The Stage

South Shields and Worthing latest resorts to win seaside culture cash

Published Tuesday 31 March 2009 at 18:55 by Alistair Smith

South Shields and Worthing are among the latest coastal resorts to be given government cash to help boost their theatre and culture offering.

Through the Sea Change initiative, £45 million is to be ploughed into English seaside towns between 2008 and 2011 in a bid to “recapture the flair” they once had.

Under the latest batch of awards, South Shields will be given £1 million to extend its current summer season into a programme of year-round events, including provision for a new theatre space.

Meanwhile, Worthing is one of eight other towns to receive awards. It will use its £500,000 to regenerate the eastern end of its seafront with a new cultural area.

Wells in Norfolk has been given a smaller grant of £25,000 to start a feasibility study into the prospect of converting a local listed building into a theatre.

Other sites receiving grants in the same wave of funding are Newbiggin-by-the-Sea in Northumberland, Whitstable and Margate, Penzance, Jaywick at Clacton-on-Sea, Dawlish and Leysdown in Kent.

Sea Change is being led by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment. Its chief executive Richard Simmons said: “Resorts are determined to recapture the flair they once had. “These nine resorts will all be using culture and high-quality design to encourage people to live and work there, as well as to visit.”

Meanwhile, culture minister Barbara Follett said the cash would bring “hope to our coastal towns in tough economic times”. So far, £29 million has been given out to 28 resorts in England. Previous awards have gone to resorts including Blackpool, Dover and Torbay.

The deadline for applications for the next wave of large grants is April 30.