Towns and cities along Britain’s coastline are set to benefit from thousands of new jobs and millions of pounds more in visitor spending after the government announced the next round of the Coastal Communities Fund today (4 September 2017).
Coastal Communities Minister Jake Berry confirmed that the fifth round of funding for 2019 to 2021 will provide at least £40 million to help coastal areas in England further transform their economies and boost jobs in their local area. It will be open for applications in early 2018.
The government has already provided £170 million for 278 projects around the country since the Coastal Communities Fund was launched in 2012. This has resulted in 2 million more people visiting the coast and spending an additional £171 million.
This has already helped to start 485 new businesses and create 5,569 jobs – with these figures set to almost triple once the first 3 rounds of projects have been completed.
Coastal Communities Minister Jake Berry said:
From the world-renowned Blackpool illuminations to Brighton’s i360, our coastal towns and cities have a lot to offer all year round.
That’s why we’re backing them with another £40 million of government funding, helping to boost economic growth and create jobs.
This year is already looking like another record year for staycations and our latest round of funding will help attract even more visitors to the Great British Coast so that our coastal communities can thrive.
The minister will also visit Cleethorpes today to meet with local leaders and hear about the start of the town’s Coastal Communities projects, which were backed by £3.8 million of government funding earlier this year.
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