A Liberal by coastal area in recess (6)
I believe the answer is:
alcove
'recess' is the definition.
(alcove is a kind of recess)
'a liberal by coastal area' is the wordplay.
'liberal' becomes 'l' (abbreviation).
'by' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'coastal area' becomes 'cove'.
'a'+'l'+'cove'='ALCOVE'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for alcove that I've seen before include "bay" , "private part?" , "compartment" , "sheltered spot" , "nook" .)