Deprivation rises in UK’s coastal towns – report
ANEW report has found coastal communities are lagging behind inland areas in terms of earnings, employment, health and education.
Think tank the Social Market Foundation (SMF) found 85% of Great Britain’s 98 coastal local authorities had pay levels below the national average for 2016, when employees in seaside communities were paid about £3,600 less.
Figures comparing earnings, employment, health and education data in local authority areas identified “pockets of significant deprivation” in seaside towns and a widened gap between coastal communities and the rest of the country.
Five of the 10 British local authorities with the lowest average employee pay are in coastal communities, including Gwynedd.
Employees in the north Wales county earn an average of £21,246 opposed to the British average of £28,442.
Two other Welsh non-coastal counties feature in the same list – Blaenau Gwent is the lowest with an average salary of £20,043 and Powys with an average of £21,746.
And eight Welsh counties are ranked in the 20 worst local authorities for percentage of their population who are in bad or very bad health.
The list of 20 local authorities in England and Wales with the highest proportion of individuals in poor health includes 10 in coastal communities – that includes Welsh authorities Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend and Carmarthenshire.
The average percentage of those in poor health across England and Wales is 5.6%, but Welsh counties have figures of between 8.4% in Carmarthenshire and 11.1% in Merthyr Tydfil.
They are: Merthyr Tydfil (11.1%); Blaenau Gwent (10.7%); Neath Port Talbot (10.5%); Rhondda Cynon Taf (9.6%); Caerphilly (9.3%); Bridgend (8.9%); Torfaen (8.6%); Carmarthenshire (8.4%).
The report’s author, SMF chief economist Scott Corfe, said: “The economies of many coastal towns have performed poorly relative to the rest of the country, with a lack of well-paid job opportunities for people in these areas.
“Many coastal communities are poorly connected to major employment centres in the UK, which compounds the difficulties faced by residents in these areas. Not only do they lack local job opportunities but travelling elsewhere for work is also relatively difficult.
“Despite the evident social and economic problems which these places face, there is currently no official definition of a ‘coastal community’. The government needs to do more to track – and address – economic problems in our coastal towns.”
The Government has pledged to give £40m to coastal areas in a bid to boost employment and encourage tourism.
A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said: “This Government recognises the challenges facing coastal communities and our investment in local growth is already making a big difference.
“Our Coastal Communities Fund has provided £170m for 278 projects since 2012, bringing in two million extra visitors, creating almost 500 new businesses and securing 6,000 new jobs.”
The spokesman added: “We’ve also announced another £40m of Government funding to further boost economic growth and create jobs.”
The Welsh Government declined to comment on the figures but said it, along with the Big Lottery fund, had awarded £4m through the latest round of Coastal Communities Fund last month.