EARLY CAREER FEATURE

Regeneration in Deprived Coastal Communities- an exploration beyond tourism

The British government currently has no direct policy targeted specifically at coastal towns which may be due in part to their considerable variability in size and characteristics. It has been noted over recent years that Britain’s seaside towns have become a ‘problem area’, yet little research into the depth, causes, and consequences of these ‘problems’ has taken place (for some discussion see Beatty and Fothergill 2004) . Despite this apparent lack of political direction and academic research, the indices of deprivation (2007) show that many coastal areas suffer from high levels of deprivation, in some cases, comparable to those found in our inner cities.

In 2006 the House of Commons Coastal Town Report concluded to central government that coastal towns in England do in fact share some common features. Such features include physical and social isolation of individuals and populations, seasonal employment/low wage /skilled jobs, dependence on a single industry and outward migration of young people compared to an in-ward migration of older people. Also highlighted in this report was the ‘high incidence of poor housing conditions and a high proportion of privately rented homes found in coastal town’s (House of Commons 2006 p9). Particular reference is made to Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs). A HMO is a building in which more than one household shares an amenity, a converted building which does not contain entirely self contained flats and is occupied by more than one household. The House of Commons report makes a connection between vulnerable transient populations and the high levels of HMOs in seaside towns. These vulnerable populations, i.e. people “who are unable to meet their own everyday needs owing to a physical or mental health condition or who are vulnerable because of their situation, such as homelessness”, may be looking for cheap, easily obtainable accommodation (House of Commons 2006, p18). In some coastal towns this has led to the marginalization of poor residents into the same houses, streets and neighbourhoods, creating, in some coastal towns across the country, what could be referred to as ‘seaside slums’. Although no policy has been developed or established by the government to combat the characteristic problems of some coastal towns, a number of more broad polices have been put into effect including the Housing Act 2004, which introduced a mandatory licensing scheme for HMOs in an attempt to raise housing conditions and New Labour’s commitment to Neighbourhood Renewal (NR) which aims to improve the quality of life of those living in the most deprived neighbourhoods. The rest of this paper shall give a brief evaluation of each policy at work in the coastal town of Ilfracombe.

The author has been conducting research in the town of Ilfracombe, situated on the North Devon coast in the South West of England. Ilfracombe has suffered from economic decline since the 1970s, as more people went abroad for their yearly vacation; it has suffered a deepening sense of isolation, as railways and cruise lines closed; and it has witnessed a decline in investment which saw many of the grand Edwardian and Victorian houses and seaside hotels converted into cheap flats and bed sits as their upkeep became harder to afford. The central ward of the town is, according to the Indices of Deprivation 2004, among one of the 10% most deprived places in England and has one of the highest levels of non-decent housing in Devon. Since 2005 mandatory HMO licensing has been enforced by North Devon District Council (NDDC), and in conjunction with this, a Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder, a key programme of NR, has been established in Ilfracombe in a strategic effort to regenerate the town. From interviews with key strategic and ground level officers from NDDC during the fieldwork phase of doctoral research it became apparent that the implementation of HMO licensing- and consequentially raising the standards of accommodation in Ilfracombe- is challenging to enforce and the process of prosecuting unlicensed landlords can led to difficulties. Interviews with tenants of HMOs has also brought to the fore the difficulties with HMO licensing- which included the fear of being evicted and an increased rent during the process of improvement and repair. For many tenants, fear of eviction as improvement notices are issued, is fierce and far from paranoid. Of the landlords interviewed during the research most stated they would wait for tenants to leave the property or warrant eviction before carrying out repairs. This leaves some vulnerable tenants- who make-up a large proportion of the coastal HMO population- in a situation where they risk homelessness. However in a bid to improve services and deliver neighbourhood renewal the Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder ‘Transform’ was developed and deployed to work across Ilfracombe and surrounding villages. Transform initiatives include a Social Prescribing Service, Healthier Homes Advisors and number of other services, including a One-Stop-Shop with council, community and voluntary services under one roof. Each service has supported tenants of HMOs in varying ways, including giving advice, working closely with NDDCs Environmental Health Officers to improve housing conditions and, in some cases, mediating with landlords. Additionally, Transform has also sought to improve key aspects of life, highlighted by the House of Commons Coastal Town Report. Schemes include Young Advisors, Street Pastors, Neighbourhood Wardens, job and skills training as well as work with various charities which support the mental and physical needs of many vulnerable HMO tenants on a daily basis. On a practical level, NDDC has established a firm basis for improvement of HMOs, issuing more improvement notices and offering support through grant and loans schemes, than ever before. Furthermore the Transform Pathfinder and its partners are additionally supporting tenants using a number of schemes, some mentioned above. The partnership of the two policies is far from perfect but does offer one solution to improve housing conditions for vulnerable tenants whilst supporting the complex social, physical and economic needs of some individuals. So, whilst no policy has been employed by central government to target the deprivation found in some coastal towns, both the Housing Act 2004 and Neighbourhood Renewal could work together to combat the problems found in many coastal towns, and perhaps other disadvantaged communities across the country.

Kim Ward, PhD Student
Department of Geography, University of Exeter


References

Beatty C and Fothergill S (2004) Economic change and the Labour Market in Britain’s Seaside Towns. Regional Studies 38 (5) 461 – 480

House of Commons Report (2006) Communities and Local Government Committee: Coastal Towns. Second Report of Session 2006-2007.