| In recent years the fate of coastal towns has emerged as one of Britain’s most pressing social issues, one that successive governments have recognised but failed to address. Formerly thriving towns now consistently dominate UK government deprivation statistics. Some researchers we talked to described a “salt belt” of deprivation that speaks to a broader lack of resources and social and public infrastructure – conditions that corrode and limit opportunities and aspirations. According to UCL’s Avril Keating, young people in these communities – meaning 15- to 25-year-olds – are some of the most affected. “These are young people who are trying to figure out how to become independent adults in places that tend to have very limited opportunities,” she said. “They often feel that these towns have nothing to offer them and they have been left behind – and in many ways they are right.” What are some of the biggest challenges for young people in coastal towns? When asked why she thought young people in seaside towns were so markedly worse off than their peers inland, Keating said there was a combination of issues at play: crumbling public services; insufficient local transport infrastructure further isolating young people in “end-of-the-line” towns; seasonal coastal economies providing temporary employment in the summer months but then nothing for the rest of the year; and generational unemployment and household poverty. One youth policymaker in St Ives told Keating’s researchers that the seasonal job opportunities for young people are “like a glass ceiling – but it’s made of ice-cream and chips and pastries. For many young people it’s limiting.” The lack of opportunities coupled with the physical decline of their towns and the stigma of being associated with deprived communities – feeling like, as one young person in Blackpool described, “just this poor person living in a shithole” – leads many to believe that their only option is to leave. “These are places where local people often feel a strong connection to their town, but what was surprising to see from our research was that so many young people felt that they had to move away to make something of themselves,” said Keating. The “brain drain” of young people from coastal communities not only leaches these towns of future entrepreneurs, business owners and skilled workers, but leaves the dilemma of “what happens to those who want to leave, but can’t”, said Keating. “It can create a feeling of being trapped, a sense of hopelessness, and this can lower pride and aspiration.” Research has shown that young people in the most deprived coastal areas are suffering from worse mental health problems than those inland, have higher levels of self-harm and are more likely to die from drug poisoning. What do young people themselves say they need? | 