Seaside regeneration needs diversity

British seaside town planners need to work hard if they are to offer tourists and resident more than just funfairs and ice creams.

That is according to the British Urban Regeneration Association symposium, which has asserted that ideas for regenerating towns should move popular resorts away from tradition.

This view was echoed by Peter Spence, of the South Coast Design Forum, who said that
Britain's struggling seaside resorts are turning to creative industries as a blueprint for survival to take them beyond the traditional funfair and bucket and spade experience.

He said that seaside towns should "think outside of the box instead of building a bigger funfair and a bigger place selling ice cream".

In addition, Mhora Samuel, director of the Theatres Trust, noted that there needs to be a broader spectrum in seaside towns when it comes to regeneration, citing the Winter Gardens in Morecambe, the Weymouth Pavilion and the Theatre Royal in Margate as good examples.

She explained: "Seaside towns need to create distinctiveness and diversify economic activity."

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