Tackling issues surrounding economic restructuring, geographical isolation and social marginalization.  A seminar organised by the Institute for Local Governance

Hartlepool Council Chamber, Friday 27th January 2017, 9.30 – 1.00

Coastal communities have been given a bad press for many years. Typically, media stories focus heavily on the decline in tourism in many coastal towns, their apparent inability to draw in new investment to restructure the local economy and sensationalist stories about the influx of residents who are dependent on benefits. These issues can play a part in the way coastal communities fare economically and socially – but no two coastal towns are the same – and responses to the challenges or opportunities they face can be very different.

This seminar has been devised to attract an audience which is interested in making change in coastal communities from different points of interest, including local authorities, businesses, charitable foundations which invest in coastal areas, voluntary and community organisations, housing associations, health and wellbeing services. To bring the debate to life, we have invited speakers to speak about three very different coastal communities: the fishing port of Amble in Northumberland, port and industrial town of Hartlepool, and the seaside holiday town of Scarborough.

The history of a place shapes its culture to some extent, but not necessarily its destiny. So even defining these three towns in such short-hand ways is controversial – as is the case in any coastal town – but that is the point of the seminar: to see what defines a coastal town and what needs to be done to secure their positive futures.

This seminar will consider the situation of coastal communities against the backdrop of recent policy and practice interventions at national and local authority level to tackle economic, geographical and social issues in coastal towns. In so doing, it will concentrate on what has been working well and what new interventions show tremendous promise. But it will do so with cultural and economic undercurrents in mind so as not to assert that approaches that may work in one area can simply be transplanted into another.

The event will be introduced and chaired by Councillor Kevin Cranney, Chair of Hartlepool Regeneration Committee, Hartlepool Borough Council

Speakers will include:

• NickTaylor, Investment Manager, Scarborough Borough Council, on the role of major public and private sector investments in the transformation of Scarborough.
• Katherine Blaker, Community Research & Grants Manager, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, on the role of the ActionLab in tackling issues surrounding embedded poverty in Hartlepool.
• Tony Kirsop, Community Regeneration Manager, Northumberland County Council, on the development of Amble quayside and the promotion of small businesses and tourism.
• Fernanda Balata, Policy Director, Coastal Economies Unit, New Economics Foundation, on the national policy environment and NEFs 20 point action plan for coastal communities.
• Denise Ogden, Director of Regeneration & Neighbourhoods. Hartlepool Borough Council, on the role of local government in partnership with the private, public and voluntary sectors in shaping the destiny of coastal communities.

This is the second seminar in the current season which will covered a variety of topics including: graduate enterprise and employability; evidencing personal wellbeing and social value; tackling the unforeseen consequences of unmet need; and, tackling the democratic deficit in the context of devolved responsibility.

The seminar is free to attend, but places are limited and they tend to book up quickly, so please register your attendance via: Janet Atkinson, Institute for Local Governance, Durham University janet.atkinson@durham.ac.uk.

The Institute for Local Governance is a North East Research and Knowledge Exchange Partnership established in 2009 comprising the North East region’s Universities, Local Authorities, Police and Fire and Rescue Services. Further information about the content of the event can be obtained by contacting:- tony.chapman@durham.ac.uk or john.mawson@durham.ac.uk.

Presentations from the event can be located here: 1 Regenerating Coastal Communities – Fernanda Balata – New Economics Foundation – Hartlepool – 27 Jan 20174 Regenerating Coastal communities Amble – The Seafood Town (Tony Kirsop) 2 Regenerating Coastal Communities Seminar (Hartlepool Denise Ogden) Presentation 27 01 17Hartlepool ILG 27Jan17 Nick TaylorCoastal communities Katherine Blaker JRF