Regenerating Seaside Towns > parliamentary committee report: they need to "reinvent themselves with a long-term, place-based vision."

How can we 'reinvent' the seaside town?
Futures Forum: “Belligerence and creativity” >>> entrepreneur-led revitalisation of seaside towns >>> "People aren’t interested in that old seaside ice cream cone and walk along the beach any more. They’re looking for more."

Back in the autumn, a Lords' committee looked into what might be done:
Futures Forum: Regenerating Seaside Towns: parliamentary committee calls for evidence

The VGS sent in a contribution:
Vision Group report published by House of Lords committee on “Regenerating seaside towns and communities” - Vision Group for Sidmouth

And the Lords' full report has been published today:
Regenerating Seaside Towns Committee - UK Parliament

It's been looked at across the media:
Seaside towns are being killed off by poor broadband, says Lords report - Telegraph
Seaside town reinvention 'should start with Blackpool' - BBC News
LocalGov.co.uk - Your authority on UK local government - Peers recommend tax incentives for seaside landlords

Cornwall needs a much better rail link:
What the House of Lords believes Cornwall is missing - Cornwall Live

This is what ITV news has to say: 

Seaside towns need to be urgently reinvented, report warns

Seaside towns need to be reinvented to attract tourists and residents and become desirable places to live and visit, a parliament report has said. The report called on improvements to education, housing and transport links, so seaside towns can "reinvent themselves with a long-term, place-based vision."

In the Future of Seaside Town report, peers said poor transport links to seaside towns are "severely hindering" opportunities to improve tourism and attract funding.

They warned young people are at a disadvantage because of their limited access to education, especially post 16-education.

The report called on the government to improve digital connectivity, most notably high-speed broadband, saying doing so would provide an opportunity to "overcome the challenges of peripherality in coastal areas."

Coastal towns which emerged as leisure and pleasure resorts in the 19th century have been neglected for “too long”. The House of Lords select committee said these places should once again be “celebrated as places that can provide attractive environments for residents and visitors."

The peers also called for ministers to set out how coastal areas will benefit from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which will replace EU funding after Brexit, and to increase resources for the Coastal Communities Fund.

"What is needed is a package of strategic initiatives and interventions where national and local government work together to address issues such as transport, housing, post-school education and high-speed broadband." Lord Bassam of Brighton

Places like Brighton and Bournemouth have shown that the seaside can successfully reinvent itself.

Lord Bassam of Brighton said: “The potential impact of Brexit on these towns, particularly the hospitality sector, also remains an open question. A single solution to their economic and social challenges doesn’t exist. What is needed is a package of strategic initiatives and interventions where national and local government work together to address issues such as transport, housing, post-school education and high-speed broadband."

He added: “The committee is confident that if our recommendations are pursued, seaside towns can once again become prosperous and desirable places to live in and visit.”

A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “The Government is determined to ensure our economy works for everyone and every place. We are on track to invest £200 million in the Great British Coast by 2020 and recently announced a £36 million package of support to projects in coastal communities through our Coastal Communities Fund and Coastal Revival Fund.

"We have also made a commitment to support towns to harness their unique strengths to grow and prosper through the £1.6 billion Stronger Towns Fund. We recognise the challenges facing our seaside towns and will carefully consider the committee’s recommendations to build on the significant steps we have already taken to help coastal communities thrive.”

Seaside towns need to be urgently reinvented, report warns - ITV News
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School Strike for Climate Action UK > Friday 15th March > striking for the ocean

Young people have been making a point today:
Futures Forum: School Strike for Climate Action UK > Friday 15th March > reports from Devon and Sidmouth

And in Cornwall too: 

Why I’m Striking For The Ocean: A Guest Blog by Caitlin, Age 12

15 March 2019

My name is Caitlin and I am joining the school climate strike today, along with hundreds of thousands of young people around the world.

Our ocean’s in real trouble from climate change and we must help it. My friends have been messaging each other on Instagram getting organised and today I am going on my first ever strike.

I’m 12-years-old and I did my first beach clean with Surfers Against Sewage six years ago. This year, I joined my eco club at school and we have worked really hard to make our school a Plastic Free School. I am really happy to tell you that our school got official status last month.

But plastic and climate change are totally linked as we use oil to make plastic, and oil is a fossil fuel that needs to stay in the ground. We’ve learnt about this in science. Our seas are choking on plastic and are getting hotter. We are destroying the coral reefs and causing other dangerous problems.

Surfers Against Sewage CEO Hugo Tagholm meets with student climate change protesters in Truro

I know not everyone can join the strike (as many of you are not kids!) but please show your support by signing and sharing Surfers Against Sewage’s petition asking the government to act now on climate change with as many people as possible. You can sign it here: www.sas.org.uk/petition/addyourname

I also know some of you will not agree with me doing this but I am really worried about our seas and I must do something.

