0:00:04 > 0:00:08I've seen towns explode into cities.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11I've seen towns with their hearts ripped out.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15Every town has its own tales of triumph and catastrophe.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18All of them face challenges.
0:00:18 > 0:00:19As a geographer,
0:00:19 > 0:00:23I believe that towns are the communities of the future.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26Towns will be the places we want to live.
0:00:27 > 0:00:32By 2030, a staggering 92% of us will be living the urban life.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36Congested cities sprawl across our map,
0:00:36 > 0:00:40but cities don't have all the answers.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42I believe we need to fall back in love
0:00:42 > 0:00:46with the places that first quickened our pulses.
0:00:46 > 0:00:47Towns.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Smaller than a city, more intimate, much greener, more surprising.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59Towns are where we learned to be urban.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03They are the building blocks of our civilisation.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05Coastal towns,
0:01:05 > 0:01:09market towns, river towns, industrial towns.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13Collectively, they bind our land together.
0:01:13 > 0:01:18This is the story of towns, but it's also our story.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Where we came from. How we live.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23And where we might be going.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27This is Scarborough,
0:01:27 > 0:01:31a Yorkshire coastal town with a history of boom and bust.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36I want to find out what's happened to this town of 40,000 people
0:01:36 > 0:01:40since its heyday as Britain's first seaside resort.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44Whether our fondness for foreign holidays has left this port
0:01:44 > 0:01:45high and dry.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50How a town on the edge survives.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16At eight in the morning of December 16th 1914,
0:02:16 > 0:02:20Britain was attacked from the sea without warning.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22EXPLOSION
0:02:22 > 0:02:25Two German battle cruisers hurled 500 explosive shells
0:02:25 > 0:02:27at a wakening seaside town.
0:02:27 > 0:02:3018 people lost their lives.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33It was the first time in over 100 years
0:02:33 > 0:02:37that civilians had been killed by an enemy on British soil.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39On that winter's day,
0:02:39 > 0:02:42the town that suddenly found itself at war was Scarborough.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54The shock of the German shelling reverberated around Britain.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58This wasn't a major city, or a crucial naval base.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03This was a peaceful British town with ordinary people going about their everyday lives.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12After the attack, Scarborough, and Britain, had a choice -
0:03:12 > 0:03:15take the blow or fight for the future.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20"Remember Scarborough" became a rallying cry,
0:03:20 > 0:03:24a call to arms to enlist in a war that was no longer distant.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34It seems to me that many of our towns are facing
0:03:34 > 0:03:37the same kind of choice now -
0:03:37 > 0:03:39take the hit or come out fighting.
0:03:39 > 0:03:44This is an era of extraordinary social and economic convulsion.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Our towns are on the front line of change.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51They were created and developed for particular purposes -
0:03:51 > 0:03:54trade, defence, industry.
0:03:54 > 0:03:59But what happens when those traditional roles suddenly disappear?
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Should towns like Scarborough accept defeat?
0:04:02 > 0:04:06Or should we all enlist and fight for their future?
0:04:06 > 0:04:07LOUD DRUMMING
0:04:14 > 0:04:18Tonight they're launching a massive arts festival here in Scarborough.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22It's February, it's freezing,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25it seems like a mad idea.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28But Scarborough does things differently.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Physically and creatively, it lives life on the edge.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:04:42 > 0:04:45A town's place in the landscape
0:04:45 > 0:04:48explains why people have settled there,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51and to a large extent, it guides their destiny.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56The geography of a town affects perceptions, attitudes,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59and how its people live their lives.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04Scarborough is arranged a bit like the stalls of a theatre,
0:05:04 > 0:05:09in tiers above two bays, one to the north and one to the south.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Two scoops out of the coastline,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13with a massive headland between them.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18A Yorkshire Rock of Gibraltar crowned with a defiant castle.
0:05:18 > 0:05:25This town sits right on the edge - on the edge of Yorkshire and the edge of England.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27Poised between land and sea,
0:05:27 > 0:05:32it's always been engaged in a struggle between prosperity and oblivion.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43There are plenty of towns where you can drive for a couple of miles
0:05:43 > 0:05:46from the centre in any direction and reach countryside.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49Try that in Scarborough, and you'll drown.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Draw a circle around Scarborough and half of it is sea.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55It's a town of two halves.
0:05:55 > 0:05:56This half, the seaward side,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59made Scarborough feel part of the wider world.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01But this half, on the landward side,
0:06:01 > 0:06:05made Scarborough feel at the END of the world.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08Approach Scarborough from the land, and it's at the end of the road,
0:06:08 > 0:06:09and at the end of the line.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14These days, you could argue that Scarborough's out in the cold.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20So how does a seaside town like Scarborough survive?
0:06:20 > 0:06:24Is it about to slide into the depths or rise like a recovering Atlantis?
0:06:24 > 0:06:28I want to know if this town has a future
0:06:28 > 0:06:31or if Scarborough's dead in the water.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43Looking back through time, this town was born from the water
0:06:43 > 0:06:48when men from the North beached their longships in this sheltered bay.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57The name Scarborough seems to date back to Viking times.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59It crops up in the Icelandic sagas
0:06:59 > 0:07:03when two Viking brothers allegedly landed on the Yorkshire coast
0:07:03 > 0:07:07and founded a fortress called "Skardaborg" - Scarborough.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09To warriors from the frozen north,
0:07:09 > 0:07:14Skardaborg must have been a bit like an all-inclusive Mediterranean resort -
0:07:14 > 0:07:19lovely sandy beach, warm sun, plenty of food.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22What more could you want?
0:07:24 > 0:07:27But Skardaborg was more war-zone than resort.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Soon after the settlement's foundation,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33a rival group of Vikings burned the place so effectively
0:07:33 > 0:07:38that it fails to appear at all in the Domesday survey of 1086.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44The town really got going in the 12th century.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47As a trading port with a great defensive headland,
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Henry II saw potential in Scarborough.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54It was the perfect place to build a castle and to establish a town.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59# Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
0:07:59 > 0:08:03# My friend, you can save your money and time. #
0:08:03 > 0:08:07By 1163, Scarborough was in business.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09It grew to be equal in power to York
0:08:09 > 0:08:12and one of the largest towns on the East coast.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16And in 1253 came a medieval hyperstore
0:08:16 > 0:08:20the likes of which had never been seen in Northern Europe.
0:08:20 > 0:08:21It was Scarborough Fair.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27Scarborough Fair was held on the sands, on the site of this harbour.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31It ran for 45 days every year, through August and September,
0:08:31 > 0:08:35an exceptionally long time for a fair to last.
0:08:35 > 0:08:36It was a fish market.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38Not just any old fish market,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41but the biggest fish market in Western Europe.
