We are supporting local organisations and artists to amplify the thoughts, hopes and fears of the community of Skegness about the impact of climate change. This has included working with Lincolnshire Climate Conscious Students and art group Square Peg to create connection, public art and action!

Community sessions are already happening and there’s so much activity underway. We’ve held a meeting in parliament, which was attended by both Government and opposition parliamentarians, where LCCS spoke with passion about the threat facing Skegness. LCCS’s petition calling on Government accept climate changes to the Levelling Up and Regeneration bill has reached nearly 60,000 signatures (like to sign? add yours to the petition here). We created a postcard from the edge on Skegness Beach with artists’ Sand in your Eye and the community.

Skegness is a town which has been historically resistant to climate and social action. Square Peg, our WeAreHere Skegness Place Coordinators, has, through sustained listening and relationship building, overcome this challenge. They have brought together a dedicated group of residents who regularly attend workshops and activities, united by their own lived experiences of climate change impacts, including historic floods. This vital work to activate a largely disengaged community has led to the development of tangible neighbourhood asks to input in the local plan, and the foundation for legal action (more on this coming soon!)

Crucially, our work in Skegness has highlighted the situation of people with disabilities who are housed on a floodplain and for whom there is no emergency evacuation plan. The group which has come together through WeAreHere Skegness plan to address this directly through campaigning and advocacy in the long-term.

Skegness might have been forgotten by those in power, but we are here to support the local community to make them take notice!