28 new Coastal Community Teams to be set up

Coastal Communities Minister Andrew Percy has announced that a further 28 new ‘Coastal Community Teams’ will be set up across the country and tasked with producing radical economic plans which create jobs along the shore.

Each team will be made up of local volunteers, councils and local businesses and will receive an initial £10,000 each to develop a blueprint for economic growth and be offered support from a network geared towards regenerating England’s much-loved seaside areas.

The 28 new teams will join 118 existing teams who have worked over two years to help the seaside regain its position as the most popular overnight holiday destination for Brits, with statistics showing around 13.7 million seaside visits in 2015.

Coastal Communities Minister Andrew Percy commented: “The Great British Coast has enormous potential and we’re determined to see it thrive all year round.

“By 2020 we’ll have invested nearly a quarter of a billion pounds in our seaside areas providing thousands of jobs, training places and opportunities along the shore. Now we are backing another 28 coastal communities with cash and urging them to
take back control of their own economic futures.

“We want to see radical plans of action and I’d urge these new coastal community teams to go out and create a further wave of enthusiasm along the shore.”