0:08:41 > 0:08:455,000 barrels of salt herring were sold here every year.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Fresh herring, dried herring too.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52Large salted cod were also a speciality.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54The Fair was a huge source of revenue,
0:08:54 > 0:09:00bringing in over £250,000 in today's money to the town every year.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04Scarborough Fair put Scarborough on the map.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08Fish merchants came to the Fair
0:09:08 > 0:09:12from Flanders and France, from Norway and Scotland,
0:09:12 > 0:09:16feeding a commercial boom and driving the growth of the town.
0:09:16 > 0:09:21Eventually, other market towns and ports caught up with Scarborough,
0:09:21 > 0:09:23and the last Fair was held here in 1788.
0:09:23 > 0:09:29Today, Scarborough's fish market is only a shadow of its former glory.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45After the golden age of medieval fishing, and of Scarborough Fair,
0:09:45 > 0:09:48the amazing moment for me - the defining incident
0:09:48 > 0:09:51that raised this town to international stardom
0:09:51 > 0:09:54came from the discovery of some water
0:09:54 > 0:09:56which had a rather strange effect.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00It was the early 17th century, Charles I was on the throne,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04and it was the beginning of Scarborough's next golden age.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08It started with a funny tummy.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12In 1626, a Mrs Elizabeth Farrer,
0:10:12 > 0:10:14who seems to have been in need of medical attention,
0:10:14 > 0:10:18came across a spring at the foot of the cliff.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22The stones surrounding it were curiously stained.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27Tasting the water, she realised that it had a very high mineral content.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31It was a purgative - just the business for cleaning out her system.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34Drink this, and you'll be sprinting for the porcelain.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36It started a revolution.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44The town of Scarborough became the place to take curative dips in the sea,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47and to take spa waters as a laxative.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50But what was it they came here to drink?
0:10:52 > 0:10:55- Hello, there.- Hello!
0:10:55 > 0:10:57So, what's actually in this water?
0:10:57 > 0:11:00Well, there's quite a lot of mineral content.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04- I mean, if you can see by this... it's 2.7 grams per litre.- 2.7.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08So, extremely high, and that's made up of calcium carbonates,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12iron oxides, obviously, magnesium sulphates.
0:11:12 > 0:11:172.7 grams in this water, so what would it normally be in ordinary water that we drink?
0:11:17 > 0:11:21It's about 6.8 times higher than what you get in a bottle of mineral water or tap water,
0:11:21 > 0:11:23so extremely high, yeah.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26And Will, what's this gadget you've got here?
0:11:26 > 0:11:28This can tell us the sulphate content of the water.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31We can see there's a lot of minerals in the water here
0:11:31 > 0:11:34precipitating out and we know that there's a lot of magnesium
0:11:34 > 0:11:36and sulphate in the water, in particular.
0:11:36 > 0:11:41Magnesium sulphate is Epsom salts which is often prescribed as a laxative
0:11:41 > 0:11:46which is probably why the spa waters were famous for their purging effects.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49So, we can have a quick look at this device here
0:11:49 > 0:11:53and see how the values we get now compare with our modern day drinking water standards.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56- So, we've got a value of, uh... - 1320.- Yeah.
0:11:56 > 0:12:01- Now, our water companies like to keep that value below 250mg per litre.- You're kidding!
0:12:01 > 0:12:04Yeah, anything above that, you can start to taste it,
0:12:04 > 0:12:08and at values of around 1,000 or so, it will start having that purging effect.
0:12:08 > 0:12:14So, if you drink water that's got six times more sulphate in it than ordinary tap water,
0:12:14 > 0:12:16what actually happens when it goes in to your system?
0:12:16 > 0:12:18People react differently,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21but you'd probably have a lively day or so afterwards!
0:12:21 > 0:12:22HE LAUGHS
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Yeah, very good.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27'News of Mrs Farrer's discovery spread fast,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30'but it was the publication in 1660 of a book
0:12:30 > 0:12:34'which converted a trickle of visitors into a torrent.'
0:12:38 > 0:12:41Forget our modern holiday ads with their palm trees,
0:12:41 > 0:12:43their cocktails, their sky-blue pools.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48This little book, Scarborough Spaw by one Dr Wittie,
0:12:48 > 0:12:53turned a struggling fishing port into a national health resort.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Wittie's readers were urged to take the waters of Scarborough
0:12:56 > 0:12:59between May and September - advice which triggered
0:12:59 > 0:13:03a new, annual migration to the town.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07The spring on the beach may just as well have been gushing liquid gold.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11Scarborough suddenly found that it had a new, seasonal market.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19And Dr Witties' advice extended to sea bathing too,
0:13:19 > 0:13:23recommending that gout-sufferers strip off and take the plunge.
0:13:25 > 0:13:30In 1733, a visitor to Scarborough wrote, "It is the custom
0:13:30 > 0:13:32"for not only gentlemen, but the ladies also,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35"to bathe in the seas.
0:13:35 > 0:13:40"The gentlemen go out a little way to sea in cobbles and jump in naked, directly".
0:13:40 > 0:13:45Cobbles were small boats, the local shallow-bottomed fishing vessels.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49No cobbles about today so I think I'll dash for it.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01By the 1700s, there was no shortage of medical opinion
0:14:01 > 0:14:04concerning the benefits of sea bathing.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08Healthy males were directed to bathe for five minutes before breakfast daily,
0:14:08 > 0:14:12while women, invalids and children were told to take three dips
0:14:12 > 0:14:15of two minutes duration, three hours after breakfast, three times a week.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30It's absolutely freezing!
0:14:32 > 0:14:36The pioneering detox was hugely profitable for the town
0:14:36 > 0:14:40and Scarborough became Britain's first seaside resort.
0:14:45 > 0:14:50Spa towns like Bath, Harrogate and Scarborough were Britain's first tourist destinations.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54And in the wake of spa success, entertainment was king.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58The Spa buildings became synonymous with big shows.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02In its Victorian heyday, Scarborough Spa was considered
0:15:02 > 0:15:06the most popular music hall venue outside London.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Wow.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Look at this.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20Classic...seaside architecture at its best.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24It's an absolute gem. It's a cast iron concert hall.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29The Spa has been rebuilt, remodelled,
0:15:29 > 0:15:31revamped time and again.
0:15:31 > 0:15:36Every time storms have flattened it, fires have gutted it,
0:15:36 > 0:15:40it's bounced back bigger, better, bolder, more stylishly.
0:15:41 > 0:15:47The Spa is a barometer of Scarborough's confidence and vision.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51And right now, this building is definitely going places.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58Towns have to be resourceful.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00They have to make the best of what they've got.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03Scarborough turned a trickle of foul-tasting water
0:16:03 > 0:16:05into a river of money.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09Scarborough's evolution from spa to seaside resort
0:16:09 > 0:16:13changed the character and economy of the town.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17Seasonal waves of tourists created wealth for building, for expansion.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22Tourism altered Scarborough's geography.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25Over on the South Cliff, dignified townhouses
0:16:25 > 0:16:30were constructed for well-heeled Northern industrialists who came for the season.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34To the north were rows and rows of guesthouses.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38And slicing into the centre of town was the railway
0:16:38 > 0:16:43which brought generations of holidaymakers for sun, sand and fun.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49The spa waters and the sea air led to centuries of success.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Tourists flocked to this fashionable town.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55It became a high-class Monte Carlo of the North
0:16:55 > 0:16:59and a great deal of the money and the style that came to Scarborough every season
0:16:59 > 0:17:05poured into one building in particular - the Grand Hotel.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12The Grand rules the Scarborough skyline.
