It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that the health and economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic are felt equally across the country, but new research from the University of Southampton reminds us that this really isn’t the case.

The report reveals that coastal communities across the UK are likely to be significantly affected by the economic lockdown measures, due in large part to their reliance on tourism.  The report suggests former industrial towns are also at risk, but this is due to longer-term consequences of the crisis.  Of the 20 towns identified as being most at risk, nine were coastal towns, and a further 10 were ex-industrial.

At risk

The researchers analyzed the distribution of workers in four sectors that they believe to be most affected by the economic shutdown: arts & leisure, pubs & restaurants, non-food retail, and accommodation.  The analysis revealed that over 25% of employees in coastal towns worked in these sectors, with 56% in Newquay, Cornwall, and 54.7% in Skegness.

The reliance on a tourism industry that has been shuttered by the lockdown is a major factor in these risk levels, alongside the shutdown of restaurants, pubs and shops, which are affecting both coastal and post-industrial towns alike.

The study also examined the resilience of towns to the economic impact of the shutdown.  It did this by exploring the socio-economic characteristics of each town, including the age of the local population, their education level, and so on.  This found that both former industrial towns and coastal towns were aging faster than university towns and large cities, which made rebounding from economic setbacks harder.

What’s more, the research found that these towns had already suffered significant economic decline already, along with social isolation, a general lack of investment over a prolonged period, and low levels of social wellbeing.  All of these pre-existing challenges have been a tinderbox upon which the pandemic has sat.

“Our research shows that coastal and ex-industrial towns are most economically vulnerable due to the shutdown,” the researchers say. “These areas have the highest proportion of workers in the industries most affected by closures such as tourism and retail.”