£12m grant for seaside culture

Great Yarmouth, Southport, Hastings and Bridlington have won £12m to renovate and create new arts and cultural venues, in the second wave of the Government’s Sea Change programme.

Designers will be eyeing job opportunities as details emerge of the four seaside resorts’ plans.

Southport is to receive £4m for a project to link its arts centre, art gallery and library in the town centre.

In Bridlington, £3m will be spent on redesigning the promenade surrounding the Royal Hall and Spa Theatre Complex.

Great Yarmouth’s £3m grant will transform a Grade I-listed chapel into a new arts centre, while Hastings will receive £2m to provide a new piazza, performance space and cultural community centre.

Last year, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment-led Sea Change initiative awarded £10m to Blackpool, Torbay and Dover.

The three-year programme will dispense approximately £45m until 2010 to help boost regeneration of the UK’s seaside towns and resorts.