0:17:12 > 0:17:19Completed in 1867, it was built in a V shape, V for Victoria.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21And it was designed around the theme of time.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24The four towers represent the seasons.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27There are 12 floors for the months of the year,
0:17:27 > 0:17:2952 chimneys symbolise the weeks,
0:17:29 > 0:17:35and originally, it had 365 bedrooms, one for each day of the year.
0:17:36 > 0:17:41When the Grand was built, it was one of the largest hotels in the world.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44The Grand was THE place for anyone with money in the North
0:17:44 > 0:17:46who wanted luxury by the sea.
0:17:49 > 0:17:54"Grand" doesn't do it justice, it's completely over the top.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59Look at those tiers of golden bricks climbing above the sea.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03The towers shaped like fish heads gaping at the heavens.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07There's decorations dripping from it - balconies, stone swags.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11Even the cast-iron drain pipes are twisted like barley sugar.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14It's completely over the top, opulent, extravagant.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18It looks like the summer palace of an imperial fruitcake.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30'These days, just like the rest of the town,
0:18:30 > 0:18:35'it has to appeal to a broader section of the market.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38'I want to know where the Grand's guests come from today
0:18:38 > 0:18:41'and what they think of this once exclusive hotel.'
0:18:41 > 0:18:44When did you come here?
0:18:44 > 0:18:47- Er, what day is it today? - Monday.- Monday.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50- Where from?- Manchester.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52- Did you know each other before? - No, we didn't.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55We're with those over there and we've just met.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57Just in case his wife's watching.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00THEY LAUGH
0:19:00 > 0:19:04We walked in today and we thought like, "Oh, God, this is really grand."
0:19:04 > 0:19:09From the minute we came on the coach to walking in and seeing the staircase,
0:19:09 > 0:19:11yeah, it's been wonderful.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14- Have you ever seen stairs like these?- No. Only on Titanic.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19If you were to look back 50 years, we probably couldn't afford to come in here.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23We'd be on the outside with our noses on the window pane,
0:19:23 > 0:19:28licking the glass for a taste of what it would be like inside. And now, we can afford to.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31Everyone here's the same, aren't they? Just ordinary people.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36Most of the Grand's visitors are coach parties -
0:19:36 > 0:19:39older people who are looking for value for money.
0:19:39 > 0:19:44The hotel has had an astonishing 95% occupancy in the last year.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47This is a high volume business.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50It has to be to make the place financially viable.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52The Grand is a survivor.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57This is an extraordinary place.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59And people are so fond of it.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Once upon a time, walking into the foyer of the Grand
0:20:03 > 0:20:08would have been a bit like boarding first class on a luxury ocean liner.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10Parlour palms, chandeliers,
0:20:10 > 0:20:13staff attending your every need.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16You wouldn't have got in here without a tailcoat or a black tie.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19But all that's changed. It had to.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21For a building like this to keep going,
0:20:21 > 0:20:24exclusivity just is not an option.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27To survive, you have to open your doors to everybody.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37For any seaside town, bringing in the crowds
0:20:37 > 0:20:40and keeping tourists happy is going to be crucial.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43It's what every seaside resort economy is built on -
0:20:43 > 0:20:46attracting visitors and attracting money.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48And Scarborough's no different.
0:20:51 > 0:20:52But what if the ground shifts?
0:20:52 > 0:20:54It's all very well filling hotels
0:20:54 > 0:20:58but what if parts of the town are destined to slide into the sea?
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Holbeck Hall, one of Scarborough's oldest
0:21:02 > 0:21:06and grandest buildings has always been popular with the tourists.
0:21:06 > 0:21:11- But today, they came to Scarborough for all the wrong reasons... - On the 3rd June 1993,
0:21:11 > 0:21:15the muddy cliff below Holbeck Hall began to slump.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19It got worse and worse, until finally on June 5th,
0:21:19 > 0:21:23after heavy rain, parts of the hotel toppled down the slope.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28It was a dramatic spectacle, and the world was watching on TV.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31But it was the land, not the sea, that was to blame.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46This is very dodgy geology.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48A lot of the cliffs round here
0:21:48 > 0:21:52are thickly capped with a layer of something called glacial till -
0:21:52 > 0:21:59a mess of mud, sand, stones, clay - left behind by the last glaciers.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03It's about as stable as porridge.
0:22:03 > 0:22:08Underneath it is a more solid rock foundation of sandstone.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10When water seeps into the glacial till,
0:22:10 > 0:22:16it starts to slip and slide off the sandstone into the sea.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24Scarborough's great headland is banded with harder rocks
0:22:24 > 0:22:26which have resisted the sea,
0:22:26 > 0:22:29but to each side of the headland are softer, less stable deposits
0:22:29 > 0:22:33which have been eroded into Scarborough's two great bays.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38As Scarborough grew, the town colonised areas of unstable geology.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42And today, specialist abseiling teams
0:22:42 > 0:22:45are tasked to monitor the cliffs.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47It looks a messy business.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52There isn't really a proper, a proper name for what we do.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54Like Cliff Inspector?
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Cliff Inspector, yes, or Cliff Monitor.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00'Wendy Noble conducts cliff surveys along the coast
0:23:00 > 0:23:03'to check the stability of the geology.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06'On a daily basis, she sees that the land is slipping away.'
0:23:06 > 0:23:08So, when you come down here,
0:23:08 > 0:23:11what are you looking for, in terms of ringing alarm bells?
0:23:11 > 0:23:14Well, directly on this area here we're looking for the grass
0:23:14 > 0:23:16maybe slipping off the top
0:23:16 > 0:23:19and underneath the grass, you've got the boulder clay.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24- It's just dribbled over the top. - It's just dribbled over the top of all this shale
0:23:24 > 0:23:28and with the water that seeps through it, it does soak through
0:23:28 > 0:23:33and onto a slip plane which then creates a sliding effect and all the material
0:23:33 > 0:23:38then starts to slide away and tip off the edge of the cliff here.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42- And that's what we're standing on now?- And that's what we're standing on now.
0:23:42 > 0:23:47- Doesn't make me feel confident. Shall we go down a bit lower and have a look at the sandstone?- Yes.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51- I'm not predicting that! - Are you all right?- Yes, I'm fine.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55I don't normally get a hood full of soil but...
0:23:55 > 0:23:56SHE LAUGHS
0:23:56 > 0:23:59Can you predict when all this junk will fall down?
