EQ2 + EQ3 rural rebranding - Cornwall and the eden project

Question 1

where is cornwall?

Answer 1

west coast of england

Question 2

why did cornwall need regen. (compare between core and periphery)

Answer 2

core - London
periphery-
has very poor transport links to the core, with no motorways, it is badly connected and
suffers from lower levels of investment.
- ‘brain drain’ effect.
- econ. not diverse - reliant on coastal tourism (seasonal jobs and low pay= cycle of rural deprivation )

Question 3

what % of young p. leave the cornwall area and why?

Answer 3

nearly 50% - in search of better opportunities

Question 4

avg earning of demographic in 2002?

Answer 4

On average earnings were 25% below the UK national average in 2002.

Question 5

give some stats on lack of services in rural areas.

Answer 5

-Lock of rural services meant that many people either chose to the leave the area, or didn’t move there in the first place. 29% of rural areas not having access to a bus service.

Question 6

why did Cornwall’s dependency on the tourism industry lead to decline?

Answer 6

Only 33% of the profits from tourism stays in Cornwall- the rest ‘leaks’ out of the county, e.g going to national hotel and pub chains.

Question 7

Why is the mining sector in decline?

Answer 7

The exhaustion of the tin reserves in Cornwall.
A collapse in tin prices caused by overseas competition.
The strength of the pound has made UK tin more expensive to buy overseas.

Question 8

what are the two flagship development projects that took place in cornwall?

Answer 8

EU objective 1

Eden project

Question 9

why is rebranding necessary for cornwall?

Answer 9

Stop the brain-drain of talented young people from the region- regressive population
● Attract visitors across all seasons to provide more secure employment opportunities.
● Boost investment in the region by increasing it’s national presence.

Question 10

EDEN PROJECT 2001 ; what is it and what were it’s aims?

Answer 10

• a 2001 development in Southern Cornwall located in a poor rural area
  North­East of St. Austell.
• built on a brownfield site that used to be a china clay quarry.
• aims; rebrand deprived area as a sustainable community that invests in efforts of eden project to educate visitors about human dependence on plants.

Question 11

What strategies did the eden project use to rebrand the St. Austell area?

Answer 11

• eco approach

- farm diversification

Question 12

how much investment did the eden project gain?

Answer 12

£120 mln of investment

Question 13

what did the eden project rank as in most visited uk tourist attraction ?

Answer 13

The Eden Project was the 3rd most visited tourist attraction in the UK in 2003

Question 14

how many visitors did the eden project gain in the first 4 yrs and what were the benefits to the local economy.

Answer 14

experienced 6 million visitors in the first 4 years who spent a combined £900m in the local economy
- numbers have now stabilised at 750,000 per yr

Question 15

how much did visitors spend in cornwall by visiting the eden project?

Answer 15

Visitor spending- each visitor to the Eden Project spends on average £150 in Cornwall.

Question 16

how many jobs were created by the project?

Answer 16

employs 400-500 full time staff- 75% of which were prev unemployed
indirectly linked to creation of 5500 jobs in Cornwall

Question 17

by how much did the project reduce unemployment ?

Answer 17

by 6%

Question 18

give a specific example of the impact of the project on farm diversification .

Answer 18

Lobbs farm shop - located near the 2n biggest attraction of the eden project - previously only had revenues of £30,000
generated £200,000 per year in the 3 yrs after the project

Question 19

Lobbs farm shop ; what did farm diversification consist of?

Answer 19

cheaper food imported from abroad reduced sales for te farm and so the project’s visitors became a potential market;

• created a shop to sell products (beef, lamb, cornish wine, cheese, veg)
• visitor centre created- tours on welfare conscious farming and sustainability of planting to improve environmental quality.

Question 20

how many jobs did the Lobbs farm’s diversification create?

Answer 20

14 new jobs with more in the summer holidays

Question 21

criticisms of the eden project?

Answer 21

• counterproductive due to poor public transport = traffic congestion = degrading air quality + tourist littering
• 40% of workers employed for project were aged over 40, without a strong base for young workers in the project - brain drain effect will remain.