Regeneration - EQ4.12 - Rural Regeneration Cornwall Flashcards
Why is rural regeneration more difficult than urban
- Low average incomes are typical of large bands of rural Britain
- They have a lower population density → unable to maintain sufficient customers to make a profit
- Private investors prefer to invest in urban areas rather than rural areas
- Rural areas being left with a ‘brain-drain’ where the young, well qualified residents leave to find well-paid employment elsewhere
Who are the key players in Cornwall’s regeneration
- The EU
- UK Central Govt Agencies
- Local Govt
- Stakeholders in the local economy
- Environmental Stakeholders
- Stakeholders in people
Describe the role of the key players in Cornwall’s regeneration
The EU
- Convergence funding has been granted to Cornwall since 1999 through Objective One
Describe the role of the key players in Cornwall’s regeneration
UK Central Government
- Before it was abolished in 2010, the South West Regional Development Agency made investment grants that came from central government
- Most investment grants have been cut and are now given out directly by central government
Describe the role of the key players in Cornwall’s regeneration
Local Government
- Cornwall Council has had no start-up funding to offer potential businesses since 2010
- Offers rebates on business taxes in its Enterprise Zones at Newquay
Describe the role of the key players in Cornwall’s regeneration
Environmental Stakeholders
- Cornwall’s biggest asset is its scenery and environment
- The National Trust, Royal Horticultural Society and English Heritage all own large areas of land
Describe the role of the key players in Cornwall’s regeneration
Stakeholders in the local economy
- The biggest players are the banks, which have cut back their investment in small businesses since the banking crisis of 2008
- The biggest industries in Cornwall are tourism, food and farming
- They want greater economic expansion
Describe the role of the key players in Cornwall’s regeneration
Stakeholders in education
- worked to increase the available range of university courses - Combined Universities in Cornwall
How is the process of rural regeneration different to urban
-planning permission
- With concern over the environment, growing planning permission for rural areas can be harder to get then in a run-down urban area
- It is especially difficult to get permission in National Parks
- NPA may not approve new building in order to preserve the landscape, even if the building would be good for rebranding.
How is the process of rural regeneration different to urban
-less funding
- Rural locations in need of rebranding are unlikely to generate as much money as urban areas as not many people will visit
- There is less interest from “big business” but there are exceptions, for example energy developers like NP and Wind Farms
How does Top-Down Regeneration work
Decisions made by authorities or agencies and imposed on particular people and places.
What are the advantages of Top-Down Regeneration
it is strategic in nature and offers a co-ordinated strategy
What are the disadvantages of Top-Down Regeneration
- Local communities in both rural and urban environments may feel isolated from the decision-making process and refuse to engage with the project
How does Bottom-up Regeneration work
- This is based on listening to local opinion and devising local solutions to problems
What are the advantages of Bottom-up Regeneration
- local people are closely involved in developments and are empowered
What are the disadvantages of Bottom-up Regeneration
- such approaches may be unable to make substantial changes; they often rely on volunteers
How do Partnership Approaches work in regeneration
- This approach aims to combine the best features of both bottom up and top down
- Partnerships are made up of representatives from the state, private and voluntary sectors
What are the advantages of Partnership Approaches
- Partnerships are often well placed to draw on funding e.g. National Lottery
What are the disadvantages of Partnership Approaches
- decision making can be bureaucratic and longwinded
What Role Does the Media and Technology Play In Rural Regeneration
-Broadband
- High-speed broadband connections enable people to uniquely work from home
- the Highland Islands Enterprise (HIE) have funded a €70 million project to connect every community to high speed broadband attracting small businesses who want a slower pace to life
What Role Does the Media and Technology Play In Rural Regeneration
-radio
- Radio can cater to specific needs discussing local issues in local dialect helping people to feel more connected helping to rebrand and make people feel more positive
- Stations can support local business
What Role Does the Media and Technology Play In Cornwall’s Rural Regeneration
-film
- Rural areas can be rebranded into good locations for filming, which can generate tourism
- e.g. Stately homes are advertised for hiring by the National Trust which can be popular for period dramas like Pride and Prejudice
What challenges does Cornwall’s rural economy face
- 2011: Cornwall England’s lowest average earnings (77% of UK ave.)
- 20% of working population earned less than £7.45 p/h
- Lack of investment = lack of opportunity → Brain drain of Cornwall’s young, well-qualified residents
Summarise how Cornwall’s economy has grown & slown over the last decade
- 2000 - 2010: Cornwall’s economy grew faster than the UK average due to investment from the UK govt & EU (increased jobs and boosted tourism)
- 2010+: Decline in government spending → private sector investment + hard to achieve where rural population density is low
How have Cornwall funded their regeneration?