0:23:59 > 0:24:00Not really, no.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04We look out for huge cracks and fissures and things like that.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07If they're getting bigger, we try and do something about it.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10I've done a bit of abseiling but I've never deliberately abseiled
0:24:10 > 0:24:15- anywhere as absolutely disgusting as this.- Quite a lot of crumbly cliffs around here.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17That's a highly technical term.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22- Highly technical term - very crumbly! Shall we go down a bit further?- Yeah. You bet.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25'So, this is what Scarborough has to contend with -
0:24:25 > 0:24:29'foundations that are slipping into the sea.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31'This town has not got it easy.'
0:24:33 > 0:24:36Living on the edge is a contradictory state.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39I mean, here's a place that wants to thrive
0:24:39 > 0:24:44despite the fact that it's being constantly nibbled by nature
0:24:44 > 0:24:48and despite the fact that it's not on the way to anywhere, it's at the end of the road.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50It's perverse, really, contradictory.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Maybe it's that perversity, that constant struggle
0:24:53 > 0:24:57that attracts a certain sort of person to Scarborough.
0:24:57 > 0:24:58Risk-takers, maybe,
0:24:58 > 0:25:02people who want daily contact with the essence of life,
0:25:02 > 0:25:06the impermanent realities of existence.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10Out here on the edge there's a heightened regard, I think,
0:25:10 > 0:25:14for time and for place, and perhaps for people, too.
0:25:22 > 0:25:23At Knipe Point,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27the next raft of Scarborough properties is sliding over the edge.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29They're mostly holiday homes,
0:25:29 > 0:25:34but a few permanent residents live with the daily threat of losing their houses
0:25:34 > 0:25:38with the next heavy rainfall or melt of winter snow.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42They're right on the brink, about to topple over the cliff.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45No-one in their right mind would buy a house here.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47Or would they?
0:25:52 > 0:25:58'It looks like a crime scene. Taped-off cliffs and bungalows.
0:25:58 > 0:26:05'But a local artist has bought one of these houses and is turning it into an art installation.
0:26:05 > 0:26:11'Maybe it's disaster art. Maybe he's just after the publicity.'
0:26:13 > 0:26:17- Hello, Kane. Can I come in? It's freezing out there!- It is, yes.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19- Come in.- OK.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23It's not a normal-looking bungalow. My goodness!
0:26:23 > 0:26:24Blimey!
0:26:26 > 0:26:31Is this a workshop, Kane, or is this art?
0:26:31 > 0:26:36This is art. I see this project of the building as an installation,
0:26:36 > 0:26:40but I actually work in here to paint as well as experiment and try different things.
0:26:40 > 0:26:45Why did you deliberately buy a house that's going to fall over a cliff?
0:26:45 > 0:26:52When I was offered the opportunity about a year ago to buy the house, for £3,000, I just grabbed it.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57I bought it on my credit card, that was important. The idea of that was to do with the credit crunch.
0:26:57 > 0:27:02It was a reference to the credit crunch, to mortgages, to the fact that
0:27:02 > 0:27:05we engage with a mortgage, it's going to last 25 years,
0:27:05 > 0:27:08and really we don't own these properties.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12We're borrowing them, then we're moving them on. It's a massive expense.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15There's all sorts of references to that.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18- Is it the impermanence of life generally?- Yeah, absolutely.
0:27:18 > 0:27:23The transience of life, the temporality of life. That, for me, what it's all about.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27What's the connection between all these cards and letters and...
0:27:27 > 0:27:29I did something called "the last post",
0:27:29 > 0:27:33and I quite like the idea of people writing to a house that was going to disappear.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37And people have expressed personal thoughts, memories, concerns.
0:27:37 > 0:27:42From Italy, from Germany, from Budapest, from Greece,
0:27:42 > 0:27:44from America, Canada.
0:27:44 > 0:27:49But this is, for me, the most significant part of the project.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52These letters were written by local school children.
0:27:52 > 0:27:57And I said to them, "You can write on the letter 'to be opened', and I'll read it,
0:27:57 > 0:28:01"or 'not to be opened'", and then these letters will go over the cliff
0:28:01 > 0:28:04never to be seen or to be read.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07The letters from the school children that you've read,
0:28:07 > 0:28:11- what sentiments were they expressing?- I've got some over here.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14"I'd like to say goodbye to the house, goodbye to my thought.
0:28:14 > 0:28:20"I wish I was braver to stand up to my parents. Since they are divorced they keep back-stabbing each other,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23"and I miss my dad and don't think I could stand up to them,
0:28:23 > 0:28:27"or at least they got along but I doubt it'll ever happen."
0:28:27 > 0:28:30- And there's a drawing. - That's heartbreaking.- It is, it is.
0:28:30 > 0:28:36But if those children have used it to put closure on something or a way of expressing themselves,
0:28:36 > 0:28:40it has to be a good thing, and maybe it's the start of a discussion or dialogue
0:28:40 > 0:28:42with an adult, with a friend.
0:28:42 > 0:28:47I feel you've rather derailed me, Kane. I've got to confess that...
0:28:47 > 0:28:52I came to the door feeling a little bit antagonistic towards the whole notion.
0:28:52 > 0:28:57I feel a bit derailed by that letter from the child, and by those ones, and I think that...
0:28:57 > 0:29:02But the whole thing, essentially, it's the story of tragedy.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06It is the people in Knipe Point, they're in a situation where they're stuck
0:29:06 > 0:29:08and nothing can really help them.
0:29:14 > 0:29:20This land is going to go. It's steadily slipping over the edge.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23Like parts of the coast eroding all around Britain,
0:29:23 > 0:29:26there's nothing to stop it.
0:29:26 > 0:29:32People will lose their homes, their investments, everything they thought they could rely on.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35'There are coastal communities from Norfolk to Dorset
0:29:35 > 0:29:39'who'd sympathise with the people of Knipe Point.'
0:29:41 > 0:29:46Something happened when I walked into Kane's house.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50I'm ashamed to say that I went along with preconceptions,
0:29:50 > 0:29:51fairly antagonistic ones.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55I thought, "Well, here's a man who...
0:29:55 > 0:29:59"An artist who's trying to make something of other people's misfortunes."
0:29:59 > 0:30:03There are several local residents there who are watching their houses
0:30:03 > 0:30:06topple over the edge of a cliff into the abyss,
0:30:06 > 0:30:11and there's Kane making his artistic statement.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14And, sure, he's got an eye for the main chance.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17Where else are you going to pick up an artist's studio
0:30:17 > 0:30:20with a sea view like that for three grand?
0:30:20 > 0:30:26But I think he's doing something really important. He's drawing attention to some really big issues.
0:30:26 > 0:30:31Climate change, environmental collapse, the housing crisis, economic recession.
0:30:31 > 0:30:37He's also connecting Scarborough to the wider world,
0:30:37 > 0:30:41which is what a place at the end of the line really needs.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45There are people far away from here who are learning about
0:30:45 > 0:30:50this strange bungalow that's about to fall into the void.
