After refurbishment of The Spa as a major East Coast events venue ERYC, Seachange and Yorkshire Forward launched a design competition for transforming the surrounding seafront environment.  Two competition entries were chosen as joint winners and the design teams agreed to collaborate to take the scheme forward.The scheme included refurbishment of South Marine Drive, Pembroke Gardens, a significant stretch of the South Foreshore promenade and most of the steep banks behind the promenade.Design proposals included the creation of shared highway surfaces, linking the gardens to The Spa and creating potential for outdoor events of varying scale, a new park based on waves and pebbles moving up and down the beach, an LED red carpet leading into the Spa from a new plaza and a sculptural ramp/ retaining wall set in a ‘flowering cliff’.  The key aim of all intervention was to improve access and pedestrian flow from the town to the Spa and the promenade and to make a series of distinctive spaces, with varying degrees of exposure, shelter and aspect.High quality, hard-wearing materials are used throughout, responding to the combined pressures of a maritime environment and popular holiday destination.  The project took over a year to construct and was opened in spring 2011.