Waveney employees receive on average one of the lowest salaries in Britain, a newly published report has revealed.

On average the mean gross salary for British employees is £28,442 with Waveney employees trailing behind at £20,385.

The figures appeared as part of the Social Market Foundation's 'Living on the edge: Britain's coastal communities' report.

Published on Monday, September 4, the report investigates the belief that the economies of coastal towns have performed poorly when compared to the rest of the country.

This is believed to be due to the structural, economic and social problems surrounding the decline of domestic tourism in the UK.

According to the report, average employee gross pay was about £3,600 per annum lower in coastal communities than in other parts of Great Britain last year.

Nine of the 20 local authorities with the lowest mean employee pay were shown to be coastal communities, with Waveney coming seventh.

Coastal community Scarborough is the lowest at £19,925 while nearby North Norfolk came third at £20,122.

Waveney District Council have responded to the report by outlining future plans for regeneration of the area and projects that are already being undertaken.

A spokesman from the council said: 'Waveney District Council is fully aware of the challenges which the district faces and the issues of coastal communities more widely.

'However, Waveney has enjoyed a steady increase in tourism numbers, spend and overall value of tourism in the last few years.'

He added: '5.3 million trips were taken in the area last year, £222m was spent here by tourists and the total value of tourism to the district is around £300 million.

'However, there is still work to be done and we are working on increasing the volume and value of tourism.

'The government set up Coastal Community Teams in 2015 to try and combat the issues facing coastal areas.

'The Lowestoft Coastal Community Team published their Seafront Strategy in 2016 which aims to ensure the seafront is an attractive high-quality and exciting environment for residents, businesses and visitors throughout the year.

'The team's aim is to enhance the existing built and natural assets and to focus on a number of key projects in both the North and South Beaches that will serve as a catalyst for regeneration.'

Designer Wayne Hemingway will be working alongside the Coastal Community Team to 'put the area back on the map for regional, national and European visitors'.

The spokesman said: 'Wayne is looking at the redevelopment of a number of assets on the South Beach which could create a step change in the local economy.'

'These are exciting times for the area with large scale investment in infrastructure and developments in the East Anglian Array offshore wind farm among other things, which will bring in higher value jobs in the longer term.'

What do you think of these figures? Do you think your salary in Waveney is lower than in other parts of the country?

Email james.carr@archant.co.uk or call 01502 525832.