0:30:51 > 0:30:55But what really excited me was that after about ten minutes in there,
0:30:55 > 0:31:01I suddenly realised that Kane had invited me to take part
0:31:01 > 0:31:09in a completely unpredictable, very thought-provoking conversation
0:31:09 > 0:31:13about what it's really like to live on the edge.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22It would be so easy for a seaside town like Scarborough
0:31:22 > 0:31:27to be isolated and cut off from the rest of the world.
0:31:28 > 0:31:33But art, music, theatre, culture can be lifelines for a town.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36A thriving theatre or cinema, an art gallery or museum,
0:31:36 > 0:31:39can draw the crowds and bring people together.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43And culture travels.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47It connects towns to other towns, to villages and even cities.
0:31:47 > 0:31:53And this town has been exporting plays around the globe for the last 50 years.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57The plays of the world's most performed living playwright,
0:31:57 > 0:32:00Sir Alan Ayckbourn.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07Alan Ayckbourn came to Scarborough in the 1950s.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10He settled in the town, stayed put,
0:32:10 > 0:32:14and he's written 75 plays here in the last 50 odd years.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18Ayckbourn plays go on to London, New York, Tokyo, Berlin.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21They're translated into 35 different languages
0:32:21 > 0:32:24and made into internationally acclaimed films.
0:32:24 > 0:32:30Just about all of them have been premiered here, in this small seaside town.
0:32:31 > 0:32:37Somebody said, "You not fancy a job in Scarborough?" I said, "Where the hell's Scarborough?"
0:32:37 > 0:32:40They said, "It's in Yorkshire." I said, "How do you...?"
0:32:40 > 0:32:43They said, "It's by the sea." I said, "Sea?"
0:32:43 > 0:32:50How did the population of this Victorian seaside resort react to your plays?
0:32:50 > 0:32:54Half our audience are fish, somebody pointed out.
0:32:54 > 0:32:59We've got the North Sea and, yes, we're on the end of a railway line and on the end of a road.
0:32:59 > 0:33:04But they got curious. They looked at us rather strangely.
0:33:04 > 0:33:09Sometimes you've got an audience of people who are obviously totally unused to theatre
0:33:09 > 0:33:12and it was loudly discussed in the play.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16It was like they don't know we're live.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20It was topped by one woman, as the lights came up on this scene,
0:33:20 > 0:33:25she went, "Ooh, it's in colour," which I thought was absolutely sweet.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29What did Scarborough itself bring to your work?
0:33:29 > 0:33:32I think it kept me on the ground because...
0:33:32 > 0:33:37Man on the street audiences. I couldn't write airy-fairy stuff.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40They have sayings here.
0:33:40 > 0:33:45"They like their comedies but they don't like them too daft to laugh at."
0:33:45 > 0:33:51So you have to write characters that they relate to or they recognise.
0:33:51 > 0:33:56Has Scarborough been a touchstone for you as a playwright and director?
0:33:56 > 0:34:00Yes. It's a wonderful place.
0:34:00 > 0:34:05A lot of the material is obviously gathered from one's existence in the present,
0:34:05 > 0:34:07but I observe the Scarborough scene
0:34:07 > 0:34:11and I write about it, thinly disguised on it.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14But they're all seen through a southerner's eyes.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17The local restaurants, which I'm very fond of,
0:34:17 > 0:34:22I'm known to lean backwards so I'm listening to the table behind me.
0:34:22 > 0:34:27I'm a lousy dinner companion, but by God, I get some good stuff from the other table.
0:34:27 > 0:34:33Certainly, those are two people having a very intimate conversation and my ears are flapping back.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36What effect do you think the theatre's had on the town?
0:34:36 > 0:34:41I think it just opened a little door which said it is possible to be done.
0:34:41 > 0:34:47You know, we take a show from here to New York
0:34:47 > 0:34:52with the same company, the same production, the same design team,
0:34:52 > 0:34:55and it gets fantastic reviews,
0:34:55 > 0:35:00and it's on the Time magazine's top three shows to see.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03And yet it's a Scarborough show!
0:35:03 > 0:35:07So all that rubbish about "What are you doing here?" is nonsense.
0:35:07 > 0:35:11The best is here, and that's what I try to say.
0:35:11 > 0:35:15I mean, you're a seaside resort, you can have the best,
0:35:15 > 0:35:20and the people who say to me, "What are you doing there?"
0:35:20 > 0:35:22I say, "Well, come and have a look."
0:35:33 > 0:35:34Unstoppable Scarborough.
0:35:34 > 0:35:39A seaside town that can hold its own on the international stage.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46It's a bold vision, I like it.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48Scarborough characters are exported to Broadway,
0:35:48 > 0:35:51tread the boards in the West End.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55The people may be thinly disguised, but Ayckbourn has made Scarborough
0:35:55 > 0:35:58internationally famous, just by being here.
0:36:02 > 0:36:06Seaside towns like Scarborough can find themselves
0:36:06 > 0:36:09balanced on an economic knife edge.
0:36:09 > 0:36:13They face far greater challenges than inland towns.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17The nature of the summer season is boom then bust, year after year after year.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22And these days you can't rely on sticks of rock, donkey rides,
0:36:22 > 0:36:25sandcastles by the sea.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28You have to adapt. Change tempo.
0:36:28 > 0:36:30Move with the times.
0:36:40 > 0:36:45Scarborough has taken more than its fair share of punishing blows.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47When fishing collapsed, the town reeled.
0:36:47 > 0:36:52And then, when holiday-makers abandoned British seaside resorts
0:36:52 > 0:36:55and jetted off to hotter latitudes, Scarborough reeled again.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00It's happened to other coastal towns too, from Margate and Weymouth,
0:37:00 > 0:37:02to Great Yarmouth and Blackpool.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10Our great Victorian seaside resorts,
0:37:10 > 0:37:13with their promenades, piers and nostalgic iron-work,
0:37:13 > 0:37:15have had to re-invent themselves
0:37:15 > 0:37:19with art galleries, festivals, sporting events, conferences.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22It's not enough to rely on summer visitors.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25So what's waiting in the wings for Scarborough?
0:37:25 > 0:37:28Where's the next wave of good fortune coming from?
0:37:28 > 0:37:31How long till the next jackpot?
0:37:41 > 0:37:47These days, seaside towns are rediscovering what they always had - the sea.
0:37:51 > 0:37:52Never mind the weather.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56If you've got good waves, the surf fanatics will find you.
0:37:56 > 0:37:57Even in winter.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04'The rise of British surfing towns first started in Cornwall,
0:38:04 > 0:38:07'but in the north east surf scene, Scarborough leads the way.'
0:38:11 > 0:38:13So what is the surfing like here?
0:38:13 > 0:38:15World class, simple as that.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18All around here, there's a lot of variety,
0:38:18 > 0:38:21there's good waves for people to learn on South Bay.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24Bigger waves outside the town. Lots of variety for everyone.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27World class? Scarborough's a world-class surf resort?