Thank you for reading my message and thank you to the whole Surfers Against Sewage community for supporting us today.

Caitlin (age 12).

Why I’m Striking For The Ocean: A Guest Blog by Caitlin, Age 12 • Surfers Against Sewage
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An investigation into the rise of frontline hospital staff seeking mental health support

We are aware of the rising costs and stresses within the health system:
Futures Forum: "More resources need to be put into GPs, to help alleviate the pressure on hospitals."
Futures Forum: Hospital beds and social care: "The NHS will not be able to care properly for the growing population of frail older people unless the availability of social care increases in line with rising need."

What is becoming more apparent is the hidden cost to the mental health of frontline hospital staff - as reported by investigative journalist Fran McElhone for ITV Westcountry and the Western Morning News: 

The staggering number of Royal Cornwall Hospitals trust staff needing mental health support

The problem is a growing one and there is great concern about the impact on staff's wellbeing across the Duchy

Fran McElhone
17 DEC 2018

The number of hospital staff across the Westcountry – partarly in Cornwall – seeking mental health support has risen dramatically prompting a Royal College of Nursing director to warn that increased demands on front line staff are impacting on their wellbeing.

One nurse has described how there are increased pressures facing hospital staff in recent years, citing understaffed wards and bed blocking as chief stress-inducing factors, offering a possible insight into why more and more staff are seeking support.

Figures revealed via a series of Freedom of Information requests (FOIs) show that the number of hospital staff members across Cornwall and Devon accessing their hospital’s in-house staff support and counselling services is increasing.

The regional director for the Royal College of Nursing said that demands from both the government and society for nursing staff to do "more for less" is having a "devastating" impact on the mental wellbeing of nursing teams across the NHS, while the regional organiser for UNISON said that increased workloads are having a “severe impact” on front line hospital staff's work-life balance.

At the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust and the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, the number of staff accessing the staff support and counselling service has risen by more than four times between 2015 and 2017.

Despite repeated requests for a comment, the media team at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, which also provides the service to the Foundation Trust, failed to respond. As part of the FOI, however, the Trust confirmed that the stark rise can be attributed to changes in the staff population, increased availability of the service and increased awareness of the service.

Data also showed that work related stresses, as the reason given for staff seeking support, had fallen. However Karen Williams, regional organiser for UNISON, said that although staff may be accessing their counselling support service for general anxiety or depression, or for coping with a family breakdown, which may be recorded as a non-work related matter, increased pressures in the workplace may have been the cause or play a part. She has praised efforts made by hospital trusts to encourage staff to seek support.

A spokesperson for the Partnership Trust said that the Trust “actively encourages” staff to speak out if they are facing mental health pressures and has seen a “positive rise” in staff accessing its Staff Support and Counselling Service. The spokesperson added that there has been a decline of staff accessing the service for work related stress.

But David Hope, a nurse at West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance who has been in the profession for 12 years, says he and his colleagues are facing a multitude of challenges and pressures as a result of austerity measures and strains on both the health and social care sectors in recent years.

“Most of my colleagues have accessed the staff mental health service, and many have been off with stress at some point, including myself,” says the 70-year-old. “We’re so understaffed, sometimes it feels like a survival test overnight. We’re seeing more and more occasions when there's only one nurse covering a night shift looking after a ward with 28 people on it.

“We’ve seen a big increase in dementia patients on the wards over the years and when you have a large number of patients with dementia, things can go wrong very quickly. Recently, we had a gentleman who had an episode of paranoia in the night and was taking swings at us with his walking stick, while in the next bay a lady got out of bed, knocked a dressing off and was bleeding profusely, and then another got out of bed and took all her clothes off. Sometimes dementia patients can be violent at times, and recently I was kicked in the face and cut by someone’s toenail.

“You can see your colleagues slowly deteriorating,” he added. “Many of them aren’t sure they can keep this up, and this is a real concern given the struggle to fill vacancies and because we are losing nurses because of Brexit.”



David Hope, a nurse at West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance who has been in the profession for 12 years (Image: Fran McElhone)

The NHS is struggling to fill thousands of nursing vacancies each month. The most recent data obtained from NHS Digital reveals that for March 2018, nationwide there were at least 11,483 nursing/midwifery advertised vacancies out of 28,998 and in the South West there were at least 568 nursing/midwifery vacancies out of 1,947. In Cornwall, there were 13 nursing/midwifery vacancies out of 82 vacancies, 44/149 in Plymouth, 46/155 at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital and 10/69 in North Devon.

Officials have also warned that the government’s decision to remove the £9,000 bursary for nurses and midwives in 2017 – in the hope that this would allow more nurses to be trained – has made the situation worse, with applications falling.

