Withernsea Coastal Community Team Accountable Body E

COASTAL COMMUNITY TEAMS ECONOMIC PLAN Name of Coastal Community Team – Withernsea Coastal Community Team Accountable Body – East Riding of Yorkshire Council Contact – Janet Murray, Renaissance Co-ordinator, tel. 01482 391646, mobile 07551 528528, email: [email protected] Address – Customer Service Centre Hornsea, 75 Newbegin, Hornsea, HU18 1PA Coastal Community Team Members - Name Representing Councillor Arthur Hodgson East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Chair of Withernsea Regeneration Partnership Kevan Hough Withernsea & South East Holderness Regeneration Partnership, Chair of the Coastal Community Team Peter Crawley Big Local, Chair Martin Burnhill East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Senior Facility Manager, Foreshores David Johnston East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Senior Facility Manager, Leisure Jane Crossley East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Renaissance Programme Manager 1 Jayne Nendick SHoRes Centre Alan Gordon-Freeman Sirius BP Richard Williman Withernsea High School Brian Cloke Withernsea Town Council Dave Edwards Withernsea Town Council Phil Mathison Local Volunteer Tony Simpson Withernsea Lighthouse Gordon Hodgson Meridian Centre Anne Blake Meridian Centre Contents Page 1. The Local Area 2 2. The Local Community 3 3. The Local Economy Context 3 4. The Local Economy 4 5. Ambition 5 6. Needs of the Community 5 7. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats (SWOT) 6 8. The Role of the CCT 6 9. Links to other initiatives 6 10. Cost, Resources and Barriers 7 11. Value, Funding and Maximising our Potential 7 12. Communication & Consultation 7 13. Logistics 8 14. Sustainability 8 1. The Local Area Withernsea is a traditional seaside town in the East Riding of Yorkshire, approximately 20 miles from the city of Hull. The town grew following the opening of the railway line in 1854, which linked the town to Hull. The role and function of Withernsea is dominated by its location. As a coastal town with an award winning beach it is influenced by the tourism industry, which is reflected by its promenade, amusement arcades and general retail/ services on Queen Street. 2 2. The Local Community As well as its role as a seaside town, Withernsea is the largest town and service centre in the south east Holderness. Over the past ten years, when most parts of the East Riding became significantly less affordable, Withernsea’s pool of low cost housing perpetuated a concentration of low income households, with parts of the town consequently falling into the 10% most deprived areas in the Index of Multiple Deprivation 201 and the remainder falling into the most deprived 20%. There are 3 Lower Super Output Areas in the South East Holderness ward that include the town of Withernsea and these score in the 10% most deprived according to 2015 Index of Multiple Deprivation. This includes 5969 residents, 40.1% of the total population of the ward. There are 7035 dwellings in the South East Holderness, ward excluding caravans, this figure rises to 9386 with caravans included illustrating just how much the population can grow during the main tourist season. 43.9% of these fall within Council Tax Band A, significantly higher than the East Riding average of just 26.3%. The 2011 Census data shows that the mean age is 44 years and the median age is slightly higher at 47 therefore half the population is older than 47 and half younger. Only 58.3% of the population of South East Holderness is of working age and it is worth noting that a quarter of the population is of pensionable age. 3. The Local Economy Context East Riding of Yorkshire is covered by two Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). The focus of the Humber LEP is on ports and logistics, renewable energy, and chemicals. The York, North Yorkshire and East Riding (YNY&ER) LEP priorities are Agri-Food, Tourism, High Speed Broadband, Business Support, Business Networks, Coastal Regeneration, Skills and Training. The local economy of Withernsea is significantly aligned to the interests of both LEPs. LEPs are responsible for producing and delivering EU Strategic Investment Fund Strategies that will be delivered through the EU funding programme 2014 - 2020. Withernsea has benefitted from the previous EU funding programmes through support for the fishing industry. It anticipated that there will be to be continuation of EU Funding for fisheries through the new EMFF programme. Withernsea has been included in a bid for an EU funded Yorkshire Coast Community Led Local Development programme due to the local economic circumstances that present high levels of disadvantage. The existing local partnership arrangement is well placed to assume a leading role to enable Community Led Local Development, to support the strategic role of the LEPs. to play an active 3 part in any potential for EU funding and also to lead on local direction of economic development, in partnership with the East Riding of Yorkshire Council. The Department of Culture Media and Sport Tourism Policy