Concern raised over East Coast unemployment and low wages

Grave concerns have been expressed over the increasing gulf in wages and unemployment rates in seaside communities in both East and North Yorkshire when compared to the rest of the region.

In Bridlington, the average household income is £22,317 – £10,357 lower than the East Riding average – while unemployment rates, at more than seven per cent, are the East Riding’s highest.

The resort also has four areas that are in the top 10 per cent of most deprived areas in England, while the town centre is in the top 30 per cent. This is despite sustained investment that has seen £50m pumped into Bridlington over the past seven years, and East Riding Council classing its recovery as a “priority” since 2004.

The council’s director of planning and economic regeneration, Alan Menzies, said: “The key message is household income and salary are substantially lower than the East Riding average and we would expect that because other measures of deprivation are higher and unemployment is higher than the East Riding average.

“Some of the biggest sectors of employment don’t tend to be the particularly well-paid ones. Many of the jobs are in retail, accommodation and food services, as you would expect in a seaside town, and they are not particularly highly paid jobs.

“The positive side is that since 2004 we have been promoting a regeneration strategy and £20m of council money and £30m of external grants has gone in on projects like the Spa, the Spa Environs and the park and ride. We are still promoting the area action plan for the town centre and working with our friends the Harbour Commissioners to promote a marina development.”

He added: “It’s always difficult. Bridlington suffers as many seaside towns do, with challenges of wage levels and skill levels, and there’s always the issue around young people leaving the area to go to university – they tend to like cities and might not come back until they’re older.

“By virtue of their coastal location they tend to be peripheral, so large-scale inward investment we can get into Goole, for example, would not go to Bridlington. Is there more work to be done? Yes, there is, but regeneration strategies tend to take 15 to 20 years to make a real difference.”

Coun Raymond Allerston, East Riding Council member for Bridlington Old Town, said the key driver was job creation. He added: “It’s desperate. There’s a lot of people out of work and Bridlington has been a deprived area for a few years. More could have been done for residents and for the homeless. We could do with building a few more houses for them as well. What we should be doing is encouraging industry to come into Bridlington and Carnaby Industrial Estate.”

In Scarborough, where unemployment is over nine per cent and the average income is just £16,567 – well below the national average – councillors expressed grave fears for the town’s future prosperity. Scarborough Borough Council’s Cabinet member for strategic planning and regeneration, Coun Derek Bastiman, said: “This is often the case with Yorkshire’s East Coast – it is just forgotten about. There are pockets of real deprivation here and I have grave concerns about the future of the East Coast.

“With the recession carrying on the way it is here there is very little confidence in the market for further investment. Here we rely particularly heavily on tourism and its importance to the local economy should be recognised in the salaries that are paid to people. These workers provide a very important part of the industry.”