0:38:27 > 0:38:28I think so.
0:38:28 > 0:38:33What kind of difference has it made to the economy of Scarborough having surfing here?
0:38:33 > 0:38:37It makes a big difference because it's cold weather tourism and wet weather tourism.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41All the tourists normally come on a nice sunny day and sit on the beach.
0:38:41 > 0:38:46Surfers come rain, shine - if the waves are good, everyone turns up and has fun anyway.
0:38:46 > 0:38:51I really understand the pleasures of sitting on a warm, sunny beach on an August day, but this is mid-winter.
0:38:51 > 0:38:52We're a hearty bunch!
0:38:52 > 0:38:54You're barking!
0:38:54 > 0:38:56So where do we start?
0:38:56 > 0:38:58Right, so you want to put your board down here
0:38:58 > 0:39:00and just point towards the sea.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05So first thing to do is just learn how to get ourselves
0:39:05 > 0:39:07nice and straight on the board.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09So hands there, chest over the board,
0:39:09 > 0:39:13just lift yourself up and lay yourself nice and straight.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15Hands at the side...
0:39:15 > 0:39:18'I feel like an old dog trying to learn new tricks
0:39:18 > 0:39:21'but if Scarborough has to move with the times, then so do I.'
0:39:21 > 0:39:24Now just turn towards me and just swivel your hips,
0:39:24 > 0:39:26so just turn like this.
0:39:26 > 0:39:27And then from there,
0:39:27 > 0:39:29- just slowly up to standing up, OK? - I'm surfing!
0:39:29 > 0:39:33- That's perfect! Absolutely perfect! - Is it that easy?- Of course it is!
0:39:33 > 0:39:35I told you it was simple!
0:39:35 > 0:39:36OK, here we go.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12That's great fun. You get knocked around all over the place, though.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15Just a question of sticking with it.
0:40:17 > 0:40:20If this town wants to get up and stay up, ride the wave,
0:40:20 > 0:40:23it needs to function all year round.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25It's always been the problem for seasonal towns,
0:40:25 > 0:40:28finding income in the quiet months.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32Reinventing itself as a surfing destination is one trick that
0:40:32 > 0:40:34Scarborough might be able to pull off.
0:40:34 > 0:40:38But striving to have businesses that work year round is nothing new
0:40:38 > 0:40:41for resort towns.
0:40:50 > 0:40:54A number of coach manufacturers set up in seaside towns
0:40:54 > 0:40:58because, traditionally, coach building was seasonal,
0:40:58 > 0:41:00with the winter months being busiest.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03There were coachbuilders in Lowestoft, Blackpool and Hove.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07While the hotel and tourist industry was all about summer work,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10men could work through the winter building coaches.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14Coach-building was great for a town like Scarborough
0:41:14 > 0:41:17because, for many, it brought year-round employment.
0:41:21 > 0:41:26Plaxtons of Scarborough are Britain's only surviving luxury coach-builder
0:41:26 > 0:41:30and build nearly a third of the country's coaches.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34The company was set up just over 100 years ago.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37At the end of the Great War, they started supplying car bodies
0:41:37 > 0:41:40to the likes of Rolls Royce and Bentley.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44In the '20s, they established themselves as coach-builders.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46And today they're still a big name in the bus world.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49How long have you worked here, Allan?
0:41:49 > 0:41:53I started in 1969, so that works out about 42 years.
0:41:53 > 0:41:5642 years in this factory, that's a long time.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59It has, yeah, it's been a lifetime, it's been my life.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02What was it like when you arrived?
0:42:02 > 0:42:05Er, scary, everything made of wood, 35 jobs a week.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07Did you say coaches made of wood?
0:42:07 > 0:42:10Made of wood, yeah, the bodies were all made of wood.
0:42:10 > 0:42:162,000 men, and now we're down to four vehicles a week and 400 men.
0:42:16 > 0:42:182,000 men in the whole works?
0:42:18 > 0:42:23Yeah, we had two factories then, one here and one at Seamore Road, which is in the town itself.
0:42:26 > 0:42:32Sixty years ago, there were more than 100 companies building buses and coaches in Britain.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35Now, there's only one luxury coach-builder left.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38And they're fighting a battle with foreign imports.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46The coach comes in as a chassis and then we start by putting
0:42:46 > 0:42:49a frame on it, which is a frame which you see at the moment.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53This frame's part of the roll-over structure, it's a bit like a cobweb.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56This gives it its strength and makes it safe to use on the road.
0:42:56 > 0:43:01- Reminds me of building models. - It is, yeah, it's a bit like a Meccano set, I think.
0:43:01 > 0:43:07- Anything I can do, a job I can have a crack at?- Erm...yeah, maybe,
0:43:07 > 0:43:09we'll let you have a go at a windscreen.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12- That can be difficult, but you can have a go.- I'll have a bash.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14"Have a bash" - wrong word!
0:43:16 > 0:43:18- All right, then, Nick? - Yep...
0:43:18 > 0:43:21It weighs a ton, Mick!
0:43:23 > 0:43:26- Right. OK.- Right.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30Just lay it back. That's it.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33That's the heaviest bit of glass I've ever picked up.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36I need you to lift it a bit higher so that I can get this corner in.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39Your corner wants to be that much above the gaiter.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44- Right, swap hands.- Cor.- That's it. About there, yeah.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47Gordon Bennett!
0:43:47 > 0:43:50Right, just let it come down, slowly.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53How do I get my fingers out from underneath?
0:43:53 > 0:43:57- LAUGHS: When they start getting a bit tight, just pull them out.- OK.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00I could do with you all the time. As I say...
0:44:00 > 0:44:01You guys are working so fast.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03Want to have a go at that?
0:44:03 > 0:44:08Get it in there, just like that.
0:44:08 > 0:44:10Twist and pull.
0:44:10 > 0:44:13Twist and pull all the way along, like opening a can.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18- Gosh, it's tough rubber, isn't it? - Stop there.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21- HE LAUGHS - This is difficult, Mick!
0:44:21 > 0:44:23How do you get that last bit in?
0:44:23 > 0:44:26- MICK LAUGHS - With difficulty.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33Yeah, that's in.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36- That's a tough job, thank you. - All right, mate.
0:44:36 > 0:44:38I take my hat off to you.
0:44:38 > 0:44:42One of the things that strikes me, around here is that everybody's
0:44:42 > 0:44:44really friendly with each other.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47I think it's because everybody knows each other.
0:44:47 > 0:44:49You know, it's quite a small area we all live in.
0:44:49 > 0:44:51We all live in Scarborough virtually, you know,
0:44:51 > 0:44:54the workforce mainly come from Scarborough.
0:44:54 > 0:44:56- There's a lot of banter.- Yeah.
0:44:56 > 0:45:00When I learned me apprenticeship, the person who taught you,
0:45:00 > 0:45:03not only taught you how to become a tradesman.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05He taught you... how to become a man.