- Pre-2010 - Public-sector investment
- Until 2007 - EU funding - Objective One, a type of convergence funding
- By 2007 - £230million invested in 580 projects in Cornwall
What is convergence funding
- The idea that poorer economies’ per capita incomes will tend to grow at faster rates than richer economies
What are the reasons why the government was right to withdraw most public-sector funding (post-2010)
- Cornwall has already received significant amounts of funding → able to rely on its own resources or attract private-sector funding in the future
- Government has to prioritise its funding into areas with higher populations
- The investment in the ‘knowledge economy’ and the ‘student economy → prevent the brain drain + people start their own businesses → reducing the need for public-sector funding
Reasons why the government was not right to withdraw most public-sector funding (post-2010)
- Cornwall Council has had no start-up funding to offer potential businesses
- Previous public-sector funding has been put to good use to create regeneration projects → benefited Cornwall
- Projects in rural areas may not necessarily make enough profit to invite private-sector funding → public-sector funding is still required
- Financial crisis → Private-sector funding has also been reduced
- BREXIT and decline in EU funding
What was the main aim of Objective One
- Raise rural incomes by matching capital raised by individuals (match funding) to pump-prime business, so a higher proportion of new businesses would survive in the longer term
Why was Objective One set up
- Objective One was one of three programmes set up to help reduce differences in social and economic conditions within the European Union
- It was a top priority, evident in these three funding programmes, being the biggest area of European spending after the Common Agricultural Policy
Objective One programme made £……. in European investment available, but this had to be matched with the same amount of …………….
This match funding came through……
- £350 million
- UK money
- investment from various public bodies & other funds from the private sector.
What are the advantages of Objective One
- By 2007, Objective One had backed 580 projects in Cornwall with £230 million
- New potential businesses could approach funding bodies, such as local council, increasing entrepreneurial prospects in the area
Name the 5 re-branding schemes in Cornwall
- Watergate Bay, Newquay
- Combined Universities in Cornwall (2005+)
- Wave Hub (2010 - present)
- Superfast Broadband (2011 - 2016)
- The Eden Project
Watergate Bay, Newquay
How well does it suit Cornwall’s people & environment
Utililises Cornwall’s beaches & younger demographic
Watergate Bay, Newquay
What are its costs
- Restaurant 15 was not a feasible restauarant, closing in 2019 putting 100 jobs at risk
Watergate Bay, Newquay
What are its benefits
- bottom-up strategy
- provides year-round employment to 50-60 people
- water sport opportunities for younger generations
- Restuarant 15 - training locally disadvantaged people in catering
- profits from the restuarant fund further training & development
Watergate Bay, Newquay
Who are the key players
- Local business owners
- Chef - Jamie Oliver
Combined Universities in Cornwall
How well does it suit Cornwall’s people & environment
- makes use of infrastructure & student network already established
Combined Universities in Cornwall
What are its costs
- antisocial behaviour is possible
- dependent on the students choice to attend
Combined Universities in Cornwall
What are its benefits
- Studentification - healthy property rental market
- thriving evening economy of bars & restaurants
- helps to develop Cornish ‘knowledge economy’
- helps graduates set up their own businesses
Combined Universities in Cornwall
Who are the key players
- University College Falmouth and Exeter University joined forces to create the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC), together with Truro and Penwith Colleges
Wave Hub
How well does it suit Cornwall’s people & environment
- Wave Hub is a wave-power research project, situated 16 km off Cornwall’s north coast
- It was installed on the seabed in 2010, and acts as a ‘socket’ for wave-energy converters to be plugged into
- A cable takes electricity from the Hub to the mainland
Wave Hub
What are its costs
- Cost: £42 million
- Four private-sector developers will install different devices into the Hub to test which one will work best.
- 2018: two Australian companies postponed plans and no electricity had been produced at the Wave Hub
Wave Hub
What are its benefits
- £76million over 25 years for Cornwall’s economy
- Create 170 jobs
- Creation of a new wave-power industry for Cornwall
- This would support SW England’s target for generating 15% of the region’s power from renewable sources by 2100
Wave Hub
Who are the key players
- South West of England Regional Development Agency (SWRDA)
- The EU
- UK govt
Superfast Broadband
How well does it suit Cornwall’s people & environment
- Refutes Cornwall’s geographical isolation
Superfast Broadband
Describe Cornwall’s super fast broadband work
- By 2016, over 95% of Cornwall had access to fibre broadband - the first county to achieve this
Superfast Broadband
What are its costs
- It cost £132 million:
- £53.5 from the EU Regional Development Fund,
- £78.5 million from BT
Superfast Broadband
What are its benefits
- 2020 - Reduced Cornwall’s carbon footprint by half a million tonnes due to:
- Increased use of digital goods, video-calling, & working from home (average commute is 24 miles)
- Increase in businesses (12,000), particularly knowledge-economy companies and those who work from home
- 2,000 jobs created
- Cornwall’s economic impact - £200 million per year
Superfast Broadband
Who are the key players
- EU Regional Development Fund
- BT
The Eden Project
How well does it suit Cornwall’s people & environment
- Opened in 2001
- two large conservatories which exhibit the world’s major plant types
- as well as an education centre about sustainable living
- & a hostel for residential groups
- It has transformed the landscape from a former china-clay quarry, to a completely re-imagined environment
The Eden Project
What are its costs
- cost £140 million
The Eden Project
What are its benefits
- generated £1.1 billion for the Cornish economy (a seven-fold return on its cost)
- attracted 13 million visitors
- employed 650 people directly (many of whom were previously unemployed)
- used 2700 local suppliers
- raised Cornwall’s profile, alongside the contributions of Tate St Ives and Rick Stein’s restaurants in Padstow
- developed Cornish tourism as a year-round sector
The Eden Project
Who are the key players
- National Lottery
- EU & SW Regional Development Agency
- Commerical loans
