thread

Helping Coastal Communities

1. I recall visiting Lincoln in the early 90's & the city was in a poor way. There were many empty shops on the main retail drag & premises were for sale for little money. Large 2 or 3 storey premises were on the market for less than £150k.

2. It took a while, but the city did bounce back, helped by the opening of the university.

Regeneration requires some sort of faith & stimulus.

The Govt. ought to consider a couple of maritime colleges in our most deprived coastal locations: say Lowestoft & Penzance.

3. There are a multitude of industries allied to fisheries:

Boat building & maintenance
Fishing gear production & repair
Marine biology/sciences
Catering & food production utilising domestically caught fish & seafood
Coastal recreation & hospitality.

4. If we are serious about helping the most deprived coastal locations, they need to be given a leg up. Something to attract enterprise, innovation & visitors.

5. I'm not suggesting large universities, but smaller, niche colleges that can offer courses for full time students, as well as part-time courses to attract visitors.

6. The sea is a diverse & rich source of employment, it just needs looking at with a fresh set of eyes from someone with the vision & enthusiasm to make the most of the opportunities the maritime industry offers.

7. It would be a shame to lose the momentum created by the fisheries opportunities of Brexit, only to see deprived locations deteriorate further through lack of foresight. https://twitter.com/DefraGovUK/status/1331189426018422784