Bed blocking, or delayed transfer of care (DTOC), is another worsening issue impacting on the morale of staff and patients. DTOC refers to the number of patients who are well enough to be discharged but who can’t be moved on due to various factors such as the difficulty in finding beds in community hospitals or in residential or nursing homes, or arranging home care packages.

According to the latest figures released by NHS England, in September, at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust there were 1,322 delayed days and at the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, there were 1,643 delayed days. In Devon, at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust there were 1,504 delayed days, while in Plymouth there were 957, in Torbay 436, and in North Devon 220 delayed days. The wait for non-acute NHS care, nursing or residential home placements or home care packages were the greatest reasons for the delay.

“We’re seeing delays in assessment, fewer carers in the community and patients getting stuck in hospital,” David continued. “When there is a delay in patients leaving, they start relapsing and become ill again. And we know that the longer someone is in hospital the less likely it will be that they will have a successful discharge. We’re seeing an increased amount of patients dying in hospital.

“We've had patients in for many months, this leads to low morale all round, particularly when we can see people getting better. We’re having to entertain those patients who are medically fit to leave while caring for those alongside them who are very unwell.”

According to the Royal College of Nursing, since 2010, as a result of below-inflation increases for seven years, wages have decreased by 14 per cent. The government introduced a one per cent pay increase in April but with inflation at 2.3 per cent, in real terms this amounts to a pay decrease.

Another nurse, who wanted her identity to be protected, said: “We work 12.5 hour shifts and due to increased workloads it’s hard to find time to take a break. It’s always been the case that nurses struggle to take breaks because of their sense of duty of care towards patients. It's this which is keeping the NHS going.

“And there's definitely less respect for nurses among the general public. This could be the blame culture that’s prevalent now. It seems expectations have gone up and there is an attitude that the NHS is there to serve them.”

Elsewhere across the region, at the Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust which is responsible for the North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple, the number has doubled.

At Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital staff accessing the hospital’s occupational health and wellbeing service has risen by 30 per cent in three years. A spokesperson for the Trust confirmed that its Occupational Health and Wellbeing Department offers a “comprehensive” counselling and mental health service to all staff which includes a duty counsellor, counselling sessions, a drop-in counselling service and assessments and training for line managers to support their staff.

There has only been a small increase at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust which looks after the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, which extended its Staff Support and Counselling Service to community hospitals at the end of 2016.

Numbers appear to have remained relatively constant at Torbay Hospital, which was only able to provide data from August 2016 when the service was contracted out to private occupational health provider, Optima Health.

Susan Masters, Regional Director for the Royal College of Nursing, said: “Increased acuity of patients, reduced staffing levels, increased demand on services and low morale are having a devastating impact on individuals working in health care, not least the nursing staff.

“In our recent survey 63 per cent of members said they were too busy to provide the level of care to patients that they wanted to. This has a profound effect on individuals whose whole career is about caring for others. Add to this the fact that they have much higher caseloads of much sicker patients, with vacancies unfilled and it is no wonder the pressure is showing.”

UNISON’s Karen Williams said following austerity measures brought in by the coalition government, the union has witnessed workloads increasing and members experiencing increasing demands put upon them. “Workloads have become higher as the workforce becomes lower, and our members have been working harder for less,” she said. “We’ve witnessed a more punitive approach to sickness management, so often our members, even those with specific health conditions or who need surgery, are still finding themselves subject to a sickness management process – effectively condemnation for taking time off for being ill.

“However we are pleased to see a much more positive approach by employers towards encouraging people to look after their mental health and wellbeing as well as their physical wellbeing.”

A spokesperson for the Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust, said it expanded its Health and Wellbeing team in 2018, adding: “Working within the NHS is an incredibly rewarding career, although it can also be challenging at times. Recognising this, we strive to create an environment where our staff can take positive steps to access support when they feel concerned for their mental health.

“Our dedicated health and wellbeing team work closely with staff across the Trust to ensure that they are able to access the support available to them.”

The staggering number of Royal Cornwall Hospitals trust staff needing mental health support - Cornwall Live
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Incinerating rubbish 'will increase air pollution, exacerbate climate change and threaten much-needed recycling'

There has been a lot of coverage in the press around incineration of rubbish:
Eye-watering amounts of your rubbish are being incinerated in Coventry - CoventryLive
Waste incineration set to surpass recycling in Nottinghamshire - Mansfield and Ashfield Chad
Peterborough burns more than half of the rubbish collected, figures show - Peterborough Telegraph
North Tyneside has one of the highest rates of waste incineration - News Guardian

A lot of countries do it:
Just one percent of Finnish waste now goes to landfill | Yle Uutiset | yle.fi

But they are not popular in the UK:
Up to four 'disastrous' waste incinerators proposed for Surrey green belt sites - Get Surrey

And there are questions as to how 'environmentally friendly' it is:
“A false solution to climate change”: why burning rubbish does not mean clean energy | CityMetric 

The Guardian reported on this last summer: 

Waste incineration set to overtake recycling in England, Greens warn

Amount of rubbish burned by local authorities triples while household recycling rates stall

Adam Vaughan
Mon 16 Jul 2018
 

Full recycling bins on pavement in Bristol. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

England is on the brink of burning more of its rubbish in incinerators than it recycles for the first time, according to a new analysis.

