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Young people growing up in England's coastal communities face unique obstacles

A new report, from the UCL Coastal Youth Life Chances project, highlights the challenges faced by young people growing up in coastal communities across England.

The UCL Coastal Youth Life Chances project, led by Professor Avril Keating (IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society), examines how growing up in coastal communities in England impacts the life chances of their young people. As part of this project, the project team spoke with 50 policymakers and practitioners from around England to get their perspectives on the challenges facing young adults aged 15–20.

In their new interim report, the researchers focus on these coastal policymakers and youth practitioners' perspectives.

The report highlights four common themes that emerged in their interviews with local councilors, teachers, youth workers and local government officials that are working in coastal communities:

• There are limited education and employment opportunities for young people aged 15–20 in coastal towns. This impacts the educational achievement and aspirations of coastal youth.
• Leisure activities for this age group are difficult to access, due to a combination of high costs, declining high streets, and the closure of youth clubs and youth services.
• Youth clubs and youth services in many areas have been slashed. Remaining services are over-stretched and operating with short-term, "patchwork" funding.
• The lack of youth services and youth leisure spaces is contributing to anti-social behavior, drug consumption, and more serious crime. County Lines activity was highlighted in around 50% of the project interviews.

While many of the difficulties faced in coastal communities reflect the wider effects of socio-economic deprivation, the report identifies the ways geographic isolation has exacerbated these challenges.

In terms of education, interviewees reported that schools in coastal areas are overstretched and underfunded, resulting in lower educational attainment. With fewer post-16 and higher education opportunities and limited public transport options, the report records how young people are often put off from applying for university.

When it came to youth employment options, the seasonal and insecure nature of work in coastal communities was a recurring theme. Participants described how the scarcity of high-skill graduate jobs contributed to "brain drain."

Many policymakers and youth practitioners also told the research team that coastal town centers have been designed to serve the needs of tourists or elderly residents over the needs of young people. Meanwhile, under-investment in youth services was found to have left young people in coastal communities unsupported and with "nothing to do."

Many of those interviewed felt the lack of services, facilities and spaces for young people contributed to a decrease in youth mental health and well-being, and an increase in crime, drug use and anti-social behavior in their communities. A teacher in Great Yarmouth said, "There are villages which are rife with County Lines and drug supply is easier to get than e-cigarettes... County Lines is worse, without a shadow of doubt."

The , titled "Young people & coastal communities: Local policymaker and practitioner perspectives," aims to identify the challenges faced by young people growing up on English coastlines, but also to offer evidence-based policy recommendations to improve the lives of coastal youth.

In the course of their interviews, policymakers and youth practitioners made important recommendations for changes that could transform their communities:

• Offer young people something to do and somewhere to go.
• Provide sustainable funding for youth services
• Increase and improve employment and educational opportunities
• Improve the infrastructure and built environment of coastal communities
• Include young people and youth practitioners in local decision-making and planning

From Hartlepool to St Ives, community members called for sustainable funding for youth services and for young people to be included in decision making about their communities. "I think letting people make decisions is massive, is so important in our town," said one practitioner in Barrow. "Don't bring consultants in to tell our communities what they need. Come and talk to us."