REGENERATING SEASIDE TOWNS AND COMMUNITIES

1 July 2019: Future of seaside towns I took part in the debate on the report of the House of Lords select committee and drew attention to the importance of transport links and the role of the railway in creating Britain’s seaside resorts. I wholeheartedly support the committee’s conclusion in paragraph 123 that states: “Inadequate transport connectivity is holding back many coastal communities and hindering the realisation of their economic potential. Emphasis should be accorded to isolated coastal communities which are at ‘the end of the line’” Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, I, too, am pleased to congratulate the members of the Select Committee on producing such an excellent, coherent and well-argued report. I commend especially my noble friend Lord Bassam of Brighton for the brilliant way in which he introduced this debate. I particularly commend the committee for getting such excellent coverage in local and regional media as it went around the country. Coverage of that sort for a Select Committee inquiry reflects well on your Lordships’ House. I must also thank the noble Lord, Lord Shutt of Greetland, for providing the note that appears on page 45 of the report, in which he kindly refers to the second book on post-Beeching railway politics which I co-wrote with my friend and colleague from British Rail days, Chris Austin, entitled Disconnected!—Broken Links in Britain’s Rail Policy. Read my contribution in full here Read what was wriiten about the debate in the Scarbourough News here

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