Spiral of decline for seaside towns

According to The Commons Communities and Local Government Committee, many of the country's seaside towns are now locked in a downward spiral of decline.

MPs warned that many coastal communities were characterised by a combination of physical isolation, high levels of deprivation and poor housing. Often they suffered from a "skewed demographic profile", with young people leaving to find jobs elsewhere, while the arrival of older people buying homes for their retirement put health and social services under pressure.

"Government has neglected the needs of coastal towns for too long. A greater understanding and appreciation is needed of the challenges faced in coastal towns," the committee said in its report. Housing was often poor, frequently characterised by redundant hotels, for example in Blackpool, which had been converted into care homes, or flats attracting a transient population, which in turn made local regeneration more difficult.