8.1 Introduction
I am writing
this chapter in a style different to the rest of the thesis. A style that allows a descriptive yet analytical
flow enabling the reader to feel as though they are in the county of Cornwall
and offering a mental image and a sense of place. Raymond Williams uses such a style, with a
quality of writing techniques that I aspire to achieve.
The make
up of this chapter is a discussion on the overall findings of the three-year
research programme on the regional development of
Cornwall.
It recalls the roles of culture, industry, economics and society, and
their relationship with the historical background of
Cornwall, and their combined role in the
economic future of the county. I will
refer back to the theoretical concepts discussed in chapter 2 and their
relevance in disseminating the empirical part of the research. I consider this a key issue as the theoretical
concepts and the empirical data need to complement each other, in that the
theory brings some sense to the empirical work, and vice-versa.
8.2 Cornwall: A Sense of Place
“To enliven us
our mother said: 'When we leave
Plymouth
we shall come to a bridge, and once the bridge is crossed we shall be in
Cornwall'. We
jumped about, excited. All was anticipation, and it was unbearable to
wait. The train drew out of the station at last, and soon after there was
a strange rattling sound as the carriage wheels ran upon the bridge. ‘There.
Now we’re in
Cornwall’
said our mother, laughing. I stared out, disenchanted. For what was
different about this?” (du Maurier, 1967 pg4).
Imagine that you are
visiting
Cornwall
for the first time, here and now in the early part of the twenty first
century. Taking the most southerly route
via the A38[1]
trunk road, you have just driven over the Tamar road bridge that runs parallel
to the
Royal
Albert
Railway
Bridge built by Isambard
Kingdom Brunel in 1859 linking
London
to
Cornwall via
the newly established rail network. The
bridges link
South Cornwall to
England; I
wonder how many people crossing the bridges consider the importance of the rail
bridge to
Cornwall
in 1859? As du Maurier found, the
scenery only changes gradually but the culture and industry change almost
instantly. The introduction of the
railway in
Cornwall
led to industrial expansion in the county from the early 1860s.
The importance of the railway to
Cornwall
in terms of economy emerged through utilising the new rail network to transport
Victorian tourists from all over the
UK.
Prior to the construction of the Royal Albert Bridge in 1859, the only
bridge across the Tamar was one constructed in the fifteenth century at
Horsebridge (photo5), about twenty miles from the coast at Plymouth.
Photo 5: 16th Century
Bridge at Horsebridge on the Devon Cornwall border. Photo reproduced here with
the kind permission of Western Web Ltd 2003
The construction
of Brunel’s bridge and the subsequent rail link to
Penzance
opened up faster trade routes to South and
West Cornwall.
The railway link to
Cornwall
remains an integral part of the infrastructure that supports the Cornish
economy. True, there are demands for
greater funding for the rail network in
Cornwall,
funds that will undoubtedly improve efficiency and access to the western end of
the county. This is particularly
important considering the ongoing campaigns by environmental organisations to
encourage people off the roads and onto the railways.
One of the major problems with the rail network in
Cornwall is the speed of the trains. Due to the rail track following the coastline
in the south and over the hills and moors ‘…it [the railway] is not now
competitive with the car, particularly from here [Truro] to Exeter. It takes
one and a half hours by car and two and a half hours by train.’ (Rob Hitchen
Interview 2002). This causes problems
not so much for tourists but for commuters.
With the road infrastructure also in need of a major overhaul, due to
the increase in road traffic, add to this a poor rail service and the
eventuality is gridlock at peaks periods.
Personal experience driving into
Truro
in March 2002 took 45mins longer than necessary entirely due to heavy rush hour
traffic. For a region that is ‘seeking to regenerate’, there is a demand for
the rail and road infrastructure to improve, thus providing better access to
the employment opportunities afforded by the impetus of Objective 1 funding.
There is any number of claims to where regeneration should begin, ask any
representative of key stakeholders and each will offer a different option: the
physical infrastructure through rail, road and communications, the
concentration on job creation as the priority,
community capacity building, tourism development, and so on. They are all equally important and all
rightly treated as such, thus providing momentum in regeneration. What is crucial is that there is a visually
active overseer of regeneration. The overseer should manage through governance
the myriad stakeholders in the county.