has three aims: • To more effectively market the UK to foreign visitors; • Increase the proportion of UK residents who holiday in this country; • Improve the sector’s productivity. Visit Hull and East Yorkshire (VHEY) is the area’s Destination Management Organisation and leads the local response to the national agenda, through promotion and development of its natural, cultural and heritage assets in line with its overarching tourism strategy. The Economic Development Strategy for the East Riding (2012-2016) sets out the commitment to support businesses, communities and individuals in the East Riding to: • improve the productivity in the area; • ensure a range of job opportunities are available; and • reduce economic deprivation in challenging economic times. All these are relevant to Withernsea. 4.0 The Local Economy Poor infrastructure in terms of roads and communications coupled with the remoteness and 19 miles distance to the nearest city of Hull, has affected the competitiveness of the town to attract inward investment. The town has a limited range of visitor accommodation and is dominated by the high number of caravan sites. The town attracts 40,000 to 50,000 visitors per annum. The average household income is less than £7000 per annum which impacts upon the spend capacity within the town. The offer in the town can be characterised by low value added operations and there is limited space in the town for new office or commercial space for growth. Local estate agents regard the commercial market as balanced with supply healthy and meeting demand, but this is often due to expanding businesses moving to Hull. Tourism is a key driving force within the local economy, however it generally provides low paid seasonal employment and there is a local perception that the caravan site visitors spend on site as opposed to in the town itself. Withernsea Renaissance Strategy 2011 (Appendix 1) states that part of the reason why Withernsea’s economic potential is not being fully realised is a lack of visual identity and sense of place. It identifies an urgent need to improve the range and quality of visitor and resident facilities in both the town centre and seafront areas and to achieve a higher quality of public realm. Significant progress has been made in the town centre through investment in the highway and public realm within the main retail area – Queen Street. The seafront & promenade is the town’s greatest asset and its offer has to be competitive to attract visitors to spend in the town. Withernsea has Big Local Lottery funding and recent consultation to inform the Big Local Plan also supported improvements to the seafront. 4 In August 2014 Withernsea and South East Holderness Regeneration Partnership produced its Seafront Improvement Plan (Appendix 2) which sets out a vision and a range of proposed interventions for the mile long Promenade. This Plan builds on the vision from the Renaissance Plan - ‘a more vibrant and bustling town with an increased range of local facilities, tailored to meet the needs of local residents, residents of the catchment area and an increasing number of day trip visitors’. The Seafront Improvement Plan aims through a range of interventions to enhance the attractiveness and accessibility to create a sense of place, strengthen the town’s visitor economy and identity and create a promenade that places Withernsea firmly on the map and achieves its vision of a bustling and vibrant coastal town. Withernsea is currently developing a Community Economic Development Plan (CED) which will focus on skills and employability needs within the town. Four sectors will be looked at in terms of employment opportunities for local people: tourism, media industries, fisheries and the care sector. The Plan will also look at raising aspirations and issues such as the opportunity of Further and Higher Education being problematic for young people with travel distances and associated costs to Hull, Beverley and Bishop Burton. This Plan will be available from April 2016. 5. Ambition The aim of this plan is to contribute to the creation of a vibrant promenade in Withernsea by day and by night. The plan takes forward project ideas in the sea front improvement plan, namely a lighting scheme, raised seating areas and opportunities for pop up businesses; details are provided in Appendices 3 and 4. With the promenade lit at night with colourful illuminations more visitors will stay into the evening paving the way for a strong night time economy to develop. The raised seating will give the north promenade a practical and aesthetic appeal for all to relax and enjoy the sea views over the seawall. The night time illuminations and raised seating add to the offer for tourists and provide the opportunity for local entrepreneurs to start up pop up kiosks. 6. The Needs of the Community The wide ranging economic issues facing the town have led to a cycle of decline resulting in significant social and economic deprivation, loss of confidence in the future prospects of the town and reduced levels of investment.

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