£45 milion cultural and public space regeneration funds for UK coastal towns

Sea Change is a capital grants programme of £45 million to fund a range of cultural, heritage or public space projects. The funds will be given over three years to Local Authorities, and must be match funded, a minimum of 50 per cent for grants up to £1,000,000, and a minimum of 100 per cent over £2,000,000.

Funds may be used for projects including, but not limited to, theatres, museums, libraries, galleries, archives, outdoor performance spaces, landscapes, or projects which promote new forms of cultural engagement.

Blackpool, Dover and Torbay will be the first towns to benefit from up to £4 million each for cultural and heritage projects, Culture Secretary Andy Burnham has announced.

The grants are the first to be made as part of Sea Change, a new funding programme which aims to kick start wider economic regeneration in coastal areas through specific investment in culture and heritage.  Sea Change is a three year programme that will give £45 million to coastal resorts, and is being led by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE).

The Sea Change programme will run for three years from 2008 to 2011, giving £15 million each year to seaside resorts.  It is lead by CABE working the Regional Development Agencies, English Heritage, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, Arts Council England, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Big Lottery Fund. It was announced in November 2007. DCMS press notice 147 refers.
For further details and how to apply for the open application grants please visit the CABE website.

Andy Burnham said: 'Our seaside resorts are much loved and an integral part of English culture.  But some of them are looking a bit faded and no longer attract as many visitors as they did.

“Many hold hidden treasures and this money provides a much needed boost to the resorts.  This year Blackpool, Torbay and Dover and a dozen other towns will benefit, and by the end of the programme in 2011 the regeneration of many of our coastal resorts will be firmly underway.'

By attracting additional funding, Sea Change projects will act as catalysts for further economic regeneration in the towns - bringing in new visitors and revenue, giving the local residents a new cultural heart and a renewed pride in the community.  The key criterion in choosing the resorts is that they are areas of social and economic deprivation in need of regeneration.

The three major grants in the first year will be awarded to resorts around the coast.  Blackpool, Dover and Torbay were identified by CABE in partnership with the Regional Development Agencies as priority areas for regeneration with projects in development.

In addition, the Sea Change programme includes up to 12 smaller grants of £200,000 to £1,000,000 via an open application programme.  Any coastal resort with a cultural project that would be a catalyst for regeneration can apply for this funding.  The deadline for applications for 2008 is June.

Local authorities will put forward projects to CABE along with their business and project management plans.  The project leaders must find match funding of at least 100 per cent to qualify for funding.  The money will be used for work on cultural infrastructure – improving historic public spaces such as high streets, promenades, harbours or gardens; constructing new buildings or converting existing ones for use as cultural centres; enhancing existing galleries, concert halls, dance spaces, theatres and arts centres.