Gordon Welcomes Seaside Town Initiative

Blackpool has won a share of a new Government £5million Seaside Towns Grant to tackle deprivation as well as prospects of more money for the piers and seafront infrastructure. Communities Secretary John Denham has launched today ‘Strategy for Seaside Success’, a major new pledge of Government measures to help Blackpool and other seaside towns strengthen all-year round appeal for visitors and residents alike.
 
Gordon, who both chairs Labour’s Seaside Group of MPs and who as Mr Denham’s Parliamentary aide has helped develop the strategy, hailed the new initiatives as ‘a practical, smart and comprehensive strategy of joined-up Government policies to revive seaside economies and visitor numbers all-year round.’

The proposals include:
•    £200,000 immediately for Blackpool to tackle worklessness and deprivation from the new Seaside Towns Grant initiative.
•    A pledge to extent the Sea Change programme beyond 2011, making Blackpool eligible for more money from the targeted initiative which has already funded the new Tower Headland
•    A new look at guidelines to see how the Heritage Lottery Fund can give more support for seaside piers, including Blackpool’s three piers
•    New guidelines to Regional Development Agencies and Tourist Boards to give maximum promotion to Seaside Towns
•    A new ‘seaside proofing’ mechanism to make sure that Government department initiatives take into account the special interests of seaside towns
•    New powers to bring back derelict properties and vacant coastal land into use through new ‘Meanwhile Leases’
•    A promise that Government will work to establish firm indicators that recognise day and other visitor numbers in seaside towns in allocating local authority funds. This could mean Blackpool getting more money for health, policing and other services.

‘I’m delighted that John Denham working with Ministers across Government has been able to announce such a sweeping package of initiatives targeted at Blackpool and other seaside towns. It builds on the support and money we have already had for the new tramway, headlands, seafront, schools and youth services in Blackpool.

Along with it comes the extra support for small businesses in yesterday’s budget - which means up to two thirds of Blackpool’s small businesses- potentially exempt from business rates from October. It shows that the lobbying from myself and other MPs has borne fruit.