Seven coastal towns have been handed grants through the government's Sea Change initiative in order to help fund schemes designed to regenerate seaside resorts across England.

Funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the three-year scheme is led by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and aims to help revitalise resorts using culture and heritage. Plans to rejuvenate a heritage theme park in Margate, Kent, has received £3.7m - the largest share of the latest round of the funding, while £2m will go towards efforts to transform a Grade II*-listed station in Tynemouth, North Tyneside.

Roker, Sunderland, has been handed £1m for the creation of a trail inspired by the town's heritage and culture, while St Ives in Cornwall is set to receive a grant of £900,000 to revamp the Grade II*-listed Portmeor Studios. Fleetwood, Wyre, has been awarded £835,000 towards a new performance and recreational space on the North Parade seafront; Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, is set to receive £280,000 for a new visitor centre at Piel Island and Plymouth will net a £100,000 development grant to help relocate its Arts Centre.

Culture and tourism minister Margaret Hodge said: "Many of these grants will enable our seaside towns to celebrate their fantastic heritage and history while at the same time making the services and cultural facilities they offer completely relevant for the future." CABE chief executive Richard Simmons added: "These seven projects all demonstrate how culture can be a catalyst to recapture the flair that these places enjoyed in their heyday."

English Heritage, English regional development agencies, Arts Council England, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Big Lottery Fund and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council also form part of the CABE-led Sea Change Partnership, which will run the scheme between 2008-2011.