The monthly street market in King’s Road, a hot spot for new businesses. What do you think of it all?

Come along and talk to us about your town

St Leonards-based social enterprise Coastal Action is currently researching a major project on social change and gentrification in the town and is looking for help from local people happy to talk about their experience of what is happening where they are, as Chris Connelly explains.

Coastal Action are looking to run a series of focus groups during the summer designed to track changes in different parts of town and to capture local opinion on how this is impacting business, community and everyday life here.

“The last five years have seen an influx of new residents and much positive press about the area far and wide, leading to talk of gentrification and terms like Dalston-by-the Sea” explained Coastal Action founder, James Prentice, a lifelong local.

“Alongside the national publicity, there have also been expressions of concern from some quarters about the effects of these changes in terms of increased property prices, people being priced out of the areas where they are well-established and a shift in local shops and services.

“This major research project aims to plumb down beneath the journalism, marketing hype and thoughts of the online commentariat to discover what groups of residents actually think is going on in their town, before asking them to assess those experiences. We have no business or political agenda other than inquisitiveness and the desire to find out more.”

Coastal Action are interested in talking to you, whether you are a born-and-bred local or new arrival and want to meet people across all age and occupational groups in every part of town.

The first phase of work will focus on St Leonards and the Coastal Action team are particularly interested in hearing from residents from this area. The focus groups will run at weekends in June and July in central St Leonards locations and will take no longer than 90 minutes. Light refreshments will be provided

If you are interested in getting involved, or to find out more, please contact us at coastal.action@outlook.com, tweet us at @coastal action, or message us through the Coastal Action CIC Facebook page stating your name, age, and why you want to take part.

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