Cornwall Edexcel Geography Unit 2

CORNWALL Why does Cornwall need rebranding? Core and Periphery Theory: remote and rural areas such as Cornwall are poorly served by transport infrastructure i.e. 5 hours’ drive time to London. They are a long way from core markets and job opportunities are fewer. This can lead to Depopulation due to the outmigration of the economically active ‘the brain drain’. An ageing (regressive) population is being created due to retirement migration to coastal locations and rising second home ownership creating a lack of affordable housing for locals. Deprivation caused by lower wages – Cornwall has the lowest weekly wages in Britain (25% below weekly average). 79% of workforce is tertiary – many in tourism which is low paid and seasonal, 67% of tourism revenue leaks out of county. Lack of rural services; there is opportunity (level of services), mobility (lack of public transport) and household (low income) deprivation (Shaw, 1979) 29% of UK villages don’t have a village shop, 29% of all rural settlements have no bus services. Lack of a threshold population to sustain such services. Deindustrialisation in the post production countryside – decline in traditional employments e.g. exhaustion of tin reserves and decline in overall fish stocks caused by previous over-fishing. This creates a negative multiplier effect, low spending power and less business opportunities.

Rural rebranding schemes in Cornwall funded by Objective one:  Extreme sports academy at Watergate bay, targeting a younger age

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group, offered courses in surfing and wave skiing. This has attracted more people to Watergate Bay hotel which employed 50-60 people all year in 2006, compared to 15-20 in 2003, as a result of increased trade. Jamie Oliver’s fifteen restaurant, trains local young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in catering skills, therefore encouraging social inclusion. Profits fund further training and development. To develop a ‘knowledge economy’, University College Falmouth an Exeter University joined forces to create the combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC). The CUC helps graduates set up businesses or secure jobs in knowledgebased companies in Cornwall, trying to cut the ‘brain drain’ of graduates leaving Cornwall. Investment in Arts, culture and industrial heritage has been used to help attract tourists, from the Hall for Cornwall in Truro, to the opening of Tate St Ives in 1993. For small farmers income is low due to imported food becoming cheaper and the power of supermarkets forcing prices down, therefore farmers have had to diversify in an attempt to increase incomes e.g. by embracing tourism, focusing on higher value products which are directly marketed, adding value (valorisation) and adopting eco-approaches. For example Lobb’s farm shop which generated over £600,000 in additional sales in three years and created 14 jobs, with more in the summer months. In March 2001, the Eden project which was built on a brownfield site (china clay Quarry), opened to visitors. 1.9 million People came in the first year; within six months it was the UK’s third most visited attraction. It has created a positive multiplier effect for the local economy; each visitor to the Eden project spends on average £150 in Cornwall. The Eden project employs 400 full

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time staff, 75% of these were previously unemployed. In 2003, an average of 80% of Cornwall’s businesses said they felt that Eden had brought positive impacts for them and the Cornish economy. HOWEVER, there is huge traffic congestion, very high carbon footprint, NIMBYISM objections to proposed mega wind turbine and ironically it is a major source of pollution. However, it hasn’t all been successful e.g. South west film studios which received £2 million from objective one and was to create 200 permanent jobs, went bankrupt in 2004.