Treasury swells fund for coastal regeneration

23 Aug 13
The Treasury is to increase the size of the Coastal Communities Fund by 5% to £29m next year, it announced today.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said the funding boost was made possible by an increase in marine revenues from the Crown Estate.

He said: ‘The government created the fund to enable coastal areas to share in the gains from our marine resources, and that is exactly what it is doing.’

The Coastal Communities Fund was launched in 2012 to invest in seaside towns and villages across the UK, helping boost local economies and create jobs. Projects approved in the first year of the fund are expected to provide more than 5,000 news job and 500 apprenticeships. They include the National Lobster Hatchery in Cornwall, heritage railway schemes in North Yorkshire and Swanage and boat building apprenticeships on the west coast of Scotland.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said the fund would ‘help our coastal towns make the most of their potential by diversifying their economies and industries so they can become year-round success stories’.

The size of the fund is equivalent to 50% of the revenue generated by marine activities such as offshore wind and tidal power, aquaculture centres and ship moorings.

In its first year ­– 2012/13 ­– the fund totalled £23.7m, this year it is worth £27.8m and next year will have £29.1 to distribute to bidders.

Alexander said: ‘I urge projects to get their bids ready for round 3 when it opens next year.’

Yesterday, the Office for National Statistics published research highlighting high levels of deprivation in UK coastal resorts and seaside towns.

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