The amount of waste managed by local authorities and sent to incinerators, or energy-from-waste plants, tripled between 2010-11 and 2016-17. By contrast, household recycling rates have stalled since 2013.

If those trends continue, the millions of tonnes of waste incinerated will overtake the amount sent for recycling by the end of the current financial year, a report by the Green party found.

London, the West Midlands and north-east already burn more than they recycle.

The Greens, who argue that incineration is bad for climate change and holds back recycling rates, said it was shocking that recycling was now going to be overtaken nationally.

Baroness Jones, the Green party peer, said: “There is a logic to generating energy from the waste that we cannot recycle or reuse, but it is meant to be the last resort option. What we have created instead is a market-driven system of incinerators which constantly need to be fed.”

Waste incineration set to overtake recycling in England, Greens warn | Environment | The Guardian

The Independent reported last week on where we are going: 

The UK will burn more than half its rubbish as it doubles the number of incinerators over next 10 years

Opponents claim the boom will increase air pollution, exacerbate climate change and threaten much-needed recycling

Garbage burns at over 1,000 degrees in an incinerator in France. After Brexit, exporting waste to the EU may be more complex. (Getty)

Tom Bawden

Friday January 11th 2019

The UK faces a wave of protests as the number of incinerators used to burn rubbish is set to more than double within a decade. The waste incineration boom will increase air pollution, exacerbate climate change and threaten much-needed recycling, opponents claim.

The 44 waste incinerators across the UK burned 10.9 million tonnes of rubbish last year, much of it in England, where it accounted for 42 per cent of rubbish disposal. Incineration will soon account for more than half of all waste disposal, data shows. Sixteen new incinerators are under construction, which will increase burning capacity by more than a third. A further 45 incinerators have been approved but haven’t started building and 40 more are at planning stages.

Figures ‘extremely concerning’

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said: “These figures are extremely concerning. Burning our rubbish marks a failure of policy and imagination on the part of the Government and local councils.”

Critics say the rise is alarming because incineration plants cause air pollution, harming health, and increases carbon dioxide emissions which exacerbate climate change. Incinerators could also reduce recycling by encouraging councils to burn more waste, they say.

This threat is acute since China, where most British waste was typically sent, has banned imports of plastic, paper and card – and Brexit may shut off a further major waste destination.

A woman rides her motorbike past a local incinerator in Gaojia, in China (Gettyy)

Investigation into recyclable waste being wrongly incinerated

Brighton and Hove Council has launched an investigation into waste incineration after a binman claimed tonnes of rubbish meant for recycling had been burnt after Christmas.

Ken Quantick said he was collecting eight tonnes of recycling a day which was wrongly being incinerated, as the site operator Veolia became swamped by a huge volume waste after Christmas.

“We work one of nine routes and suddenly they started telling my team of three workers to start dumping our recycling in general household waste which is destined to be incinerated. I questioned them and they said our loads was listed as contaminated but I’ve been working 14 years and this has never happened before,” Mr Quantick said.

“Residents think their rubbish is being recycled but it isn’t. People are carefully picking out paper, plastic and tins only for the recycling firm to burn it. It’s a public scandal and I’m so disgusted by it that I can’t stand by and stay silent any longer, he said.

A council spokesman said: “We know there is an issue concerning contamination at the Veolia site. We have launched an investigation and are speaking to Veolia and our own staff about the situation.”

“However, claims that Veolia is burning recycling because the plant is overwhelmed are completely untrue,” he added.

A spokesman for Veolia said: “Loads might be rejected if it is deemed to contain too high levels of contamination. This is to protect the quality of our end recycled product and ensure the best environmental performance.”

The UK is doubling the number of rubbish burning incinerators over the next 10 years - i news

Meanwhile, over the border, things are not going to plan: 

Cornwall energy-from-waste incinerator hasn’t produced electricity since June

Tom Bawden

Friday January 11th 2019

A controversial waste incinerator that was built to generate energy has not produced any electricity for seven months – although it continues to burn rubbish.

The Cornwall Energy Recovery Centre in St Dennis opened in March 2017 after several years of fierce opposition from residents and campaigners.

As with all UK waste incinerators, a major selling point for the plant had been that it would do something good with the burning, by using it to create electricity. But while this happened at first, a fault in the energy-generating turbine and pipework last summer stopped electricity production – and the problem has yet to be fixed.

When it’s working, the heat from the burning turns water into steam in a boiler. The high-pressure steam turns the blades of a turbine generator to produce electricity.

