Artist and editor of artistsandmakers.com Dan Thompson has been crowned the �Unsung Coastal Hero� in the Coast Awards 2011, in association with Joules.
The award was given in recognition of his work to use the arts to support regeneration in his hometown of Worthing, and for his wider work to bring empty shops across the country back into use.
Dan has worked in the arts since the age of 13, when he joined a community arts project at the Connaught Theatre. He is a founder of Rainbow Shakespeare, whose inaugural production was Twelfth Night on Worthing Beach. He was also involved in Shoreham's Beach Dreams Festival for many years. Since 2000, he has run Revolutionary Arts, which has founded trails of open houses and studios in Horsham and Worthing, as well as pioneering the use of empty shops for arts projects.
The annual Coast Awards celebrate the people and places that represent all that is innovative, valuable and exciting around the British coastline. This year�s ten categories include Best Boutique Hotel by the Sea, Best-Loved Pier, Best Green Marine Campaign, Unsung Coastal Hero and the Joules Award for Best Coastal Path.
Coast magazine was inundated with thousands of votes from across the UK and, searching for the very best Britain�s coast has to offer, a panel of seven experts � including TV presenter Michaela Strachan, Director of The Twentieth Century Society Catherine Croft, Managing Director of Joules Tom Joule and Director of Strategy and Communications at VisitBritain Patricia Yates.
The �Best British Beach� and �Best Seaside Holiday Destination� categories were decided on Coast reader votes alone.
TV presenter Michaela Strachan awarded the winners their prizes at the Coast Awards 2011 ceremony, which was held at the Country Living Fair in London.
The winners of the Coast Awards 2011, in association with Joules, are:
Best British Beach � Coast readers� vote
WINNER: Holkham in Norfolk
RUNNERS-UP: Studland in Dorset and Botany Bay in Kent
Best Seaside Holiday Destination � Coast readers� vote
WINNER: St Ives, Cornwall
RUNNERS-UP: Bournemouth in Dorset and Brighton in East Sussex
Best Boutique Hotel by the Sea
WINNER: The Scarlet in Mawgan Porth, Cornwall
RUNNERS-UP: The Reading Rooms in Margate, Kent
The Rosevine, near Portscatho in Cornwall
Best-Loved Pier
WINNER: Cromer Pier in Cromer, Norfolk
RUNNERS-UP: Brighton Pier in Brighton, East Sussex
Southwold Pier in Southwold, Suffolk
Best Coastal Pub/Caf�
WINNER: East Beach Caf� in Littlehampton, West Sussex
RUNNERS-UP: Hive Beach Caf� in Burton Bradstock, Dorset
The Lord Nelson in Southwold, Suffolk
Best Seaside Restaurant
WINNER: Fifteen Cornwall in Watergate Bay, Cornwall
RUNNERS-UP: Eddie Gilbert�s in Ramsgate, Kent
Urban Reef in Bournemouth, Dorset
Joules Award � Best Coastal Path
WINNER: Norfolk Coast Path
RUNNERS-UP: Pembrokeshire Coast Path National Trail
South West Coast Path
Best Green Marine Campaign
WINNER: Marine Conservation Society, Beachwatch
RUNNERS-UP: Surfers Against Sewage, Blue Flag Campaign
Thanet Coast Project
Best Seafront Cultural Attraction
WINNER: The De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex
RUNNERS-UP: National Maritime Museum in Falmouth, Cornwall
Tate St Ives in St Ives, Cornwall
Unsung Coastal Hero
WINNER: Dan Thompson, Revolutionary Arts in Worthing, West Sussex
RUNNERS-UP: Dani Church, Walberswick Ferry in Southwold, Suffolk Conrad Humphreys, Blue Mile Project in Plymouth, Devon
For full details of the Coast Awards 2011 check out the June issue of Coast, on sale 25 April.
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