Hartlepool MP heads up new group to boost seaside towns

Mr Hill has been appointed chair of an All Party Parliamentary Group on Coastal Communities which has held its first meeting.

The group has been established following a recent House of Lords Report into issues faced by UK coastal towns which said they had been neglected in terms of funding for too long.

Mr Hill said: “I am so proud to have been elected chair of this important All Party Parliamentary Group and I am looking forward to championing the needs of long neglected places like Hartlepool and other coastal towns up and down the country.

“The APPG has been set up to ensure that the House of Lords Report is recognised as a vital piece of work, but is also used as a stepping stone by the House of Commons to further investigate and promote the needs of coastal communities like Hartlepool.”

Mr Hill said the aim of the group will be to highlight the need for greater government funding and fight for their rejuvenation to boost their economies.

“For far too long seaside towns like Hartlepool have been neglected in favour of funding being directed towards the bigger towns and cities, yet our coastal communities have clung on to their distinct identity and stood by their communities through thick and thin,” he said.

“Our aim as an APPG is not only to highlight the inadequacies of Central Government funding, but to promote the needs of our Coastal Towns with a view to rejuvenating them, re-investing in our local economy, refocusing on re-building our manufacturing and tourism bases and making our local economy stronger.”

The House of Lords report on Regenerating Seaside Towns and Communities, published earlier this year, said seaside towns which grew as leisure destinations in the 19th Century have suffered since the decline of their core industries such as ship building and fishing.

It stated: “They should once again be celebrated as places that can provide attractive environments for residents and visitors alike.”