“I’m very angry. One of the main reasons the project overcame local opposition and was given the go ahead was because it would generate electricity. And it’s not even doing that,” said Ken Rickard, chairman of the Cornwall Waste Forum campaign group opposing the incinerator. “The incinerator project has been full of controversies from day one,” he added.

A spokesman for Suez, the French utility firm that operates the Cornwall plant with the faulty turbine, said: “We anticipate being in a position to re-commission the turbine and commence supplying energy to the national grid in February 2019.”

The process has taken so long because new parts have to be manufactured to replace the faulty sections of pipework, he added. The problem with the turbine has been repaired.

Cornwall energy-from-waste incinerator hasn't produced electricity since June
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Brexit: and the impact on business in the South West

John Harris has been around much of the country these past two-and-a-half years - including Devon: 

Certainly, whenever I have spent time in leave-voting areas, I have always felt deeply ambivalent: sick and tired of the delusions that sit at Brexit’s heart, but also keenly aware that in some of the most neglected parts of England and Wales, a huge chunk of the people who voted for it did so because they had not been listened to for decades.

And every month brings stories, too often overlooked, of how Brexit will blight the places that supported it: this week it was news about a doomed ball-bearing factory in Plymouth, in business for 50 years and now owned by the German company Schaeffler, but set to close with the loss of more than 350 jobs – partly, says the company, because of the “uncertainties surrounding Brexit”.

Brexit is a class betrayal. So why is Labour colluding in it? | John Harris | Opinion | The Guardian

From the business community in the South West:

Tim Jones, chairman of the South West Business Council, has recently said: "The business view is saying quite aggressively now: 'Enough is enough'. Every day that goes by is more investment decisions that are not being made. This is having a very real effect on our economy and the prosperity of our communities. Whatever you think of the deal, it is a deal and businesses need to have something to hang their hat on and a framework to work with. As long as they know what they are working with, businesses can just get on with it."

Brexit delay is a 'blow for business' - Devon Live

Meanwhile, in Cornwall, businesses are trying to prepare for no-deal:

Factory managers 'don't know what impact Brexit will have'

Neil Gallacher, Business & Industry Correspondent
BBC Spotlight

20 December 2018

A number of factory bosses in Cornwall say it is impossible to prepare for a no-deal Brexit because there is no way to know what crashing out of the EU would mean in practice.

The boss of one engineering business near Callington, Keith Ingram of Interfluid Hydraulics, admits he has a Eurosceptic streak. But he says he is hoping for an outcome that protects free movement of goods with the EU...


BBC Devon & Cornwall Live: 20 December - BBC News

As they are in Devon:

What would a No-Deal Brexit mean for Devon?

Devon businesses are getting ready for no-deal and double checking supply chains and exchange rates to weather uncertainty

Hannah Finch
11 DEC 2018

Businesses in Devon are being warned to prepare for a no-deal Brexit.

The decision to delay a crucial vote has heightened fears that the UK could stumble into a no-deal exit from the EU in March. And businesses are already acting on their contingency plans if a deal cannot be agreed in time.

Ian Brokenshire, senior partner at Plymouth KPMG, said: “There's a mix of small businesses who have only just realised they need to act and larger businesses who are activating their plans. We think everybody needs to think about the basics and the surprises lurking in the detail of contracts, which may lead to suppliers not being able to deliver.

"There are a number of clients in the South West who simply can’t now hold off any longer before implementing contingencies. In general businesses like everyone else, are pondering how the next few months might turn out and what that means to the way they operate. Brexit is absorbing a great deal of time and energy in businesses across the region.”

But the deal is far from what the people voted for back in 2016, said Nathan Peacey, a partner at law firm Foot Anstey.

He said: "I would take the Tardis back to 2016 and re-run the vote with a clear – and honest – articulation of the choices on the ballot paper and their consequences. The political gridlock we're in now was born out of the ambiguity over whether Leave meant a Norway-style deal, a 'hard' Brexit or something else altogether. As a result we have a fudged deal which doesn't bear much, if any, resemblance to what anyone was contemplating when they cast their vote for Remain or Leave. "

Mr Peacey said that the risk of a no deal scenario is more real even if not yet a certainty. He said: "Many businesses have already recognised that a plan for no deal is a prudent business protection measure – although the timeframe to make meaningful plans is fast disappearing."

Daniel Sladen, Partner at PKF Francis Clark, said that the fear is that the Government’s tactic is to run down the clock and try and scare MPs into backing the deal rather than reaching an unintentional no-deal on 29 March.

READ MORE
Is tech the future of the post-Brexit economy in the South West?

"This has to mean that leaving with no deal is more likely, and that it may be quite a few weeks before we know what happens next. For any businesses that were keeping their contingency plans on hold, now is the time to take no-deal planning seriously and take any available steps to preserve access to goods, services and markets that their business relies on."

