Labours boost for Thanet seaside towns

Stephen Ladyman MP welcomes £200,000 boost for Ramsgate and Margate
Stephen Ladyman MP welcomed the announcement today of an extra £200,000 to help
create jobs in Thanet, support business and to improve the skills of the
long-term unemployed. Thanet Council will receive the extra £200,000 particular
to support work in Ramsgate and Margate.
"This is good news" said local MP, Stephen Ladyman. "As the advert says, 'Every
Little Helps'."
"But the big news for my South Thanet constituency is the extension of the Sea
Change programme. I want Thanet Council to look long and hard about working with
Ramsgate Town Council and local partners at what could be done with the
Victorian Pavilion in Ramsgate because a Sea Change grant might be exactly what
is needed to start the ball rolling."
"We got £3m towards Dreamland and we could get a substantial contribution to the
Victorian Pavilion for the right project. I've already spoken to the Tourism
Minister, Margaret Hodge, and I know she would welcome a bid from us. It just
needs Thanet Council to put some effort into moving things forward."
The announcement is part of a package of support for seaside towns published
today in the Government’s Strategy for Seaside Success.
The strategy also includes
* new licensing rules for councils over Houses of Multiple Occupation to
tackle problems around low quality housing - a paticular problem in parts of
Cliftonville and Ramsgate
* a pledge to extend the Sea change Programme beyond 2011 - Margate has
already had a £3m Sea Change investment for the regeneration of Dreamland but
the extension of the programme means other projects, perhaps including the
Victorian Pavilion in Ramsgate could bid too
The new funding comes on top of this years targeted grants to help local
authorities address some of the specific problems that seaside towns face.
A Conservative government would not have provided this funding since they
opposed the government’s package of fiscal support to help the country through
the recession, and would have cut £1 billion this year from the Communities
budget.
"With The Thanet Array wind farm nearing completion and the London Array to be
built from Port Ramsgate we also have a good chance to capitalise on today's
announcements about wind farms and green technologies. There are big
opportunities for Thanet if we show the determination to grasp them."
Note to editors:
The Seaside Town Grant Initiative Fund
· The Seaside Towns Grant will be used to provide additional help to
tackle disproportionate levels of worklessness and deprivation in priority
seaside towns.
· It will be allocated equally to each eligible district through a
one-off un-ringfenced grant. It will allow local authorities to use their local
judgement and discretion in the use of funding.
Other announcements today included:
o Extension of the Sea Change Programme to help improve seaside
infrastructure after 2011
o Encouragement to regional authorities to explicitly address the
economic challenges of seaside towns in the new single regional strategies
o Encouragement to seaside authorities to exploit their natural and
locational advantages and be in the forefront of the shift to a low carbon
economy, including a focus on green skills, training and jobs, to diversify
their economies. This includes:
§ New UK offshore wind farm licences worth up to £75bn which could
create 70,000 new jobs, many of which would be in coastal areas, by 2020.
§ Interest free energy efficiency and renewable energy loans to help
small businesses buy energy saving equipment.