Much as Foucault (1978) discusses in terms of governmentality in that a
strong ‘father figure’ – GOSW - to
control ‘the children’ – SWRDA, CCC,
community groups - is necessary to maintain a balanced and developing economy
and society.
8.3 Strange Buildings and Man -made Mountains
Continuing our journey through the Cornish countryside of narrow roads
bordered by ancient hedgerows, strange looking buildings begin to appear on the
horizon. They are relics of the tin
mining era, the pump houses that pumped water out of the deep tin mines. (Photo
6) These are probably the first
indications of a bygone mining culture in
Cornwall
and reflected on many postcards sent home by tourists to their family and
friends of their stay in
Cornwall. They remind me of the importance of the
mining industry in
Cornwall,
in the past, present and future tenses.
The Cornish born still relate to tin mining as an integral part of their
society. A society that has grown, similar
to Williams’ (1958) concept of a developing society, through ‘…active debate,
and amendment under the pressures of experience, contact and discovery, writing
themselves into the land.’ This is
particularly so, in the Cornish case, with the hundreds of pump house remains
found throughout
Cornwall. An old Cornish saying ‘Down every hole you’ll
find a Cornish miner’ embraces the reverence that the Cornish people hold for
the former tin mining industry.
Moreover, a poem by Patrick French (1997) summarises the Cornish
acceptance of the regeneration process from the decline of the mining industry
through the angst over the fishing industry and the culmination of a new
technological age reaching the county.
Photo 6: An Abandoned Tin Mine Pump House near St Just Cornwall
NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Cornwall
Was all
An engineer’s dream,
As they built and
exploited inventions with steam.
Its miners
Were finders
Of techniques all new,
Which they took round
the world -- and explained what to do.
And its seamen
Were toughened
By life out afloat,
Crewing steamers or
trawlers or local lifeboats.
Now mining’s
Declining.
‘Fact someone has
said:
One day he just woke
up and read it was dead.
But fishing
We’re hoping
Will not do the same,
Though’ daily some
strangers to our grounds lay claim.
I ‘spect we
D’reckly
Will hear on the news:
That the boats out of
Newlyn have got Spanish crews!
‘Tis no joke
For menfolk,
If their jobs they
lose,
And there aren’t any
options of new jobs to choose;
It’s computers
And software
Which these days
somehow
Are the country’s main
needs for new jobs right now.
The young lads
Of those dads
Find it easy. I s’pose
To them it’s as plain
as the tip of their nose.
There’s layout
And logout
And words like
splitscreen;
And passwords and
programs all part of the scene.
There’re formats
And inserts --
That’s just for a
start --
And a run and a
printout are also a part.
There’s data
To cater
For, modems and such
--
But to say it all now
is really too much!
At worst,
We must first
Establish and find
New skills to be
learned by the men who once mined.
They don’t shirk
Hard work
Of the manual kind,
But keyboards an’
suchlike they might find a bind.
But we must,
‘Cos its just
And its right and its
proper,
Teach them to know
what technologies offer.
Scattered
throughout the county are mining villages where communities are beginning to
respond to the processes of regeneration and are involving themselves in issues
surrounding capacity building. They are
encouraged by bodies such as the SWRDA, the County and District Councils and
community development officers to develop ideas for the economic regeneration
of their community. The District Council
is instrumental in encouraging the communities to evaluate, discuss and act
upon concepts for regeneration. They do
so through an ‘integrated and holistic approach’ that ‘…provides a wide ranging
programme of support and provision’ (North Kerrier IAP 2001: 17).
The development of the role of the various agencies involved with the
economic regeneration of communities follows the regulationist view of
restructuring a new mode of regulation.
It is reasonable to accept that Cornwall suffered a breakdown in modes
of regulation thus leading to its current ‘crisis’ in that the economic decline
in the region became a major concern.
Hence, the injection of funding via the Objective 1 scheme in 2000 was
in recognition of this. The new mode of
regulation in this instance is through the development of the integration of
all the stakeholders involved in economic regeneration. The endogenous system of development
encourages the more holistic nature of regeneration. It involves the community from the outset and
has potential to ensure the continuation of the development process in years to
come.
‘Regulation theory seeks to
integrate the analysis of political economy with that of civil society and the
state to show how they interact to 'normalize' the capital relation.’ (Jessop
1999: 64)
Thus, the
evidence collected through the interviews with key stakeholders and the
analysis of policy documents offers a theoretical perspective to the issues
revolving around social and economic regeneration.