0:45:05 > 0:45:08He was like a surrogate father, really.
0:45:08 > 0:45:13I suppose it didn't only teach me how to have a trade at the end, but it taught me everything,
0:45:13 > 0:45:16you know, to respect people, to...
0:45:16 > 0:45:19Just my whole way of life, really, was born through Plackies.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22Sounds as if you were brought up by Plaxtons.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25Yeah, you're are, really, you're brought up by Plaxtons.
0:45:25 > 0:45:29There's a big stamp on you that says "Plaxtons" on it.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42Plaxtons isn't what I expected.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45It's not really a factory at all, it's a community,
0:45:45 > 0:45:47part of the living town.
0:45:47 > 0:45:51Never in a million years did I think I'd find myself feeling,
0:45:51 > 0:45:56I don't know, slightly emotional about bus fabrication.
0:45:56 > 0:46:00But, having spent the day there, I've been made very welcome,
0:46:00 > 0:46:06I feel oddly, kind of moved, actually, stirred by the spirit of the place.
0:46:06 > 0:46:11When you think back over the last 50 years of British history,
0:46:11 > 0:46:18the industries which have been decimated - fishing, mining, manufacturing - it's incredible
0:46:18 > 0:46:25that this company's putting their bespoke motor coaches and buses on the road for a global market.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28I think to the outside world,
0:46:28 > 0:46:31Scarborough's not well-known for its red buses and coaches
0:46:31 > 0:46:36but now I've seen around the factory I can see that these things
0:46:36 > 0:46:40are one of the reasons that Scarborough's heart is still beating.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59In small towns, community matters hugely.
0:46:59 > 0:47:03It's one of the great strengths of town life, the friendliness,
0:47:03 > 0:47:07neighbourly feeling, and willingness to get involved.
0:47:07 > 0:47:13And in Scarborough, community involvement has been taken to a new level.
0:47:13 > 0:47:16When it comes to deciding how council budgets are spent,
0:47:16 > 0:47:19the people of Scarborough turn out to vote,
0:47:19 > 0:47:21and they turn out in their droves.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25- Hello, there. It's really busy, isn't it?- It certainly is.
0:47:25 > 0:47:30People are making choices about how we spend a grant fund in Scarborough.
0:47:30 > 0:47:36There's 29 projects here that are asking for funding and we've got £74,000 to allocate.
0:47:36 > 0:47:42What people need to do is, as they come in, they have a scoring sheet,
0:47:42 > 0:47:45and they need to score each of the projects between one and five.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48Five if they think it's a fantastic project,
0:47:48 > 0:47:49one if they're not so keen on it.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53They give each one a score, and at the end we'll add up the scores,
0:47:53 > 0:47:57and keep going with whoever gets the highest scores until the money runs out.
0:47:57 > 0:47:59- So this is a ballot paper. - It is, yes,
0:47:59 > 0:48:01though you're not eligible to vote.
0:48:01 > 0:48:03- Can I have a look around?- Of course.
0:48:06 > 0:48:08There are local sports clubs, church halls,
0:48:08 > 0:48:11scout groups and alcohol outreach workers,
0:48:11 > 0:48:14all looking for a slice of funding.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17- How much money are you trying to raise? - We're trying to raise £10,000.
0:48:17 > 0:48:21At the moment, we have an old clubhouse and we think
0:48:21 > 0:48:25£10,000 over the next 25-30 years will be a fitting legacy.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27What do you think of this method of allocating funds
0:48:27 > 0:48:31- where everybody in the community votes?- I think it's brilliant.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34It's called participatory budgeting.
0:48:34 > 0:48:39It originated in some of the poorest areas of Brazil in the late 1980s.
0:48:39 > 0:48:44Scarborough is one of many British towns to have adopted this novel idea -
0:48:44 > 0:48:47that a municipal budget should be allocated by its own citizens,
0:48:47 > 0:48:51by ordinary people placing votes.
0:48:51 > 0:48:57The people in here are building their own town, doing it their way.
0:48:57 > 0:49:03- You're trying to attract funding for a loo?- We have got two loos already but they need refurbishing.
0:49:03 > 0:49:07- So how much money do you need to raise for the loo? - Well, we need just under £10,000.
0:49:07 > 0:49:11- What do you think of the system of votes?- I was sceptical at first,
0:49:11 > 0:49:14but I think, now that I understand it completely,
0:49:14 > 0:49:16I think it's probably quite good.
0:49:16 > 0:49:18..Stick a stamp on there...
0:49:21 > 0:49:24It does feel as if the whole community has a voice in here,
0:49:24 > 0:49:26the means to make things happen.
0:49:26 > 0:49:30This is local democracy - democracy in action.
0:49:30 > 0:49:31I like it. I like it a lot.
0:49:31 > 0:49:35You know, Scarborough's not an inward-looking town
0:49:35 > 0:49:38with one foot in the past - it looks forward.
0:49:38 > 0:49:42It's got the outlook of a coastal town with a view to the big blue yonder.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44It's all about catching the next big wave.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49One of the projects looking for funding is Mud In Your Blood,
0:49:49 > 0:49:54a group from a local housing estate who want to set up a trail-biking track for young bikers.
0:49:54 > 0:49:59- There's lots of people coming by. It's absolutely packed. - Oh, it's heaving again, heaving.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01We've got a good turnout. People must be interested.
0:50:01 > 0:50:06What sort of sales spiel are you giving people? You've got 30 seconds to sell Mud In The Blood.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10We're playing on the youth, the nuisance bikers round the estates that cause trouble.
0:50:10 > 0:50:13We're trying to pull it on them, so we can get them on to a safe,
0:50:13 > 0:50:17controlled environment wearing all the right equipment.
0:50:17 > 0:50:22This maybe appeals to the younger side though a lot of people say "Oh, I'm a biker, I want to try it."
0:50:22 > 0:50:26Mud In Your Blood's home patch, Eastfield,
0:50:26 > 0:50:29is on the edge of Scarborough.
0:50:29 > 0:50:31Like many of Britain's council estates,
0:50:31 > 0:50:35it was built in the 1940's, as part of the post-war housing effort.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38Now, it's in the top 10% most-deprived wards
0:50:38 > 0:50:39in England and Wales.
0:50:39 > 0:50:41Lads riding trail bikes round the estate
0:50:41 > 0:50:46have been getting into trouble with the police and annoying other residents.
0:50:46 > 0:50:48But all that could be turned around.
0:51:04 > 0:51:08- You look as if you're enjoying yourself!- Oh, yes!
0:51:08 > 0:51:11- It's pretty muddy this track, isn't it?- It's Scarborough rain.
0:51:11 > 0:51:13- Want a tour of the track?- Yes.
0:51:17 > 0:51:21The local landowner, who owns a lot of land round the Scarborough area,
0:51:21 > 0:51:26donated this to us to try and set this up, which was quite good of him.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29What difficulties do you face in setting up something like this?
