Coastal Communities

Alex Norris Excerpts

Thursday 20th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Alex Norris)]

I thank the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Steff Aquarone) for securing this debate and for the way he led it. He said that it was his first opening speech—it was an excellent one. I admire both the poise and the clarity with which he spoke in his first Backbench Business debate. There are clearly more excellent debates to come, but he will struggle, I think, to top today’s topic. The official record of this debate will read like a love letter to our nation’s coastal communities—one in which we can all see ourselves and our treasured memories, whether we represent a coastal community or, for Members like myself who do not, spent our childhoods at Southport, Blackpool, Skegness or elsewhere around the country.

The hon. Gentleman set out very clearly the opportunities for our coastal communities—be they tourism, energy or natural beauty—but also the profound challenges, which were echoed in the contributions of a number of colleagues, such as slower economic growth, higher levels of deprivation and real challenges in healthcare. He said that he felt the system does not work. I share a lot of that, and I have some suggestions for how the system might change. The hon. Gentleman was also very clear that he would rather that a dedicated Minister respond to the debate, rather than me—I will try not to take it personally, and will address that directly in a moment.

First, I want to cover a number of contributions from colleagues. My hon. Friends the Members for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tom Rutland) and for East Thanet (Ms Billington) and the hon. Member for Torbay (Steve Darling) spoke about the integral challenge with housing in coastal communities, with too little building for too long. This Government are going to change that, with a million and a half homes in this Parliament. I say to colleagues, and to anybody listening who is passionate about their coastal community, that the way to ensure that is done in the right way—a way that respects local heritage, local demand and areas of natural beauty—is to be involved in the local planning process. That is how to set the blueprint for excellent development in our communities. As my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Alison Hume) said, that will bring jobs as well, with opportunity for all-year-round jobs, great careers and skills.

Of course, that conversation on housing includes an important point that was raised by a number of my colleagues, especially my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth (Jayne Kirkham), which is the matter of second homes and short-term lets. She and I have spoken about that a lot over the years, along with my hon. Friend the Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon). This Government are introducing a short-term let registration scheme to protect the spirit of our communities, notwithstanding the importance of short-term lets to the economy. We are abolishing the furnished holiday lettings tax regime to remove the tax incentive that short-term let owners have over long-term landlords. From this April, councils can opt to charge a council tax premium of up to 100% on second homes. However, we recognise that more will need to be done, and we are very keen to have that conversation with colleagues. We are considering what additional powers we could give local authorities to enable them to respond to the pressures created by short-term lets and holiday homes.

A number of colleagues, including—perhaps unsurprisingly —my hon. Friend the Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey (Kevin McKenna), made important points about healthcare. I would trumpet the Government’s 10-year health plan to reform the NHS, which coastal communities in particular will benefit from. The Minister for Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Aberafan Maesteg (Stephen Kinnock), is sitting on the Bench next to me. With the three big shifts—the move from hospital to community, from analogue to digital and from sickness to prevention—there is a lot in that plan for coastal communities. Again, I encourage colleagues to lean into that.

My hon. Friend the Member for Southend West and Leigh (David Burton-Sampson) draws me on cockles. Osborne’s sounds like it is the real backbone of his community, but, clearly, it is facing some real hurdles. If it is of any value to him, I would be very keen to meet the firm’s representatives and have the chance to have that conversation in full.

My hon. Friends the Members for Blackpool North and Fleetwood (Lorraine Beavers) and for Blackpool South (Chris Webb) touched on partnerships with central Government, local government and local communities. I can point to significant money coming from this Government: £90 million for housing redevelopment in Blackpool, and £40 million for the further education college and the new civil service hub. We believe that Blackpool’s best days are ahead of it, and I am very keen to work with my hon. Friends in that regard.

The hon. Member for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith) talked about the strong opportunities for development in the private sector. I would add to that the £4.4 billion for the naval base at Devonport. We also have the excellent tool of the freeport that we can work on together to draw in investment, which I and my colleagues are very keen to do.

The subject of freeports takes me to the Essex coast and to the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Sir Bernard Jenkin). He wanted to hear from this Dispatch Box a commitment to his community, and I can give him that commitment. Our renewed commitment to freeports, which we inherited from the previous Government, shows that we believe in the potential of his community. There are changes to local government coming, and the possibilities of devolution are outstanding, but I know— I will speak to this point later when I address the matter of a dedicated Minister—that his community has the skills, the knowledge and the experience to shape the area for the better and build it for the days ahead. Our commitment is to give it the power and the tools to do so, and I am very happy to recommit to that today.

[Ms Billington]

Will my hon. Friend confirm that this Government understand that there is a clear distinction between the challenges in rural communities and those in coastal ones? I noticed that the Liberal Democrat spokesman used the words “coastal” and “rural” almost completely interchangeably, and we know that the levels of deprivation and the challenges in coastal communities are significantly different from those in rural communities. Can he give me that confirmation from the Government?

[Alex Norris]

That is an important point. Rural communities can be coastal communities and vice versa, but not always, and their challenges manifest very differently. The challenges that come from being a community at the end of the line can be significant and profound, and we absolutely accept that.

I turn to the point that the hon. Member for North Norfolk made about having a dedicated Minister. As other colleagues have said, I think he is selling himself short. The reality is that this is not about having a Minister in government pulling the lever for North Norfolk, Hamble Valley or anywhere else to transform its community. This is an inside job. The promise from this Government is to shift power and resource from this place to those communities, so that they can change things for themselves. We have made a down payment with our plan for neighbourhoods, which covers Peterhead, for example. I hear some of the frustrations, but giving communities power and resources is a way to rebalance things, and it will enable them to change things for themselves. Of the 75 areas in the plan for neighbourhoods, 25 are coastal, which will mean a £500 million commitment. My hon. Friend the Member for Southend East and Rochford (Mr Alaba) talked about the independent commission on neighbourhoods, and much of its work is reflected in what we have done.

I say gently to the Opposition spokesperson that we want to move away from the broken begging bowl culture of levelling-up funds, where communities were pitted against each other, to more long-term sustained funding based on the needs of a community. The money is one thing, but, for me, the power is the real thing, and it underpins our plan for change. I am talking about the shift of power from this place to our local communities that we are seeing through devolution. We already have five elected mayors representing coastal areas, with two more still to come in May—Hull and East Yorkshire and Greater Lincolnshire. That gives those communities powers over housing, planning, transport, energy, skills, employment support and more, so that they can shape their areas.

Six more areas are coming down the line, including five coastal communities in the devolution priority programme. That is a shift of money and power from this place to coastal communities to take on the challenges that they have had in the past and, in partnership with central Government, to build very exciting futures—be they in tourism, in climate or in housing. That is what this Government offer. That is what the future offers, and that is something to be really excited about.