Helen Pidd returns to her Lancashire coastal hometown to compare memories of fairground nights, beachfront mischief and local music with the present. All of her old haunts have shut and young people report having nothing to do. A 22-year-old carer describes difficulties forging a life in Morecambe. Impoverished coastal towns show lower life expectancy and worse educational outcomes than elsewhere. Students feel disregarded by successive governments that have allowed seaside towns to decay. Reform UK sees electoral opportunity in places like Morecambe while questions remain about concrete solutions. The coastline contains lost opportunities and neglected communities, prompting calls for seaside investment.
As a teenager, the Today in Focus presenter Helen Pidd could not wait to leave her home town on the Lancashire coast. But today she looks back with fondness at her time spent at the fairground or misbehaving on the beachfront, and watching bands at the local music venue. She returned this summer to find out what life was like for young people today and found things were not as she remembered.
All of her old haunts had shut down and young people spoke about a town in which they had nothing to do. Eleanor Adamson, a 22-year-old carer, describes how hard it has been to forge her own path in life in Morecambe. Impoverished coastal towns have lower life expectancy and worse educational outcomes than elsewhere. Students at Helen's former school say they feel disregarded by successive governments that have left seaside towns to decay.
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