to connect our coastal communities appears to be too expensive to justify in terms of DfT economic models.
Within East Lindsey, coastal towns Skegness and Mablethorpe have largely seasonal economies based on tourism. As communities at the ‘end of the line’, Skegness and Mablethorpe are particularly isolated within the county. Inhabitants of East Lindsey and the other coastal districts face difficulties reaching Lincoln, the county city, due to poor public transport infrastructure. Using private transport, travel times from Skegness or Mablethorpe to Lincoln are over an hour, but more than double that when using public transport. The multi-generational links between the heart of the Midlands and Skegness have driven a significant influx of retirees into the area, many in poor health. East Lindsey has around twice the number of over 65s compared to the England average. This has put a significant pressure on local health services, which are modest in scale. The nearest acute hospital is 22 miles away in Boston, but poor connectivity means limited public transport to access this facility. Mablethorpe, East Lindsey’s second largest coastal town, is very isolated and has had no rail connection since the 1960s. It has extremely poor educational outcomes and, despite its size, does not have a secondary school. Regular public transport for young children is particularly problematic, partly due to logistical and experiential factors such as frequency and accessibility of services.
Access to F/HE will improve considerably through the investments of the towns fund. This includes the Campus for Future Living and a combined Leisure and Learning Hub in Mablethorpe, as well as the significant development of a new Learning Campus in Skegness in collaboration with the TEC Partnership. The towns fund has also invested in a new police training centre in Skegness and plans for a Culture House will incorporate skills and learning opportunities connected to art and culture with connections to local schools and national and international organisations.
There are ongoing challenges relating to the lack of secondary education in Mablethorpe that has a population of 14,000, which continue to be a major source of frustration for local people. The deep seated deprivation which arises from having a low skill, low wage economy, distant from major markets will need to be addressed on a generational basis. Economic inactivity continues to blight our economy – over the last year it has remained at twice the national average and our local intelligence suggests that in Mablethorpe over half the 16-64 population are economically inactive.
The coastal strip in East Lindsey is too small to be recognised effectively as part of the devolution structures in the macro-economic perspectives of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. Major progress in the context of the development of the coast through levelling up to date in terms of UKSPF, RPF, Towns Fund and Levelling Up has all proceeded from having a unit of implementation close to the local people served, which is accountable to them and insightful in terms of their geography and the issues within which it is based.
The creation of the award winning South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership (SELCP), a unique 3 District leadership model covering Boston, East Lindsey and South Holland has been created to unlock growth through place-based decision making. We have built a track record of delivery through genuine collaboration with trusted partners and it is this approach which has been reflected in a local government review proposal already submitted to government.
We have also identified that at the level of economic inactivity and deprivation which predominates in our communities health is a key determinant of economic success. Much more work is merited to look at the national level about how health and economic viability can be connected in coastal settlements. We have begun to explore this through the Campus for Future Living concept but there is scope for a much more detailed approach from a national policy perspective here, particularly in relation to primary care in its broadest sense.
a) In regulatory terms: a) a sensible and proportionate re-balancing of risk to enable more extensive winter opening of caravan parks and other accommodation based attractions; b) extension of the freeport concept to smaller coastal settlements to address the market failure which still constrains private sector investment
b) In direct investment terms: provision of a programme of national investment to bring 5G capacity to coastal settlements which will enable a major transformation in their connectivity and economic viability
c) In structural terms: a) recognition that “small is beautiful” and the large scale local government devolution reform proposed will be at a level in terms of heterogenous geographies such as rural counties, which runs the risk of locking minority coastal areas into systems of limited influence and investment, perpetuating their relative neglect b) the development of a new policy framework which takes account of the opportunities to join up health and care and economic investment to increase the sustainability and viability of coastal settlements particularly in relation to primary care.
6 March 2023
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