The journey continues along the A38 to St Austell, now famous for the
location of the Eden Project built in one of the former china clay
quarries. The Eden Project is the
largest visitor attraction in
Cornwall. It attracts approximately 1.8million visitors
per year. 95% of its employees are sourced locally, of which 50% were
previously unemployed (Eden Project 2003).
Additionally, the creation of about 1,700 jobs distributed between
Cornwall and the counties
of
Devon and
Somerset indicate a considerable boost to the
economy in the region. It is ideally
located for the day-tripper from
Bristol
(approximately 2hrs by car) or the holidaymaker in St Ives (1hr by car). In March 2002, GOSW announced that the Eden
Project would receive further Objective 1 funding of £1.75million in addition
to the £1.5million from the SWRDA, to build the Eden Foundation building, which
will house facilities for academic researchers from around the world. Therefore, as the Eden Project expands so to
will the local economy through increased employment. Here, on a large scale is evidence that
co-operation between business, communities, the local authority and fund
managers from SWRDA and GOSW operate together to produce a successful outcome
to a major development project. However,
let us not get carried away with the success of the Eden Project. Close by, in St Austell and the surrounding
area there is still large areas suffering from high unemployment caused by the
reduction in clay mining.
Aside from the recently re-opened tin mine in Redruth, the china clay
mining area of St Austell is all that remains of the mining industry in
Cornwall. The china clay mining remains one of
Cornwall’s success
stories. After over 300 years, it
continues to support the local economy, although due to modern mining methods
the numbers of employees is now at a little over 2200 it peaked at over 5000 in
the 1970s. As you drive, you will notice
a number of cone shaped hills these are fabricated structures, similar to those
that adorn the landscape in coal mining districts of
South
Wales. They are made not of
coal slag as in
South Wales but of sand and
mica separated from the clay in the refining process. The mounds have, over many years, ‘grassed
over’ and some look more like natural landscape features similar to the smaller
burial mounds that adorn the Wiltshire countryside around Stonehenge.
St Austell town centre is predominantly of 1960s architecture and much of
it now owned by the SWRDA and scheduled for redevelopment during 2003. The redevelopment programme is part of a
scheme that involves Restormal District Council, who, along with the SWRDA
organised a number of consultations with the local people on how the rebuilding
should look. ‘An architect has just been
selected, there has been a lot of public consultation, but out of that will fly
Objective 1 projects.’ (Stephen Bohane
interview 2002) This is continuing the process of involving the communities
even in the larger scale projects. It is
reflective of the attitudes towards economic development required by central
government. Since the inauguration of
regeneration planning in
Cornwall
in the 1980s, stakeholders have struggled to encourage community involvement.
‘It’s quite
challenging to get people involved, not just here but in the whole of
Cornwall. When I was working at RCC (Rural Cornwall
Council) we reckoned that there is probably a network of 5000 people in
Cornwall who are involved
in the community voluntary sector. And
if you go to meetings you tend to see the same faces again and again, with
different hats on. In this area there is
a particular problem because of the social deprivation. The problems of
Cornwall are magnified several fold in that
if you don’t have fairly well paid jobs or jobs with any permanence you lose
your intellectual capital. And you also
lose people who are prepared in their spare time to sit on boards and
committees and that kind of thing. So
that makes it more challenging to get people through the doors’ (Stephen
Horsecroft interview 2002).
However, since
the late 1990s a shift in community involvement on regeneration projects is
evolving. This is partly due to the
steady influx of incomers in to the county seeking to ‘get involved’ with
village community life. The population
of
Cornwall is
now made up with a 50 – 50 split between those born in the county and incomers
(CCC 2003). Thus, the influence of
incomers is helping to re-kindle the spirit of the communities with the
assistance of the external influences of the SWRDA and County Council. Communities are now encouraged to involve
themselves in the decision-making process that revolves around regeneration. The inclusion of the community in
decision-making helps to establish a core element in the decision-making
process that will sustain the drive for a better community in both social and
economic terms. All of these points are
indicators of a system of governance and as such suggest that there is a
definite shift from government to governance in
Cornwall as described by Painter &
Goodwin (1996) as a mode of social regulation.