READ MORE
This is the reality for Devon’s 27,000 Europeans living in Brexit limbo

A EU Court of Justice ruling on Monday concluded that the UK can unilaterally withdraw Article 50 and halt the Brexit process without getting permission from the EU. Mr Sladen said: "This gives the Government more options to pull back from its cliff-edge approach, but it’s not clear whether there is the political will to do this."

Stuart Brocklehurst, chief executive of online marketplace Applegate in Barnstaple, said that businesses need to be in good shape to stay competitive.

He said: "It’s a good time to look at the fundamental health of your business: are you paying the right amount for your suppliers; if you’re reliant on existing customers do you know how you would win new ones if they went away? I’d caution against cutting back too hard on investment, however: the uncertainty around Brexit has already reduced this, and we risk leaving ourselves poorly equipped for future recovery if it drops further.”

What would a No-Deal Brexit mean for Devon? - Devon Live
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Geothermal energy in Cornwall @ Radio 4's Costing the Earth

One way ahead out of the energy puzzle might be what they're doing in Iceland:
Futures Forum: The Ice Link interconnector from Iceland to the UK >>> "How much unspoiled nature should we preserve and what do we sacrifice for clean, renewable energy?"

They're also doing it in the West Country:
Drilling gets underway at United Downs for UK's first geothermal energy plant - Cornwall Live
Drilling starts to tap geothermal power from Cornwall's hot rocks | Business | The Guardian
Cornish geothermal drilling operation aims to prove UK potential | Financial Times

As reported on today's Costing the Earth on Radio 4:

Heat from the Deep

Costing the Earth

The heat contained in the top 3km of the Earth’s crust could power the planet thousands of times over. Despite that, less than 1% of the world’s electricity comes from geothermal energy. That may be about to change.

Near Redruth in Cornwall a 3 mile deep hole is being dug- it will be the deepest in the UK. Cold water will be pumped down to the 200 degrees hot rocks below, the hot water returning will drive turbines to provide electricity for thousands of homes. Nearby, the Eden Project and the seawater lido in Penzance are building their own geothermal plants.

But Cornwall is just the tip of the iceberg. Geothermal electricity was first produced in 1904 at Larderello in Tuscany. Today Enel Green Power supply a third of the region's electricity from natural steam and they have plans to get much bigger, exploiting an extraordinary bit of chemistry. When water goes above 374 degrees centigrade and 221 bars of pressure it becomes a supercritical fluid. This contains five times as much energy as 200 degree water, transfers energy twice as efficiently and has a lower viscosity. Overall, you can theoretically get ten times more energy than from a similar conventional borehole.

The new technology also promises more efficient geothermal energy in regions far away from geological hot spots like Iceland and Italy. The only fly in the ointment is that some techniques involve creating bigger fractures in the rocks. Experiments at Basel in Switzerland provoked an earthquake. So can the incredible potential of new-gen geothermal be exploited without provoking protests?

Producer: Alasdair Cross

BBC Radio 4 - Costing the Earth, Heat from the Deep
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Brexit: and the future of farming in Devon

Farming faces a very different future:
Futures Forum: Brexit: and the most radical recasting of agricultural policy in 60 years
Futures Forum: Brexit: and Defra 'working on contingencies'
Futures Forum: Brexit: and agriculture: a conversation with Neil Parish MP, chair of the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs committee

In Cornwall, farmers are worrying about the post-Brexit world:
Futures Forum: Brexit: and Cornish farmers calling the goverment's temporary agricultural worker visa scheme a 'sop'

As they are in Devon:
Futures Forum: Brexit: and Devon farmer saying "80% of farm businesses becoming no longer viable"

Perhaps the future needs to be grasped:
Futures Forum: Brexit: and leaving the EU providing an opportunity for UK agriculture

Clinton Devon Estates Director John Varley presents his thoughts on farming in Devon post Brexit:

Where there is uncertainty there is opportunity. The biggest risk is waiting to see what happens. Devon’s agriculture is misunderstood and under-valued. Many of these trends we can see coming and we should be turning to our advantage; the advantage of our ultimate consumers, society and our natural environment.

F&FF - Technical and Business Information

Here are some highlights from John Varley's presentation to the Devon Farm Management Association: 

Taking advantage of the breakpoint – a perspective on the choices Devon farmers will have to make over the next five years

The first thing to say is that Brexit presents Devon agriculture with an opportunity – I voted to remain so we could sort out the EU from the inside –however, now we are leaving we should be free to expedite a competitive and vibrant agriculture industry. It is clear that an “agricultural breakpoint” is occurring – potentially on a scale not seen since at least the 1970s, the first time in over 40 years that the British Government has an opportunity to take control of agricultural policy. But whilst most commentators are focussing on Brexit and the choices we have in how we untangle ourselves from the Common Agricultural Policy, there are a number of linked “disrupters” which may shape the future for those who own and manage land-based businesses.

