The 1.5 hour webinar is now available to watch on YouTube and can be accessed via the link below.
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Online delivery
There is widespread recognition of the diversity of experiences of English coastal communities with some performing economically well, whereas many others less so. Those that are not, are experiencing long-term decline of their core industries such as domestic tourism, fishing, shipbuilding and port activities, and are in desperate need of economic revitalisation; seasonality and their peripheral location create additional challenges to economic prosperity.
Productivity and economic under-performance are national priorities as set out by the government’s Industrial Strategy (HM government, 2017), and ‘Building Back Better’ and ‘Levelling up’ agendas (HM government, 2021).
But, how can English coastal communities respond to the UK's productivity challenge and contribute toward national prosperity? Of those at risk of being ‘left behind’, how can their economic potential be unlocked? What are the challenges and barriers? Consideration of these very issues in the context of seaside towns lies at the heart of this second webinar.
Event Chair: Professor Christine Beatty
Speakers:
- Lord Bassam of Brighton | "Choices, challenges and opportunities: our common coastal heritage"
- Professor Sheela Agarwal | "Economic challenges, barriers and opportunities of English seaside towns"
About the speaker
Event Chair: Professor Christina Beatty
Professor of Applied Economic Geography at Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR), Sheffield Hallam University.
Choices, challenges and opportunities: our common coastal heritage
Lord Steve Bassam, former minister and a Chief Whip in the Blair–Brown governments, chaired a Lords Select committee which produced a well-received report examining the future prospects for our seaside communities.
In this session, he will outline some of the challenges facing seaside and coastal communities. He will examine ways in which the revival of some of the nation’s most remote places can play their part in meeting the threat of climate change, provide enriched living for future generations and places of pleasure for visitors.
About the speaker
Speaker: Lord Bassam of Brighton
Shadow Spokesperson (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport), Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; Shadow Spokesperson (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and International Trade), Department for International Trade.
Economic challenges, barriers and opportunities of English seaside towns
This presentation discusses the socio-economic characteristics associated with ‘leading’ and ‘lagging’ English seaside towns, and draws attention to the complexity of people- and place-based factors influencing their economic performance.
In doing so, it highlights the need for evidence-based tailored, targeted interventions to tackle uneven productivity growth, and considers some of the opportunities and barriers to unlocking their economic potential.
About the speaker
Speaker: Professor Sheela Agarwal
Associate Head of School of Research and Innovation, Plymouth Business School, University of Plymouth.
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