The use of regulation theory and political ecology methodology helped in
establishing the criteria that formulate a system of governance. Investigation into the roles of the various
stakeholders through interviews, led to an understanding of how local
government is developing a more fluid method of regeneration. By this, I mean that regeneration is not
something that is ever completed. It is
an ongoing process, continually put under pressure through changes in
government, both local, and perhaps more directly, central government. Thus, stakeholders must have a built in
strategy that enables the continuation of a system of governance that embraces
community involvement regardless of which political party is in government. There
is evidence that the shift from government to governance is a positive way
forward. The relationship between the
local communities and the policy makers is now one of working together rather
than one that is leaning towards exogenous tendencies. Where previously
communities and outside agencies talked but no one listened, the groups now
come together to negotiate and plan projects.
In order to maintain steady growth in the economy of
Cornwall, stakeholders must continue to
include communities in development processes and not revert to the top down
approach of previous governments. A mode
of social regulation is dependent on a solid network structure that integrates
all of those involved with regeneration in Cornwall. Without the network structure a repeat of
what Goodwin terms ‘crises’ in that a
crisis is a rupture in the reproduction of a social system may ensue. In this context, it would mean a ‘crisis in governance’ similar to the
crisis tendencies of the Keynesian welfare state, crisis in Fordism, and crisis
tendencies of the British state discussed in an earlier chapter.
The shift to a system of
governance in
Cornwall
follows Jessop’s belief that there is a ‘…resurgence of regional and local
governance’ (Jessop 1996 pg271) a system that includes new technology,
training, education, research and development, public infrastructure and
cultural industries (Jones & MacLeod 1999).
The integration of these products of governance into the networking of
stakeholders is what will result in a steady yet fruitful growth in the
economic regeneration and social welfare of
Cornwall.
During the 1990s, commentators such as
Florida 1995, Cooke and Morgan 1993, Amin
& Thrift 1994, and Storper 1995 discussed the animation of ‘learning’,
‘innovative capacity’, ‘institutional thickness’,
(Jones & MacLeod 1999) as elements of future economic competitiveness and
prosperity (Jessop 1997). Again, there
are indications that these elements are formulating to help provide inclusion
of all the beneficiaries in the socio-economic development process in
Cornwall. Some of the terminology has changed; ‘learning’ is now educational development, ‘innovative
capacity’ is capacity building, ‘institutional thickness’ represents the stakeholder networks.
Nonetheless, different terminology
does not detract from the fact that there are now positive strides towards the
creation of workable regimes in which communities, businesses, government offices,
regional agencies and local authorities all work together in their desire to
improve social welfare and the economy of any given region. The Objective 1
programme is an example of how developing and encouraging communities,
businesses, government offices, regional agencies and local authorities come
together to regenerate a regional economy.
8.4 Single Carriageway equals Congestion, Dual
Carriageway Equals Ecological Destruction - and Economic Growth
The journey continues, up to join the A30 trunk road, the main arterial
road in
Cornwall. It is here, along Goss Moor that construction
of the new dual carriageway will soon commence.
The demands for the new road have echoed throughout the region for
decades and will surely benefit local businesses and local communities. It is perhaps the one instance in this thesis
where political ecology research methods really come to the forefront. Political ecology, as an appropriate tool for
this research encompasses the ideologies that direct resource use, and
influence which social actors benefit and which are disadvantaged (Stonich
1998). The Goss Moor road project will
devastate a large area of moorland much of which is a designated Site of
Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). However, because of many years of
consultation, debate and environmental impact research, the benefits to the
communities in the area out way the concerns of environmentalists thus, the
construction of the road is to go ahead.
It epitomises the role political ecology theory and methodology can play
in analysing issues that affect not only the natural environment but also the
impacts on humankind. Political ecology
is not just about investigating the role of humankind on the environment it is
also about the inter-relationships of political bodies (decision makers), local
communities (receptors) and used to critically assess the cultural aspects to
economic and ecological sustainability.
This is also applicable to those
communities involved in developing networks that are striving to improve the
socio-economic status of the region. The
new road across Goss Moor will improve access to
West
Cornwall, and new businesses, already in-situ, will be in a
position to offer their customers speedier delivery of goods. One such company is Borders Books, who have
recently completed the move into a new factory at St Columb Major at the
Western end of Goss Moor, built with support from both the SWRDA and Objective
1 is ‘…the biggest factory to be built in Cornwall for years.’ (Stephen Bohane
interview 2002).