Disrupter number 1

Consumers, markets and trade:

Consumers are the most important stakeholder for food and farmers...

Disrupter number 2

Business competitiveness and productivity:

In 2015/16 over half of farms earned less than £20,000 and 42% of farms did not make a profit. Income per worker remains only £19,000 a year. A set of statistics which would make most investors, not looking for tax breaks, steer well clear...

Disrupter number 3

Rural economy priorities:

There are obvious synergies between agriculture and rural economies, which is why agriculture and its value chains remain an important contributor to rural employment. It is no longer the biggest employer though and in terms of Gross Value Added, agriculture, forestry and fishing combined represent just 2% of the overall rural economy and 0.55% nationally. Is GVA the right measure for our industry’s contribution?

My experience is that in Devon agriculture has been undervalued by policy makers for its contribution to the local economy...

Disrupter number 4:

Environmental awareness and society’s wishes:

Agriculture dominates land use in the UK. Farmers, foresters and land managers have the ability to shape – positively and negatively – the environmental costs and benefits resulting from their management and make a huge difference to the value and quality of this country’s natural capital...

The opportunity for Devon’s farmers

Devon agriculture has some of the greatest potential to deliver what society wants. However, research in 2017 by Indepen indicates that farmers’ business confidence remains low with high debt and declining capital investment. Indepen also felt that post Brexit, a new agricultural regime: “would have differential effects on land prices and rents: the effects could vary between areas focussing

predominantly on food production and those where the outcomes include a wider range of public goods”.

Across Devon with our natural capital, quality soils, grass and climate we should be able to do the double – produce food and enhance the nation’s natural capital – confidence needs to rise though and investment increase, to capture this ground. We should be working with, amongst others, producers, water companies, LEPS, universities, colleges and influential local politicians, in making the Brexit breakpoint a success for Devon agriculture.

As leaders of farming enterprises, Devon farmers should now be seen as an important part of the solution for this county’s economic and social health – an industry which is best in class globally, valued for its underpinning of Devon’s unique environmental economy and an industry attracting the best talent, skills, technology and investment. In a county which is one of the UK’s richest in terms of bio diversity and natural capital.

Estates Director John Varley presents his thoughts on farming in Devon post Brexit - Clinton Devon Estates
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Brexit: and skills shortages > Many hospitality and tourism businesses are struggling to fill vacancies.

Cornwall "has invested significantly in the growth of the creative and cultural industries as part of work to provide sustainable, well paid jobs and boost Cornwall’s tourism offer":
Six unexpected ways the Creative Sector is Boosting Cornwall’s Economy - PFA Research

East Devon has not:
Futures Forum: The growth of tourism in East Devon - and the complete lack of interest from the authorities
Futures Forum: Tourism in East Devon on the up since last year - but down dramatically over the last decade

And meanwhile, Rome burns:
Rural tourism sector faces skills shortage - Rural Services Network

What can local authorities do to bridge the gaps?

LGA: tourism sector facing jobs "black hole"

England’s vital tourism sector risks being overwhelmed by record number of visitors and growing skills gaps, council leaders warn today.

Culture, tourism, leisure and sport 

11 Aug 2018



The UK’s tourism sector provides 3.1 million jobs, is worth £126 billion to the economy and generates £7 billion in tax from overseas visitors.

Overseas visitors spend £22 billion annually in the UK and the tourism sector projects above average annual growth in spend of 3.8 per cent every year up until 2025.

Councils are playing a leading role in boosting local tourism. For example:

> Cornwall Council has invested significantly in the growth of the creative and cultural industries as part of work to provide sustainable, well paid jobs and boost Cornwall’s tourism offer. This investment has helped establish Cornwall as the number one UK tourist destination, attracting 4.5 million overnight visitors and 14 million day trips a year and creating 58,000 regional jobs in the tourism supply chain. Recent investments include the award winning Tate St Ives (museum of the year); Jubilee Pool, Penzance (art deco geothermal powered lido); and the award winning Man Engine which reached 112 million people across 104 countries. Cornwall is currently in the running for UK’s Best Holiday Destination for the tenth year running.

> Allerdale Borough Council will be hosting the ‘Allerdale Days in Manchester’ event on the 10 -11 August to promote Cumbria as a place to visit, live and invest, as well as provide local businesses with the opportunity to sell their products in new markets. The event is part of the Allerdale Borough Council’s Business Growth Strategy which has been developed to boost business in the borough. Some of the attractions will include a ‘Mini Taste on Tour’ food and drink market, rally cars from M- Sport Rally, live music and exhibitions from local businesses.

> In 2017, Birmingham’s tourism sector celebrated the most successful year on record. Led by the West Midlands Growth Company and supported by the Discover England Fund, ‘England’s Waterways’ is a new project to inspire international visitors to explore the canal networks in Birmingham and the wider Midlands region. In 2022, Birmingham will host the Commonwealth Games, which will enable the city to continue to deliver positive results in the tourism market.

