Beside the seaside: Lessons from coastal towns by Diane Cunningham FIPM
Seaside towns have a rich history, iconic architecture, and strong local identities - yet they also face some of the most persistent place management challenges in the UK: seasonal economies, underinvestment, and the looming impacts of climate change.
At the Institute of Place Management, we believe these places matter. As part of our commitment to supporting places of all kinds, we’re pleased to share this guest blog from IPM Fellow and Graduate of the MSc in Place Management and Leadership Diane Cunningham, who attended the recent “Seaside Heritage: Connecting Communities and Inspiring Action” symposium.
Drawing on her professional and academic background - including a dissertation on diversification in coastal towns — Diane explores what makes these places special, the barriers they face, and what’s needed to create meaningful, long-term change. From Blackpool to Jaywick, and from youth opportunity to building reuse, this piece highlights the importance of partnership, pride, and place-based action.
Beside the seaside:Lessons from coastal towns by Diane Cunningham Msc FIPM
Seaside towns face many challenges, but they also have strong place in heritage buildings and entertainment amenities, a rich history and a shared sense of identity within the local community.
Seaside Heritage: Connecting Communities and Inspiring Action was the theme of a recent symposium attended by The Assembly Line founder, Diane Cunningham.
It’s a topic close to her heart, having written an MSc dissertation on identifying the barriers that prevent seaside towns from diversifying, and there were plenty of interesting takeaways.
Here, Diane shares her thoughts from the day.
The challenges
Some of the challenges facing seaside towns are unique; for example, Blackpool has three piers, which are costly to maintain while being at risk from the impact of climate change. But others, such as negative perceptions of the place aren’t.
There were some overriding topics throughout the day on how long it can take to change perceptions. Local ambassadors and campaigns are key in fostering pride and changing reputation; building a sense of place and identity that is not about reviving the past, with arts and culture being important aspects to do this.
Attracting investment and jobs that benefit the local community is naturally important, and my previous research highlighted the importance of ensuring employment opportunities are diversified beyond micro businesses and makers.
Tendring District Council’s Jaywick Sands Sunspot – marketed as ‘Do business on the beach’ - by HAT Projects was held up as a good example of a new space in a deprived coastal location.
Focus on residents
It’s important not to lose sight of residents and focus purely on tourism. The keynote speech was on Blackpool, where I supported the development of the town's vision under the High Streets Task Force where there was always a focus on local needs as well as tourists.
We heard how Blackpool Tower resonates with tourists and is a key part of the town's brand, but residents are much more closely connected with the Winter Gardens. There was a great video with residents talking about what this building means to them and how they use it.
This was a good example of embedding a heritage building into everyday life and programming diverse events and activities to ensure the building is well used and loved as a present-day offer rather than being stuck in the past.
There was much discussion about how seaside towns can retain or attract young people and whether they could be involved in heritage skills training to be part of bringing historic buildings back to life.
Viable building conversions and reuse
Again, like any town, it’s important to identify which assets can be converted and which have the best chance of generating an income or being self-funding.
Working with oneday ltd., The Assembly Line carried out a commercial study in Ramsgate to provide recommendations on the opportunities within the High Street Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) and some of these considerations were highlighted at the conference, such as the possibility of one building supporting another, which helps provide a valuable local amenity but doesn’t make any money.
Flexibility remains important with any space for easier reuse. And for those who want to reuse buildings, are there ways to support the process, such as free pre-planning advice and design guides?
There was also a discussion on the relevance of listed buildings in seaside towns and whether more listings would help or hinder reuse (we think the latter is more likely).
Further symposium highlights
- Don’t underestimate the importance of identifying which local and national funding streams a coastal town qualifies for and lobbying for them
- Towns might be missing an opportunity to harness the health and wellbeing benefits of costal locations post-COVID-19 in attracting people back to live there or start a business
- Partners are key and specifically in adapting to climate change. Universities, engineering firms, etc., are all viable partners rather than local authorities doing it alone.
Final thoughts
My overriding takeaway was that seaside towns are, in many ways, not so different to other places The Assembly Line work in.
Our connection with them is often nostalgic, and the challenge is in how we bring them up to date, in people's minds/perception and real life. Without improving people's life chances - health, opportunity to work/create a business, housing - heritage buildings alone can not support these places.
How can we harness the factors in seaside towns which make them special and identify dedicated funding for them that creates real opportunity rather than a temporary lift?
About the author
Formed in 2006, the Institute of Place Management is the international professional body that supports people committed to developing, managing and making places better.