£20 million plan to tackle town’s troubles could be blueprint for coastal neighbour
A £20 million plan to boost a coastal town aims to make it cleaner and safer – and could be a blueprint for its neighbour.
Skegness is getting a £20 million Pride in Place investment, with the money nearly ready to be spent on improvements.
Mablethorpe will get the same sum in the coming years – with its process still in its early days – but councillors believe the two towns can fix similar problems with the cash.
In both cases, the money is to be spent over a ten-year period and has been given to ‘left behind’ towns – with the likes of Boston and Spalding also being chosen.
The Skegness programme aims to create a cleaner, safer, and more vibrant town by investing in street improvements, community facilities and economic opportunities.
Members of East Lindsey District Council’s executive board have agreed for the council to be the ‘accountable body’ – meaning it will oversee the management and use of the public funds – with the Skegness Neighbourhood Board in charge of allocating where the money will be spent and seeing through a vision for the future.
The authority is working with the neighbourhood board to deliver the programme and to allocate the funding towards specific projects and organisations in the area.
At a meeting on Wednesday, May 6, portfolio holder for the coastal economy, employment and skills, Steve Kirk (Conservative – Skegness Scarbrough and Seacroft) explained that Mablethorpe has been included in the second phase of the Pride in Place programme.
He said: “Mablethorpe is often not thought about in the high regard I think it should be.
“It does definitely have its fair share of problems – very similar to the problems of Skegness and, I would argue, all coastal resorts around the country.
“They all share a similar set of problems and I believe that the work that’s been done in Skegness will only help make the Mablethorpe board even better.
“They are totally separate towns with totally separate identities but there are common themes and I’m sure when the residents are consulted, there, we will get similar submissions as we did to Skegness.”
He added the funding for Mablethorpe was in the “very early days yet” and the council is continuing to develop the plans for this programme of improvements.
In December 2025, the government confirmed that Mablethorpe would be part of the phase two delivery model, which focuses on smaller, more specific neighbourhood areas.
Coun Adam Grist (Conservative – Legbourne) was pleased with the planned investment in Skegness.
He said: “We’ve seen millions of pounds invested on the coastal strip over the last few years, and this should continue that good work.
“And, as Steve (Kirk) has said, I think it’s great that Mablethorpe and that sort of northern area is now included as well.
“This should enable everything to progress in a business-like manner and see some new initiatives taking shape in the next few months.”