Grants of between £50,000 and £4 million are available to organizations such as coastal community teams, charities, local councils, development agencies, enterprise partnerships, private companies, and voluntary groups.
Communities secretary Greg Clark said: ‘We’re investing £90 million in exciting new business ideas across our much-loved seaside areas – bringing not just a wave of enthusiasm but also creating thousands of good new jobs, too. With grants of up to £4 million available, I’d urge our coastal entrepreneurs and communities to get involved.’
The £90 million fund will be additional to the £120 million the government has already made available via the Coastal Communities Fund.
Previous investments by the fund include £1.9 million to Blackpool City Council to transform its illuminations, and £500,000 to Hastings Borough Council to improve the seafront and visitor attractions. Scarborough’s market was awarded £2.7 million for refurbishments, and the Welsh National Sailing Academy and Event Centre in Pwllheli got £120,000 to create a sailing venue which brings an extra 10,000 visitors in a year. The National Coastal Tourism Academy in Bournemouth was awarded £2 million to set up a coastal activity park and train coastal businesses.
The academy’s annual report, Coastal Tourism 2016, shows that seaside tourism has regained its position as England’s largest domestic sector for overnight holiday trips. Seaside tourism is worth £8 billion to the economy, with 13.7 million seaside trips, making up nearly one third of overnight holiday stays in England.
The report suggests coastal communities can boost growth by attracting more off-season visitors, developing health and wellness breaks and reinventing seaside towns as business event destinations.
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