I visited the UK's coolest seaside resort and know how to stop every abandoned town dying

The UK's local authorities are experiencing money troubles, to say the very least. And at the same time, communities across the country are in dire straits, including famous seaside towns with idyllic, prosperous pasts. Folkestone was one of these places, and businessman Sir Roger De Haan told me during a recent interview that he had witnessed the area degenerate into a grim slum due to neglect. The Kentish town has had to reinvent itself after its ferry port closed in the early 2000s, and Dover established a monopoly over cross-channel travel in the county.

Brits also stopped visiting Folkestone after discovering cheap flights abroad. The harbour and town centre became depressing places, a derelict remnant of more dynamic times. Sir Roger told me that his father, who founded the holiday firm Saga, had seen this coming and would be pleased at what the town has become today, a redeveloped, trendy hub full of art and culture - now arguably Britain's coolest seaside town. This has been driven by £100million of investment from the businessman's charitable arm.

He has bought up buildings, making sure businesses could establish themselves, and oversaw the construction of vital projects that contribute to the community's social infrastructure, such as the Folkestone Academy secondary school.

The philanthropist stepped in where the public sector has so far failed, and seems to have made a genuine positive difference.

If only every struggling town in Britain had a Sir Roger of its own.

West-super-Mare, for example, which I visited in the summer, would be more able to get a deal to save its historic pier over the line.

In June, the RNLI announced its withdrawal from the restoration project, following a "thorough analysis of the Birnbeck Pier and Island business case".

North Somerset Council said that this has put its restoration at risk, with the phase of work to repair the structure "in jeopardy".

The project, officials added, has a £5million shortfall, which the RNLI had previously agreed to fund.

Walking through the Creative Quarter in Folkestone's hilly old town, it felt as if I was in a hipster-dominated part of east London, or back in the flourishing West Country town of Frome.

Here, however, I found myself worried by a trade-off of economic redevelopment.

Alice Cleaver, 29, manager of the homewares outlet The Shop Next Door, told me: "It feels like we're not the ones that are supposed to be living here."

This stayed with me, as she was referring to younger people, such as myself.

I asked Sir Roger about whether locals have been or could be priced out by his work, as he has already seen the construction of new flats on the beachfront, with more expected to be built, as well as new commercial space.

He said: "One of the challenges with regeneration is that rents go up and house prices go up.

"But they needed to go up a bit because the housing stock in Folkestone was getting very, very rundown.

"And one of the reasons people weren't investing in their rundown house... is when you've done up your house, you need to know it's worth what you paid for it and how much you spent in doing it up."

The businessman added: "Some people say the houses we're building on the seafront aren't for them. But why should they be?

"You can't build houses for everyone. It's not as if we've knocked down any. We didn't knock any houses down to build these houses. It was a brownfield site.

"But the jobs that will be created will, again, be good for the local economy."

As people with wealth, including from London, continue to move to areas like Folkestone and Frome for a quieter life, and towns like Folkestone continue to be improved, it will inevitably become harder for those with smaller means to call them home.

But, in my view, this is a price that needs to be paid in the name of ensuring that Britain has a successful future.

Demographic change is inevitable, and we Brits are resilient.

We cannot simply stand by and watch our beloved towns die around us.

Does your hometown need drastic improvements? Get in touch by emailing adam.toms@reachplc.com or calling 07788 108490.