Access is a major issue in
Cornwall,
yet there are those who believe that access is not that important and offer a
variety of reasons as to why construction of the new road should not go ahead.
They question the plausibility of economic growth through improved transport
access.
‘It is increasingly recognised
that improved communications act as a drain of resources away from peripheral
areas by increasing the possibility to centralise production and distribution’
(FOE 2002).
This is possibly so, however, I argue that concerning
Cornwall, a fluid transport infrastructure
will permit better two-way access for both employment and tourism. In 1999, 83% of visitors to
Cornwall travelled by car and 4% by coach
(CCCi 2003). Thus, the construction of the new dual carriageway is vital for
the continued economic growth in the county.
To the west of the Goss Moor construction site are a
number of large regeneration projects funded by the SWRDA and Objective 1.
Tolvadden
Development
Park
among others and the regeneration of Camborne, Redruth and Pool will benefit
from improved road access and encourage people into the county as well as those
already working there to remain.
‘…these business
parks are built for business and to meet business needs. Whether that comes ultimately from outside
the county or from expanding Cornish companies, I don’t actually see that it
matters. Emphasis actually is on
expanding Cornish companies if they develop and release space further down the
chain for other people to come in or whatever.
I think the priority is very much on providing workspace both offices
and factories for expanding Cornish companies although we are also interested
in encouraging inward investment’
(Stephen Bohane interview 2002).
To the north of
the new road is Newquay, from where Ryan Air has recently started to run
flights to
London. These flights bring tourists and business
people to
Cornwall
and they need good access to the major towns and holiday resorts. The importance of the new road will prevail
when Ryan Air open routes from Newquay to other destinations in
Europe. ‘Ryan air will definitely open other routes; it
is an open secret that they are looking at
Dublin and
Frankfurt
for future routes. Now that becomes
really, really interesting’ (Stephen Bohane interview 2002). A point expanded by Rob Hitchens (interview
2002)
‘In tourism
what we are getting in Cornwall is sort of critical mass of high profile
projects like Eden, National Maritime Museum in Falmouth, Tate Gallery in St
Ives, I think we have got enough things for charter flights groups to spend a
week in Cornwall, be bussed around to the different locations and take their
charter flight back home to Paris or wherever they came from. And we have got an airport that can take these
big aircraft.’
However, Rob
Hitchens also pointed out that there is a distinct lack of good sized hotels of
the type you see on the
Costa del Sol. There is an abundance of Victorian style
small hotels and guest houses but he believes that the larger hotels would
attract more people because they would all have the same sized rooms for the
same price. It is something that package
tour operators require in order to sell the holiday destination to its
customers. Yet there is a problem with
building such hotels in that only a few months per year will see high occupancy
and at present visitors to
Cornwall
are predominantly from the
UK
4.1million in 1997 compared to 340,000 from overseas
(Objective One Partnership Ch2). Of the
total number of visitors to
Cornwall
in 1997, only 34% stayed in a hotel the remainder stayed in guesthouses,
caravans and friends homes (CCCj 2003).
The local
authority acknowledges tourism as one of the main economic factors to enable
success of economic growth and stability in
Cornwall.
Nevertheless, to rely too heavily on tourism is to be over dependant on
fluctuating market forces. Hence the
need for the agencies of governance such as the GOSW, SWRDA and Cornwall
Enterprise to work in unison with the local authority to market
Cornwall as a place to
come and relocate a business. They also need to encourage the young to stay in
the county and study at the new university under construction in
Falmouth. With an ageing population in Cornwall, due in
part to the exodus of young workers to other parts of the UK, the new
university will not only help in keeping Cornish youth in the county it will
also attract young people from other parts of the UK who in turn may decide to
stay on in the county to work.
Map3:
Indicates the A30 over Goss Moor that is due for conversion into a dual
carriageway (created by the
author using ArcView GIS software)
8.5 Celtic Crosses, Gaelic Signs - ‘Made in
Cornwall’
As you drive further through the county, you become visually aware of the
increasing number of cultural indicators depicting Cornish history: Celtic
crosses, Gaelic script on road signs and the growing frequency of abandoned tin
mine pump houses. The growth and
development of the Cornish cultural identity is an integral part of the
development plans of Cornwall County Council.