> Southend-on-Sea Borough Council has announced plans to invest in the pier in order to increase the local tourism offer, and continue to attract a high number of visitors to the area. In autumn this year, work will start on the expansion of the penny arcade, and there are plans for a new visitor pavilion on the former Bowling Deck. Recent figures have shown that there were a total of 47,048 visitors to the world’s longest pier in May, compared to 37,349 recorded in May 2016.

> However, the LGA is warning that current and future shortages in skilled staff risks bringing our booming tourism industry to a halt unless improved training opportunities needed for a career in the sector are made available.

According to a survey by the Tourism Alliance, 38 per cent of hospitality and tourism businesses are reporting that they are struggling to fill vacancies and it is getting increasingly harder to fill vacancies while 21 per cent of businesses are reporting that the staff that they are employing lack essential skills.

An extra 1.3 million new employees will need to be recruited to cope with the rapid growth of tourism in the UK by 2024.

Council leaders want the Government to adopt the LGA’s Work Local proposal to devolve control over centrally-run skills and employment schemes to local areas to better target funding training and apprenticeships. The Government should also bring forward plans for hospitality T-levels, which are need to respond to the growing skills shortages in the sector before the UK leaves the EU.

With 46 per cent of EU nationals currently employed in the UK’s tourism industry, limits on EU migration after Brexit could exacerbate these skills challenges which makes it more important than ever to have a better system in place for retraining and upskilling the current workforce.

Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Culture, Tourism and Sport Board said:

“Tourism has a vital role in driving future economic growth. It provides a wealth of employment opportunities for residents, it attracts new visitors to our communities and it promotes our local and national arts and heritage.

“It is crucial that Government supports councils in providing residents and young people with resources and training.

“As the employment market changes over the next few years, there could be an array of opportunities in the tourism sector, but it is vital that councils are able to direct skills funding to meet the increasing demand for skills in the industry."

Learn more

Work Local is the LGA's positive vision for an integrated and devolved employment and skills service – bringing together information, advice and guidance alongside the delivery of employment, skills, apprenticeships and wider support for individuals and employers.

The LGA publication 'Local solutions: boosting the visitor economy' highlights how devolution can boost visitor economy-led growth throughout England.

LGA: tourism sector facing jobs "black hole" | Local Government Association
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Brexit: and Cornish farmers calling the goverment's temporary agricultural worker visa scheme a 'sop'

Back in February, a BBC documentary looked at how Brits would cope with veg-picking in Devon:
Janners try farm work - and say EU migrants are welcome to the jobs - Plymouth Live

The Sun's reporting was not very complimentary:
Eastern Europeans work 10 times faster than moaning Brits who whinge about the cold in new TV doc

But it's not that easy for the locals:
Futures Forum: Brexit: and why there is no compulsion to pick fruit >>> high levels of employment in the UK and the difficulty of commuting in rural areas

And migrant labour isn't that keen either:
Futures Forum: Brexit: and struggling to recruit skilled labour in the food and drink industry
Futures Forum: Brexit: and migrant workers not wanting to work on West Country farms

The question being - what's going to happen to our food production in the UK when Brexit happens?
Futures Forum: Brexit: and the day the immigrants left

West Country farmers have been asking these questions: 

14:476 Sep

Cornwall growers 'puzzled' by EU-worker pilot scheme

Neil Gallacher, Business & Industry Correspondent

BBC Spotlight

A government pilot scheme to let non-EU migrant workers come to Britain to pick fruit and flowers has left some Cornwall-based growers puzzled.

UK growers will be able to recruit non-EU migrants as seasonal workers after Brexit under the new pilot scheme. It will run between spring 2019 and December 2020. The visas for up to 2,500 workers a year will last for six months.

Flower grower James Hosking of Fentongollan Farm said: "It looks like a very, very modest move. We alone need 60-70 people on our farm. So our needs would in theory take up about 3% of the national total."

Jeremy Best of Mitchell Fruit Garden said: "It looks like a sop. We need 95,000 seasonal workers nationally, not 2,500. We need more information but I suspect it's nothing more than appeasement that they're offering here."

The NFU nationally however described it as is "a major victory for the NFU, its members and the public".

A Defra spokesman told the BBC on Thursday morning that the question of why only 2,500 workers are included - and why only Non-European Union nationals at that - was an immigration matter, and therefore a question for the Home Office. So far the Home Office has not responded.

BBC Devon & Cornwall Live: 6 September - BBC News

No one seems happy with the proposed system of migrant labour following Brexit:
Brexit: farmers criticise temporary agricultural worker visa scheme | Environment | The Guardian
Farmers tell Gove: lack of migrant workers now 'mission critical' | Politics | The Guardian
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