Coastal Communities APPG | Coastal Partnerships

ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP FOR COASTAL COMMUNITIES

The All Parliamentary Party Group on Coastal Communities looks to consider current issues affecting coastal communities and to actively seek strategies to address these to enhance health, wellbeing, education, infrastructure and economies within these unique communities.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS APPG WILL DISSOLVE AT MIDNIGHT 30/5/24 AND WILL SEEK TO RECONVENE IN THE NEW PARLIAMENT

As the MP for Hastings and Rye, a mixture of urban, rural and coastal communities, it is essential that the voice of coastal communities rings loud and clear at the government level to help ensure that no community is left behind.

Our coastal communities have so much untapped potential, and businesses and residents need to be given every opportunity to maximise their potential all year round.

This APPG will be able to focus on these communities that often have more in common with each other than with their inland neighbours, and they require targeted policies to help ensure equality of opportunity is provided the length and breadth of our United Kingdom.

Chair, Sally-Ann Hart MP

The APPG for Coastal Communities has been delivering an innovative format for an Inquiry, tailored to ensure that Parliamentarians are kept informed of the latest challenges and developments for these unique places.

A wide range of topics have been explored and we thank all those experts and Parliamentarians who have engaged with the APPG.

A Report has been collated of all the evidence and discussion undertaken through the Coastal Inquiry to inform and support meaningful change for these unique communities who are at the heart of our culture as an island nation.

Download the report here:

Coastal Inquiry Report

Call for a dedicated Minister for the Coast

Our coastline is a spectacular and amazing place, home to some of our most special wildlife and traditional seaside towns but also a place that has received much pessimism in recent months despite the Year of the Coast 2023 campaign that has showcased how much our coastal regions have to offer.

The OneCoast Coalition, a collaborative alliance between the Local Government Association Coastal Special Interest Group, Coastal Communities Alliance, Coastal Partnership Network and National Coastal Tourism Academy, strive to raise the profile of the coast and all it has to offer.

Speaking on behalf of OneCoast, Beccy MacDonald-Lofts, of the LGA Coastal SIG, told us “The uniqueness that our coastal areas offer is something that we find nowhere else in the country. Just the sight of the sea is something that personally brings me a sense of comfort and happiness, something I know is shared by the thousands who visit our coastline every week. As OneCoast, we work together to raise the profile of challenges faced by the communities living in these unique areas and the potential solutions to make these areas thriving and resilient. We’re delighted to have developed the Pledge initiative, an idea originally developed by Coastal Partnership East, to give everyone across the country the opportunity to engage with, and pledge their support, for our coastal areas.”

Sally-Ann told us “As the MP for Hastings and Rye, I know first-hand how incredible our coast and coastal communities are and how important it is for us to ensure that they receive the right support and focus. I am proud to be the Chair for the APPG for Coastal Communities, and of the work that we have achieved together in highlighting coastal communities.

By working with other likeminded MPs, supported by our co-secretariat, we have been able to deliver a coastal inquiry like no other, and we focus on delivering actions after every session that we hold. Through all our sessions there is one common call from MPs and other organisations, that is for a dedicated Minister for the Coast who can bring together all the actions which need to be delivered in order to unleash the potential of our coastal communities, so that rather than be a problem to solve, they become a resource to the U.K.

I’m delighted to be able to support the Pledge for the Coast initiative at the in-Parliament event and as an MP I am pledging my continued support for the APPG, which has written a letter to all party leaders, calling for a dedicated Minister to be added to their Manifestos.”

The letter has been signed by cross-party MPs from the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, supported by the OneCoast Coalition, and a number of other organisations and councils.

The Pledge for the Coast is available for everyone to participate in, from communities, businesses and organisations through to councils and Parliamentarians. Hosted on the LGA Coastal SIG website, you can make your pledge to support the coast from a choice of options or by creating your own pledge. All pledges are hosted on an interactive map and participants are welcomed to share their #CoastalPledge – what will you pledge today?

Letter: Manifesto ask for Minister for the Coast

Response from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

Peter Aldous MP, Vice Chair

"Coastal communities have long been overlooked by successive governments, with many of them seemingly written off as in a state of irreversible decline. The Government's objective to 'Level Up' deprived communities and a renewed national focus on sectors including fishing and offshore renewable energy offer the chance to remedy these years of neglect. In this context, the work of the APPG is crucial in ensuring that coastal communities are promoted as front and centre of the national policy landscape, enabling them to play a prominent role in the challenges and opportunities ahead of the UK."

Robin Millar MP, Member

Tim Farron MP, Member

Simon Fell MP, Member

James Wild MP, Member

Duncan Baker MP, Member

Selaine Saxby MP, Member

Rosie Duffield MP, Vice Chair

Members

Martin Vickers MP, Member

Christina Rees MP, Member

Lord Lucas, Member

Rt Hon Sir Julian Lewis MP, Member

Giles Watling MP, Member

Sir James Duddridge MP, Member

Tim Loughton MP, Vice Chair

Prior to Parliament, Tim worked in the private sector as a fund manager in the City of London before becoming a Director at Fleming Private Asset Management. Tim was first elected to Parliament in 1997 as Member for East Worthing and Shoreham and has been re-elected in 2001, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Tim takes a particular interest in the hospitality industry which is particularly important in seaside towns as well as the fishing industry, offshore green solutions and educational disadvantage seen disproportionately in coastal communities.

Cherilyn Mackrory MP, Member

Kevin Foster MP, Member

Sir Peter Bottomley MP, Member

Matt Warman MP, Member

The Lord Skidelsky, Member

OFFICERS

THE
SECRETARIAT

Three major coastal fora - the Coastal Partnerships Network, the Coastal Communities Alliance and the Local Government Association Coastal Special Interest Group (LGA Coastal SIG) - have been co-secretariat for the Coastal Communities APPG since February 2020.

UK COASTAL COMMUNITIES APPG INQUIRY

The Coastal Inquiry aims to delve into issues currently affecting coastal communities around the UK, raising awareness of these challenges and potential solutions for MPs to consider. Through each Coastal Inquiry session, MPs discussion the information provided and determine a series of actions to be undertaken to deliver change for our coastal communities.

Actions and the session programmes are reviewed and agreed at our Annual General Meetings.

Coastal Inquiry sessions 2022-2023

Please click on the document title link or icons below in order to view:
Roundtable: Health in Coastal Communities

Parliamentary briefing: Skills and Aspirations in Communities

Information session: Year of the Coast 2023

Parliamentary briefing: Impact of Coastal Erosion on Communities

Roundtable: Levelling Up in Coastal Communities

Parliamentary briefing: Ocean Literacy