Businesses are encouraged to integrate Cornish culture as an advertising
aid. Indeed, developing and using cultural
and regional identity is a major issue within the SWRDA (Stephen Horscroft
interview 2003). However, the policy
targets the whole of the South West region and not individual counties.
Cornwall
already has a very strong cultural identity and the County Council strongly
supports a ‘Made in
Cornwall’
scheme. The scheme was set up in 1991 to
help promote products made in
Cornwall.
‘
Cornwall is renowned for
its wealth of artistic talent and craftsmanship, and the description ‘Cornish’
is generally associated with quality. Unfortunately, like so many good things,
someone always tries to copy or impersonate the Cornish identity, and
descriptions such as ‘Cornish Ice Cream’, ‘Cornish Pasty’ and ‘Cornish Cream
Fudge’, which are in use daily by companies throughout the Country, are
examples of this.
The ‘Made in
Cornwall’ Scheme was developed
in 1991 in an attempt to identify the genuine Cornish produce. Under the
control of Cornwall County Council’s Trading Standards Service a logo was
introduced for local producers to use in association with their genuine Cornish
products.’ (CCC 2003)
Photo
6 ‘Made in
Cornwall’
Furthermore, Stephen Horscroft commented that:
‘…regional
bodies think that in order to attract inward investment we need to develop
identity. Actually, they have got it
wrong. Identities can be identified and
developed, but where you have got a strong identity or a strong regional brand
like you have in
Cornwall. You
have got something to work with already.
On Radio Cornwall there was a totally mixed up report because they said
the NFU were keen to encourage local people to buy local produce. Then the NFU
guy came on and started talking about West Country meat, so does that mean they
are trying to encourage people in
Cornwall
to buy Cornish produce which has a strong Cornish brand or buy beef from
Somerset? The first law of marketing is that you can’t
have two brands running at the same time. It’s a pretty fundamental issue that
is not dealt with.
These are issues
revolving around production and cultural identity an additional element is that
of the almost extinct yet recently revived Cornish language.
The Cornish language, now taught in many schools in the county, arguably
has little to offer in terms of economic contribution. It may help in maintaining the ‘Cornishness’
of
Cornwall and
it helps in retaining the unique culture that the county enjoys. The SWRDA now show recognition of the Cornish
identity as being separate from that of
England.
‘We had a lot of trouble when we
first came down with our signs being defaced.
Because at the time our signs, to some in
Cornwall, had rather a provocative strap line
saying
England’s
Leading Edge and that caused a few problems. Anything with the word
England in and
the English Rose on Tourist signs were subject to defacing. I directed our then marketing director to
change that and all our signs do not have that just have a web address but also
have, admittedly in fairly faint letters the words Working for Cornwall at the
bottom’ (Stephen Bohane interview 2002).
This is an
example of the benefits of the SWRDA having an office in
Cornwall.
It allows for the development of relationships between the ‘insiders’
and ‘outsiders’ permitting a more harmonious regeneration process. GOSW now
have an office in
Truro
and it is proving beneficial to the various officers working on behalf of the
local authority and the communities.
Stephen Horscroft commented:
‘…sometimes, like the neighbourhood nursery
project, you are going to need the applicant, myself and Government Office to
sit down around a table together to make sense of it and it is a good thing to
have them represented in the county’ (Interview 2002).
It appears that
following the introduction of offices in
Cornwall
by the SWRDA and GOSW, the interaction between central government
representatives, stakeholders and community leaders is reinforcing the role of
governance. It also vindicates central
government’s decision to encourage the endogenous development programme in the
regions.
The role of central government in some aspects has changed to a role of
governance, encouraging local authorities to develop their own system of
governance. They visualise the
introduction of the seven Regional Development Agencies (RDA) as a step towards
regional governance.
There are still tendencies to dictate to the local authority; the example from
the new Rural White Paper in November 2000 mentioned above is a case in
point. They actively encourage the
facilitation of training, networking and partnership development between the
local authority and the local business community. These few regulations combined with other
changes in regional policy have produced a system of local governance in
Cornwall that is a
combination of market forces and co-operation between regional agencies and
local communities.
8.6 West Cornwall – the Forgotten Region?
An indicator of the narrowing of the Cornish peninsula is the merging of
the two main arterial roads, the A30 and A38 to the west of
Truro.
