Britain’s coastal towns hit hardest by recessions
New research out this week shows the recession has hit many areas in Britain hard, with costal towns in particular suffering very badly.
Hull has been worst hit with 26.6 bankruptcies per 10,000 adults, with Poole and Plymouth not far behind. Experts are saying the drop in tourism and poor weather this summer are two of the main factors which have contributed to this. The decline in shipbuilding and fishing has also taken a negative toll on many towns who rely on these as their main incomes.
There is also concerns about banks not lending to businesses based on forecasts for trading during the coming year, which many had done in the past.
The average rate of personal insolvency in coastal towns is 20.6. That’s almost a third higher than the national average of 15.7 and twice as high as in London where the rate drops to 9.1.
Accountancy group Wilkins and Kennedy carried out the research which found Cardiff was the only coastal city, out of the main 50 UK towns and cities, that had a below average bankruptcy rate of 12.3.
As well as tourism, experts are blaming the high concentration of pensioners in coastal towns for the increase in personal insolvency.
A spokesman from the FSB has predicted 36,000 small businesses will go bust this year, with many of them expected to be from coastal towns.