Telling the story of Lowestoft

In 2018, East Suffolk Council took part in a placemaking programme to understand the public perception of Lowestoft and the priorities of businesses, stakeholders, and the community, and to tell the ‘story’ of Lowestoft through identifying the qualities that make the place.

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The challenge

Lowestoft is the UK’s most easterly town and the first place in the country to see the sunrise. There is significant investment taking place, from the new Gull Wing crossing, to the permanent flood defence scheme and the growing offshore energy sector.

Through an online survey of residents and a series of workshops, feedback was gathered from the local community about the town’s strengths and weaknesses. Common key strengths included the beach, the Broads National Park, theatres, open spaces and future opportunities around the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) and clean energy, however a number of challenges were also identified. These included traffic congestion, poor infrastructure and housing stock. Behavioural challenges, such as a lack of pride, a culture of disappointment, a poor reputation, fear of change and a lack of a joined-up approach, were also raised.

The solution

To tackle these challenges and help the town to thrive, East Suffolk Council and its partners created the Lowestoft Place Board, which includes key stakeholders to create a town vision, an Ambassadors Programme and to develop a brand for the promotion of the town.

To do this, it was important to understand what makes Lowestoft special, competitive and different to other places and to bring this together in a new ‘story’ that every organisation and individual across the area can share and be part of.

The story ensures that Lowestoft plays to its strengths and grasps opportunities as they arise. The real strength will come from every organisation playing their part in bringing the story to life, so that those living in Lowestoft, as well as everywhere else, start to see and hear a more confident and consistent message about what makes the town special.

The story needed to identify the assets and strengths that are fundamental to defining what people in Lowestoft are all about; what makes the place and its people special and what makes it different. The story is split into two key themes: harnessing and celebrating the energy of the sea and exploring the ‘eastscape’. These were identified because elements of them have previously helped shaped the place and will certainly be central to its future. These themes sit alongside a statement that reflects the overall aspiration – ‘Lowestoft: the leading light’.

The Place Board and Ambassador programme will help to raise the profile and promote all of the positive things happening in Lowestoft. Ambassadors – those who have any interest in the town from the private, public and voluntary sector – will help 'sell' Lowestoft and cascade the story to their networks, challenging outdated perceptions and creating a more vibrant and optimistic narrative.

A promotional toolkit, including photography, copy, a strong visual identity and a storybook is available to the ambassadors to help tell the story. Ambassador events and a branding masterclass have demonstrated how the place branding toolkit can be used by the private and public sector.

Supporting the branding is a dedicated website www.thinklowestfot.co.uk and social media pages with the key message of #ThinkLowestoft.

The impact

The Place Board provided support in creating a Town Investment Plan, which sets out Lowestoft’s ambitions, opportunities, and challenges over the next ten years. The board acted as a critical friend to ensure projects were delivered and supported by sectors within the community.

In 2019, Lowestoft was chosen as one of 100 UK towns to benefit from the Government's £3.6 billion Towns Fund. Each town was invited to develop a proposal for a Towns Deal, with up to £25 million available to bid for.

In November 2020, Lowestoft’s Town Investment Plan was submitted to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government as part of a £24.9m application to the Towns Fund.

As part of the Budget announcement on 3 March, it was confirmed that the funding bid was successful, with the full £24.9million agreed.

Now at the delivery stage the place board continue to provide support and ensure there is additional social value added to the project. The board provide combined resource to tackle key issues within the town as a partnership.

The ambassador programme has attracted over 200 businesses and organisations who regularly attend events on key projects, issues, and initiatives in the town. The ambassadors then promote these outcomes within the community raising the towns profile.

Ambassadors have also used the branding toolkit within their own business to ensure we have a consistent message and brand throughout the town.

Social media engagement across the ThinkLowestoft platforms continue to grow along with positive engagement.

How is the new approach sustainable?

The main investment is time from East Suffolk Council and those businesses involved within the Place Board and ambassador programme. However, businesses have shown a willing to participate with the numbers of those involved continuing to increase.

The key to sustainability is action and businesses and organisations having a voice and contributing to the town and its future.

In the longer term and once the Ambassador programme is more evolved, we could see the administration undertaken by an elected committee. However, it is vital that east Suffolk Council plays an active role within the group and for the time being provides full administration duties.

Lessons learnt

It was clear from early within the project that businesses and organisations wanted to get involved and be part of the solution. The Place Board numbers had to be limited to ensure that it was effective. As a result, we focussed on ensuring that we had representatives from all areas of the community from local gov, business and community groups.

Interest in the Place Board was oversubscribed which gave us a good base for the ambassador programme.  

COVID-19 meant that Place Boards meeting and the ambassador event took place virtually. This was a positive outcome and enabled us to maintain high attendance rates. Following feedback from the ambassadors we have now moved to a programme of virtual and live events.

Action, themes, and agendas need to come from businesses and the community, so they have ownership and help provide the solution.

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