They form the solitary major road down to
Penzance
and at Trencrom Hill near Lelant both the north and south coastlines of the
county are visible. The signs of the tin
mining industry become even more prolific with not only the pump houses but
also signposts to various renovated mines[7]
that are now tourist attractions. The
beaches of Hayle and St. Ives attract tens of thousands of visitors each year
and help contribute to much needed income necessary for the continued
development of the regeneration programme in the region.[8][41]
Having driven past the county town of
Truro with its magnificent cathedral, the
traveller arrives in
West Cornwall and the
District Councils of Kerrier and Penwith.
These two districts along with Restormal, perhaps more than any others
in
Cornwall are
the most in need of the benefits that social and economic regeneration can
provide. The employment figures in table
15 show the relatively high percentage of unemployed in the Kerrier and Penwith
with Penwith the highest at 4.7%. These
two regions are dependant on tourism to sustain economic stability let alone
economic growth. Hence, whilst these
figures depict the average for a twelve-month period they do not reflect the
seasonal trends in employment in the two districts as discussed in chapter
5.
|
Region |
% Unemployment Nov 2001 |
% Unemployment Nov 2002 |
|
Cornwall |
3.5 |
3.2 |
|
South West |
2.6 |
2.4 |
|
Great
Britain |
2.0 |
1.9 |
|
District |
|
|
|
Penwith |
5.4 |
4.7 |
|
Kerrier |
4.3 |
3.8 |
|
Carrick |
3.0 |
2.7 |
|
Restormel |
3.5 |
3.0 |
|
Caradon |
2.9 |
2.8 |
|
North Cornwall |
2.9 |
2.8 |
Table 15:
Unemployment figures for
Cornwall
and its Districts (source:
CCC i 2003)
Furthermore, due
to a skills mismatch in the new industries to
West
Cornwall, finding skilled labour is of concern to project
managers. Cemlyn, Fahmy and Gordon (2002) regard the skills mismatch as a major
issue revolving around social wellbeing. Stephen Horscroft (2002) supported
this:
‘There are
skill shortages in some areas like engineers, like play-workers, which are
quite crucial for the rest of the economy like the health service. But none the
less there’s underemployment and unemployment in core hard to reach areas and
we are sitting in one of those now [Redruth].’
To help
counteract the skills shortage the Construction Industry Training Board,
Jobcentre Plus,
Cornwall
College, the Learning and
Skills Council (LSC) Devon & Cornwall and the South West Regional
Development Agency, plus local, regional and national construction companies
set up a scheme called Construction Cornwall.
The scheme will help reduce the skills shortage in the construction
industry and associated fields. Emphasis
is on the retraining of the unemployed through to NVQ2 level and
apprenticeships where the Construction Cornwall scheme pay up to 45% of the
trainees wages. (Objective 1 media release 2002)
Within the Kerrier District Council area are the towns of Redruth and
Camborne. These two towns are the
flagship districts of an ongoing regeneration programme led by the SWRDA and
supported with Objective 1 funding. The
towns were perhaps one of the most deprived areas in
Cornwall, certainly in terms of employment.
The involvement of all the stakeholders, including community groups, reflects
the requirements of central government to shift local government to one of
governance. An example of how the
various stakeholders work together within the Kerrier district is the process
in which the team working on the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for Kerrier have
a section each.
‘…the IAP
team here have got the area split into five, and each area has its own
regeneration group, which is an informal group to look at and advise on
projects, not just Objective 1 but other stuff.
So mine for Carn Brae Parish includes as an example, local councillors
at all three levels [parish, district and county], the local community
policeman, the local head teacher, local youth worker, that kind of thing.
(Stephen Horscroft Interview 2002)
The IAP team
reports to the IAP board with project ideas that emanate from meetings with the
community groups and local businessmen.
The IAP board assess the projects and submit a selection to Government
Office South West for further assessment and suitability for receipt of
Objective 1 funding.
