Oh I do like to be beside the seaside.

Thanks to a new regeneration project in the East Anglian town of Great Yarmouth, residents and local businesses should be fairly pleased about being there too.

The Secondary Holiday Area Regeneration Project (SHARP) is a an innovative scheme, which is pivotal in addressing the issue of rundown guest houses, hotels and property, bringing them back into use to meet current decency and safety standards in a holiday area.

The £4.42 million two-year housing initiative is aimed at regenerating areas of the town’s Central and Northgate ward. The council put together its bid for funding in September 2005, and succeeded in attracting the funding from the Regional Housing Board, administered by Go-East. In addition the scheme is expected to attract over £2m private sector investment.

Traditional British seaside towns experienced a dramatic change in fortunes when foreign travel and holidays abroad became affordable. After trying to compete with cheap package holidays, many seaside towns suffered considerable deprivation as the tourist industry in the UK changed. In recent years however, seaside towns have been fighting back. The new tourism market has brought unexpected opportunities for towns to reinvent themselves.

Regeneration has been the key to upgrading infrastructure and buildings, unlocking the potential for short breaks, second holidays and attractions for day and staying visitors throughout the year.

Great Yarmouth, thanks to the pro-active approach of its borough council, is working towards creating a vibrant visitor experience and a thriving, sustainable tourism economy. Residents, visitors and businesses can be assured that current plans and regeneration initiatives are working towards creating a new seaside experience that will meet visitor expectations in the 21st century.

The area, close to the seafront, which is covered by the SHARP scheme, is part of the town’s Secondary Holiday Area and consequently contains a number of hotels and guesthouses as well as traditional residential property, and it is hoped that the regeneration of the homes will also ultimately have a positive impact on local tourist businesses as well as residents. Mark Burns, head of housing needs & welfare services at the council, commented:

“SHARP extends the normal area in which housing needs works. We are now able to help private landlords invest in their properties. We appreciate that people involved in the holiday trade want adjoining properties, and the area, to attract visitors. We have worked with the tourism board to create a scheme which should help us all.”

The project was launched in April, under the leadership of project manager William Wong. The early stages saw the council consulting with residents and owners over the nature of the changes that should take place, culminating in an open day that attracted over 50 residents and owners to the Hazelhurst Hotel in May. At this event the SHARP team exhibited photographs of all the properties in the regeneration area alongside detailed information about the grants and design possibilities available. Members of the team were also on hand to answer residents’ questions and address any concerns, and also to inform them of their intention to undertake an extensive property survey in the area.

Since then, further collaborative work with the planning, environmental health and tourist authorities has seen grants of up to 60 per cent of costs made available to building owners in order to bring their interiors up to a decent standard to hopefully attract people looking to rent or buy homes. Further plans are in place to make external improvements to both buildings and streetscapes to enhance the local area and maintain its status as a conservation area.

The scheme is about far more than just physical improvements, however: “It is about putting heart back into the community by joining forces with residents and service providers to explore better ways to provide better local services,” says Wong. “These will include training, employment and business support. We are also exploring opportunities to set up a construction training and employment scheme for local residents.”

Burns is equally optimistic about the long-term prospects of the project: “When the area has been improved we are hoping that it will be seen as an excellent investment opportunity for hoteliers, who will have the chance to purchase empty buildings. These areas have great potential.

“Great Yarmouth has so many exciting projects either underway, or on the horizon, and this is another one that will help improve the town. There is the work going on to give the seafront a 21st century appeal, when it begins the outer harbour will bring work to the borough, and projects under the guidance of First East will also make the town a more attractive and vital place to be. We need to provide housing to meet these needs, while helping to put some heart back into the town.”

He continues: “Our role in housing needs is primarily to help people find homes, and to tackle the causes of housing need such as disrepair. However, this project is also about supporting the tourist industry and working with other partners to raise standards in these areas and engender investment confidence. It will also mean that people living in rented accommodation will enjoy better standards.”