Why is life expectancy in Blackpool so low?

Coastal towns like Blackpool have consistently shown lower average health outcomes than many of their inland neighbours. Each individual coastal town has been seen as an individual problem, of course, in one sense they are, but all of them are probably more similar to one another than their nearest inland neighbour. What I think we need to do is see them as a group of mainly towns, some smaller cities and create a solution for them at a national level. This is a problem which is not going to solve itself… and because of an ageing population, the expectation is that if we do nothing, it will in fact get worse. Our results continue to show a clear geographical divide.

Blackpool faces major health challenges, not only do people in Blackpool live shorter lives, but they also spend a smaller proportion of their lifespan in good health and without disability. The largest difference in life expectancy between the most and least deprived communities for males is due to deaths from external causes; that is, deaths from injuries, poisonings and suicide, which account for 30.4%. For females it is circulatory diseases (including coronary heart disease and stroke) (27.3%) and cancer (20.9%). Men in the least deprived areas of the town expected to live 13.2 years longer than men in the most deprived areas, while the differential for women is 9.5 years. According to 2009-2013 ward-level data, it is estimated that in Blackpool's most affluent ward (Norbreck), a man might live in 'good' health until the age of 63.3, compared to just 47.1 in the most deprived ward (Bloomfield).

The roots of Blackpool’s ill health can be traced back to its golden era more than a century ago. The tourist boom of the early 20th century left behind an oversupply of guesthouses, as Britons swapped a week on the British seaside for guaranteed sun on the Costa del Sol. As the holidaymakers moved out, property speculators moved in, snapping up ageing Edwardian properties to turn them into houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), where landlords make a profit of up to 20%, four times the average UK rental yield. As a result, Blackpool now has some of the cheapest and most squalid housing in the UK, attracting renters in poor health. Blackpool has the country’s highest proportion of children in care, nearly three times the national average. They get a terrible start in life, often through the care sector, they get really terrible dental care, so nutrition is really poor, they live in significant poverty: 70 to 80% live in the poorest fifth of the country. You have all of that multi-layered complexity coming into poor educational outcomes, then real levels of high unemployment … so the problem goes on. Public health experts know that tackling ill health “upstream” – before problems such as high blood pressure become fatal – is the best way to cure chronic problems, however, crucial long-term preventive measures were cut as part of the former chancellor George Osborne’s austerity measures. Blackpool has about £1,400 less per person to spend on its population than it did over a decade ago, while its public health grant has been cut by £10 per person since 2013.