0:51:29 > 0:51:33Mainly all the planning applications, the noise surveys,
0:51:33 > 0:51:36the environment surveys that we've got to get funded.
0:51:36 > 0:51:40This is just a stepping stone, hopefully, to something bigger,
0:51:40 > 0:51:45a better piece of land, where we can have a cafe, a mechanic, we can have apprentices,
0:51:45 > 0:51:50we can employ staff, give people jobs, which this will generate.
0:51:50 > 0:51:55What about training youngsters to look after bikes and so on, will they be part of that?
0:51:55 > 0:51:59Yeah, we can train them up, we have trained mechanics,
0:51:59 > 0:52:02I'm a trained mechanic. Learn 'em to strip bikes down,
0:52:02 > 0:52:04and even repair 'em for people.
0:52:04 > 0:52:08- Do you have a full-time job? - Yeah, I work full-time, this is just me hobby...
0:52:08 > 0:52:10Messing about in the mud.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21You might argue that towns create the population centres
0:52:21 > 0:52:24that lead to social problems.
0:52:24 > 0:52:28But they're also the places that come up with ways to solve them.
0:52:32 > 0:52:36For me, what Mud In Your Blood is doing ticks all the boxes -
0:52:36 > 0:52:38youth, training, opportunity.
0:52:38 > 0:52:42They're trying to make a positive difference.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48It's a real buzz! And it's grassroots stuff.
0:52:48 > 0:52:52And the thing about local grassroots projects is that they have
0:52:52 > 0:52:57an inbuilt will to survive, because everybody's got a stake in success.
0:52:57 > 0:53:01Townspeople put in the effort, townspeople reap the rewards.
0:53:01 > 0:53:03It's really inspiring!
0:53:15 > 0:53:20Seaside towns have been built on fun and Scarborough is no exception.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23There's enterprise from the bottom up here
0:53:23 > 0:53:27plus some quite alternative leadership.
0:53:27 > 0:53:32Scarborough is the only town in Britain to have an all-female mayoral team.
0:53:32 > 0:53:35'Hazel Lynskey is the mayor of Scarborough,
0:53:35 > 0:53:38'while Sheila Kettlewell is mayoress.
0:53:38 > 0:53:42'Eight years ago, Sheila was mayor and Hazel was her mayoress.
0:53:42 > 0:53:47'I think I may have stumbled upon a Kennedy-like Scarborian dynasty.
0:53:47 > 0:53:51'But if anyone can tell me what's kept Scarborough going through thick and thin,
0:53:51 > 0:53:54'it's going to be Sheila and Hazel.'
0:53:54 > 0:53:59I see these coins just teetering on the edge and it reminds me
0:53:59 > 0:54:03so much of the feelings I had when I came to Scarborough
0:54:03 > 0:54:07and saw the cliffs crumbling and all the houses perched on the edge.
0:54:07 > 0:54:11- What do you think it is that keeps Scarborough going?- It's the people.
0:54:11 > 0:54:13You know, the land is going to move.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16That's a natural progression of the land.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19But the people will always be here.
0:54:19 > 0:54:24- They're quality people. - But there have been booms and busts in the past, haven't there?
0:54:24 > 0:54:26The fishing industry went,
0:54:26 > 0:54:31then British holidaymakers gave up our seaside resorts for the Med.
0:54:31 > 0:54:38- What are your recollections of the ups and downs of Scarborough? - I think, the tired look of the town.
0:54:38 > 0:54:44Erm, sort of, seventies, early seventies, there was lots of tired buildings,
0:54:44 > 0:54:46because there wasn't a lot of money about.
0:54:46 > 0:54:50And it began to look a little bit downtrodden.
0:54:50 > 0:54:55I never lost the love of it, but I used to be disappointed.
0:54:55 > 0:54:59Then you got the investment in the town, and it was slow.
0:54:59 > 0:55:04But then, I don't believe you can do anything overnight.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08We've had lots of ups and downs, but even when we're down,
0:55:08 > 0:55:10we're never rock-bottom down,
0:55:10 > 0:55:13cos we always know we're going to come up again.
0:55:13 > 0:55:15I think this is self-evident,
0:55:15 > 0:55:20whether you look at the history of the town, the castle, the harbour,
0:55:20 > 0:55:25the foreshore, outlying villages, there's always been ups and downs.
0:55:25 > 0:55:27But I think we've benefited in Scarborough,
0:55:27 > 0:55:31and the fact that hoteliers have invested in their hotels,
0:55:31 > 0:55:36we're now a 52-week town. We're not just a seasonal town.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40I think that is something that is really, really important.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43Breaking away from the seasonal market?
0:55:43 > 0:55:45I think so yes, yes.
0:55:45 > 0:55:47At one time it was six weeks,
0:55:47 > 0:55:51if they didn't make their money in six weeks, that was it.
0:55:51 > 0:55:53But now it is 52 weeks a year.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58Whoa! Oh, yes...
0:56:04 > 0:56:10Scarborough has broken away from sole reliance on the summer season trade.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13It's beginning to spread its wings.
0:56:13 > 0:56:17This is a fantastic place to be, even in February.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20And the range of what you can enjoy - hip hop, jazz,
0:56:20 > 0:56:23traditional seaside shows - it's what suits this town.
0:56:23 > 0:56:29Hosting an arts festival in February is not just for the tourists -
0:56:29 > 0:56:33it's also for locals to enjoy. Something to look forward to and celebrate.
0:56:33 > 0:56:39Scarborough and its fighting spirit are enough to win over even the hardest cynic.
0:56:39 > 0:56:47# She was once a true love of mine. #
0:56:47 > 0:56:53APPLAUSE
0:57:09 > 0:57:12This town has endured more ups and downs
0:57:12 > 0:57:15than an end of the pier roller-coaster.
0:57:15 > 0:57:19Scarborough once had the biggest fish fair in Western Europe.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23It was a leading health spa, and Britain's first seaside resort.
0:57:23 > 0:57:27Vikings named it, kings built castles here,
0:57:27 > 0:57:29Kaiser Bill shelled it.
0:57:29 > 0:57:34I think this town knows how to roll with the blows,
0:57:34 > 0:57:37knows how to take the best of the old and look to the new.
0:57:37 > 0:57:40Scarborough still sits on the edge.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43But there's no chance it's going over the edge.
0:57:46 > 0:57:50For a free booklet about what makes our towns work, call:
0:57:55 > 0:57:59Or go to:
0:57:59 > 0:58:01and follow the links to the Open University.
0:58:05 > 0:58:08Next time I'll be in Perth,
0:58:08 > 0:58:12where I'll be finding out why this town thinks it's a city.
0:58:12 > 0:58:16How a tennis ball wrecked Perth's royal connections
0:58:16 > 0:58:19and why rivers can be key to any town's success.
0:58:41 > 0:58:44Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:44 > 0:58:47E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk