Yorkshire coast seeds significantly worse health and job prospects than inland, research finds

It found that you are 32 per cent more likely to die from a preventable death than the national average if you are under 75, the third worst coastline in the country behind the North East and North West.

The inland of Yorkshire is only per cent higher than the national average.

In addition, coastal communities have twice as many low-paying as high-paying jobs by 46 per cent to 23 per cent, which reverses when you travel away from seaside areas, with 30 per cent low-level and 37 per cent high-level respectively.

Researchers found that Yorkshire workers on the coast earn £1,400 less on average than people inland at around £27,266, with this reflected in how far many will have to travel in order to find employment.

There are more than 1.5 million jobs within a one-hour car journey inland in Yorkshire, but less than 390,000 on Yorkshire's coast.

The think tank called on the Government to launch a network of coastal mobile health units to tackle health inequalities, with Professor Sir Chris Whitty previously arguing that the lack of health services mean that specialist services struggle to reach those who need them most.

Jenevieve Treadwell, Senior Researcher at Onward, said: “Where the coast goes, England follows. For nearly four decades, seaside towns and cities have backed the eventual election winners. They are the forgotten battleground that could decide the next election, and both political parties need to make a serious offering to the coast to win coastal voters’ trust.

“Onward’s research exposes the growing gap between declining coastal communities and the rest of England. If you live on the coast, you're more likely to be poorer, sicker, badly housed and a victim of crime. Unless the Government fully embraces coastal areas in its levelling up agenda, they risk a tidal wave against them at the next election.”

The think tank said that coastal seats have disproportionately swung behind every winning political party in the past four decades, with current polling showing that Labour is on course to win 77 of the 113 coastal seats at the next election, doubling its current share.

Keane Duncan, the Conservative candidate for next year’s North Yorkshire mayoral contest said that politicians need to be “honest” about the challenges faced by coastal communities.

“Our North Yorkshire coast is a fantastic place to live, visit and invest - and we should be proud to say that more often,” he said.

“And whilst we need to be honest about our challenges, we should also be positive about the progress we’re making.

“With devolution I am confident we can achieve even more. This is a huge opportunity to build on our successes and address the issues holding our region back.”

It comes as separate research found that North Yorkshire’s economy loses £73 million a year from a drop in later life employment.

Economic inactivity rates of 22.6 per cent in Yorkshire and the Humber are higher than the average rate for England (21.7 per cent).

The “Platinum Pound” report by the Demos think tank, supported by Anchor, called for a tax-free £1,000 Priority Jobs Bonus for all workers over 55 working in shortage occupations and earning less than £50,000 a year.

Sarah Jones, Chief Executive of Anchor, said: “Through the ‘Platinum Pound’ we have listened to the experiences of thousands of people in later life.

“The message is simple – our ageing population has incredible potential that is being missed.

“We must reverse the social and economic impacts of older people being excluded or overlooked to ensure they are supported to remain in work for as long as they choose.