The district of East Lindsey is home to some of Lincolnshire’s most beautiful countryside and coastline.

For years it has been at the heart of tourism in Lincolnshire, and a major driver of our vibrant visitor economy. With bustling market towns such as Louth and one of the UK’s most famous seaside resorts, Skegness - it represents a diverse part of the county. 

However, there is much more than just tourism to East Lindsey. Thanks to the vision of the Economic Growth team at East Lindsey District Council, and the recent success in bidding for major Town Deal funding, the area is entering a new period of growth and prosperity.

As part of the multimillion pound Town Deal, plans are underway to deliver new tourism and leisure hubs at Mablethorpe, Skegness, Sutton-on-Sea and Sandilands, as well as a landmark project in Mablethorpe to develop innovation in health and care.

What may be surprising to know is that East Lindsey is very much at the heart of driving a new health and well-being agenda nationally. By utilising the natural assets of the local environment and all it offers to support a healthy lifestyle, coupled with championing the development of new skills, learning and well-being opportunities, it will enable people to become more socially and economically active within their local communities and beyond. Education, and supporting the health and well-being of residents is very much the focus of ELDC; particularly those who are aging or have challenging life circumstances.

It was integral to ELDC and the Connected Coast board (the organisation set up to drive the vision) that the Town Deal Investment Plans and their associated projects will act as a ‘catalyst for ideas, partnerships and iniatives that will improve and lay foundations for the future of the area’, as well as improving socio-economic outcomes in the area by reducing health inequalities. One of the flagship projects that will drive this is the new ‘Campus for Future Living’ which will be based in Mablethorpe. This pioneering project will harness the intrinsic link between health, well-being and economic prosperity by tackling and reducing issues around health and deprivation, inequality, seasonal employment challenges and social isolation.

It represents a glowing beacon for change and an all-encompassing opportunity to turn challenges facing the area into nationally significant strengths and opportunities for growth. The Campus for Future Living will have both local relevance and impact, and national reach and influence. The project has been a catalyst for bringing together a coalition of partners with ambitions to create a national exemplar, that will act as an anchor point which not only supports better health, wellbeing and prosperity for the town’s residents, but also attract new health care workers, stimulates innovation (both digital and technological) and develops new approaches to healthcare delivery which serve and empower the local community.

As well as providing a much-needed resource and career opportunities for health care workers, the campus will also demonstrate on a national level how people can live and age better. Working with inspiring organisations such as the National Centre for Rural Health and Care, Health Education England and the Universities of Lincoln and Nottingham, it will also focus on digital development in the healthcare sector.

In addition to this ground breaking scheme, the Skegness Learning Campus is part of the wider Skegness Gateway project. This is a significant development, with 136 hectares of land being transformed into a major sustainable urban extension providing hundreds of jobs and much-needed amenities to Skegness.

The new Learning Campus will be operated by the TEC Partnership. It will create a much needed community asset, providing mixed-use space for people and business, bringing year-round benefits to the area. The Campus is at the core of the Skegness Gateway master-plan and will bring innovative courses for developing skills and training to the area. It will be a flexible and adaptable building that can adapt to the ever-changing expectations of the curriculum, advances in technology and the skills requirements of local employers. The site will also include a space for SMEs to grow and develop their skills in incubator facilities. This will be a sustainably built development, utilising green technology and bio-diverse features that reduce whole life cycle costs.

Both of these developments will not only support, nurture and improve health and well-being, but also boost businesses and economic growth. ELDC and its partners recognise that the two elements are intrinsically linked and by improving the overall lifestyle, health and well-being of a community it creates an environment in which business and the economy can flourish.

The vision is to create a national exemplar of how an aging population (as well as a younger people) can live, prosper and flourish - by placing health and well-being at the top of the development agenda, refocusing societal challenges to create opportunities.

ELDC and the Connected Coast board are already working with some of the UK’s leading organisations in this field, but there is an abundance of opportunity for investment and development for our private sector organisations; and their vision and expertise is very much needed if all these aspirations are to be achieved. There are huge opportunities for Team Lincolnshire members to be involved in these projects.  These two developments are just one of a number of high profile schemes that need support and expertise from the private sector.

For further information please contact Lydia.Rusling@e-lindsey.gov.uk