Notwithstanding the drive for a system of local governance that
incorporates and encourages endogenous development, issues surrounding
continued development after Objective 1 funding ceases in 2006 require some
discussion. With the advent of some
Central European countries acceding to membership of the European Union in 2007
funding for regeneration from the EU is likely to flow towards the accession
countries. This is particularly so if
the SWRDA meets its regional target for average GDP above the EU threshold of
75%. Whist the regional average may well
stabilise above 75%GDP Cornwall’s GDP in 2002 was only 65%. The concerns are if
Cornwall fails to raise its GDP to the 75%
threshold will it still qualify for further Objective 1 funding. Stephen Horscroft (2002) considers it will:
‘Another thing
is if our GDP does decline we are almost certain to get another slice, we won’t
be competing with new Eastern European Countries and regions we’ll be in there
comparable with them. But even if O1 did
hit the spot and improve GDP you would need a few years of sort of exit money
to pick up residue and things like that.’
Robert Hichens (2002) considers that whilst the potential is there for
Cornwall to raise its GDP
to above 75%, in reality it is unlikely.
‘Objective 1
will undoubtedly do
Cornwall
some good but whether it will be possible to jack ourselves up to 80% or
something like that, I am not so sure. It seems to me highly unlikely, the
problem is everywhere else is moving forward too.’
It would appear that the regeneration process is actively encouraging
communication and co-operation between the various stakeholders. In addition, an element of acceptance that
the major players in the process, SWRDA and GOSW, are keen to help provide a
better and workable future now exists in the county. Even those who live in the die-hard regions
of
West Cornwall, Redruth, Camborne, St. Ives
and
Penzance now recognise that without the
input from outsiders and the requirement for locals to work with them towards
an improved social and economic life style; life in the county will remain a
struggle. Whether it is the role of
governance or not is not clear.
Nevertheless, this thesis clarifies that the role of communication
between all stakeholders involved in the processes of regeneration is
crucial. It has taken almost ten years
to convince the people of
Cornwall
that they must have belief in the assistance offered through the various EU
funded projects. Now that some of the
larger scale projects are complete, Borders Books, Eden Project,
Tolvadden
Business
Park,
and others such as the
Combined
University at Penryn near
to completion, confidence is growing.
There is a sense of good feeling developing in the towns and
villages. Summarised by a seventy five
year old lady from
Penzance who I met on a
recent visit (2003):
‘I have seen
many changes over the years, what with the closure of all the local tin mines,
and fishing becoming harder and harder. We, here in
Penzance
and
West Cornwall have struggled perhaps more
than most others in the county because we are so far from anywhere. We had all heard stories before about how
this organisation or that would come in and help us but they were false hopes. But now it is different, well at least it
appears to be. With all of this EU money
coming in, new roads being built to help link us better to the rest of
England things
are looking up. All we need is a faster
rail service to
London
and we should be made – but that’s too much to expect. The kids today living down here should have a
better life than many of us have had, and so they should. We have the best beaches in the country the
best weather and the best countryside so we should have the best way of life
but until now we haven’t.’
8.7 Journey’s End
So, the journey through
Cornwall
comes to an end. The drive from Redruth
down through to
Penzance reveals more relics
of the tin mining era, Celtic crosses decorate roundabouts and village
squares. Leaving
Penzance
passing the fishing
port
of
Newlyn, signs of
regeneration are visible in the construction of new fish processing
premises. Looking down on the fishing
port it is easy to see why so many artists, past and present saw Newlyn as such
a picturesque place. The tall masts and
booms of the fishing vessels, the nets hanging from the side, the fisherman
squatting on the dockside repairing nets as they have done for hundreds of
years. Hopefully, the regeneration
programmes will help in maintaining this coastal idyll.
The final stage of the journey takes us to Lands End just before sunset
when the sky is full of colour with wispy clouds diffracting the sunlight into
beams across the sky into the horizon.
However, instead of looking at the sunset look back at where you have
just come from and think. Think about
the people of
Cornwall,
how they have developed a great sense of pride in their county. One that sees some men send their pregnant
wife home from overseas, so that she can give birth to their child in
Cornwall hence he/she
will be truly Cornish. Think of what
Cornwall has had to offer
in the past and what it can for the future.
The new generation of children able to attend university in their own
county in the knowledge that once they graduate they will no longer have to
leave the county to find employment.
Think as to the reasons for all of this happening in just a ten-year
period. A development process that was
slow to start and to attain acceptance yet now appears to be flourishing, all
because people throughout all walks of life became involved and worked together
to produce what they hope will continue with future generations.
Thickness in this sense relates to a presence and
combination of institutions that are capable to support each other and
facilitate a base for economic development - networking. Nielsen (2002)
describes institutional thickness as:
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