Levelling Up needs to do more for seaside towns and coastal communities - The Yorkshire Post says

While places like Scarborough and Whitby will be, hopefully, thriving over the next few weeks as schools break for the summer holidays, they are increasingly becoming seasonal ghost towns.

The prevalence of second homes and holiday lets is driving the very people who make these places hospitable for visitors out. Independent guest houses, with their unique characteristics, could also disappear.

A lot of young people often are deprived of the same employment opportunities of their peers in thriving cities. Leaving them with no choice but to leave to further their ambitions.

The latest House of Lords report calls on the Government to do more through the Levelling Up agenda to target seaside towns and communities that aren’t receiving the support they need.

Peers say responsibility for seaside towns and communities ought to be allocated to a Levelling Up Ministerial portfolio. The fact that this hasn’t already happened is an oversight by the Government. It would ensure coastal communities have a voice around the Cabinet table.

A coastal communities strategy is also needed in order to demonstrate clear mechanisms to successfully address the long-standing disparities faced by seaside towns and communities.

There is also a clear need for different departments to work together to come up with solutions, for example the Department for Levelling Up and the Department for Transport to ensure that areas of most need are properly prioritised for planning and investment. The identity of seaside towns and coastal communities needs to be preserved. They are ambassadors for the county.