Background to Sea Change

Investment in cultural projects can radically enhance the regeneration of historic seaside resorts.

Many seaside resorts have experienced declining economic circumstances as a result of changes in tourism and issues relating to housing and transport. We believe that public investment in cultural projects and public spaces can give a huge kick start to local regeneration.

Sea Change ensures that investment in cultural projects complements and enhances wider regeneration programmes. Culture is important to all places, but Sea Change targets seaside resorts to help them:

• improve the quality of life for residents
• attract new and more visitors
• restructure the economy.

Recognising the impact of climate change on patterns of behaviour, Sea Change also offers new opportunities to enhance the visitor experience, encouraging greater numbers of people to spend holidays and short breaks at England’s seaside resorts.

Sea Change is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Background to Sea Change

In 2001, the English Tourism Council said:

"Seaside resorts have made an enormous contribution to the cultural identity of England and contain some of the finest examples of our built heritage. This is overlooked rather than promoted."

In 2003, CABE and English Heritage published Shifting sands which demonstrated that high quality buildings and open spaces can radically enhance the ways that historic seaside resorts are developing, changing and re-inventing themselves.

Sea Change draws on the lessons of Shifting Sands, and is a positive response to the Communities and Local Government Committee report on Coastal Towns in 2006/07.