Our Legacy . .
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Our Legacy . .
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Our conclusion is that
it is only through acting in partnership that the community as a
whole can reverse the downward spiral of economic decline. We
propose a Community Development Partnership which would include
local authorities, government agencies, the business community,
Ministry of Defence personnel representing Catterick Garrison,
local organisations and residents. By co-ordinating ideas and
resources, such a partnership could ensure that this area has a
powerful presence in negotiating support for development and a
focused drive to carrying projects through.
The first objective of the partnership would be to draw together a concerted strategy for the area, addressing commercial and industrial development, education and training needs and provision, the information infrastructure, tourism, leisure and the arts and retailing. On the basis of this the Partnership would specify a series of projects, obtain funding and carry them out. These would range from short-term, relatively easily achievable, such as the restoration of appropriate shop fronts in Richmond town centre, to the long-term and more ambitious, such as the creation of a high-tech business park as the focus for business development for the area.
The start-up costs of such a Community Partnership are estimated at £50,000 for the first year which would cover the appointment of an experienced Project Manager/Co-ordinator and modest premises and support.
All of us who live here benefit from the prosperity, imagination, resilience and hard work of generations who have lived here before us. It is as evident in the cobbled streets and stone walls we take for granted as it is in the unique Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond Castle, the lovely stone houses throughout the area and the well-cared for and productive agricultural land.
The qualities of the area which we enjoy are an asset to us all. To many local businesses, the value of simply being based here translates into hard cash. But we cannot draw on assets without being prepared to re-invest. Empty shops, closed-down businesses and businesses which relocate elsewhere are painful indicators that not enough is being put into making this an attractive and commercially sound place to be.
If we are to be sure that this area is a lively and viable place to live, which our children do not have to leave to find work, we need to invest in its future and take an active part in shaping what that future will be.
The interest and enthusiasm the project has attracted is indicative of just how much people care about the future of our community. The wealth and variety of ideas have been overwhelming: the challenge is to convert the evident imagination and energy into the practical projects which will be our children's legacy.
What the Economic Development Project has been able to do so far is to provide a forum for people from throughout the community to develop and share ideas. Everybody has been welcome to join the discussion which has included students in the schools, local and regional government officials, councillors, business people, representatives of local organisations and individuals simply showing an interest. Despite the variety of interests and ideas there has been a high degree of consensus about what needs doing and how to do it.
Top of the list was that everybody wanted something to happen. We do not want all the thought and energy generated to be lost as just some good ideas which never came to anything. The way to ensure that this does not happen is through a partnership which can maintain the head of steam built up, harness the energy and resources which jointly we can command and, together, make things happen.
That means we are considering the development of an extraordinarily diverse area. It includes the architecturally and historically important Richmond town centre where the emphasis is inevitably on preserving the best of the past and, equally importantly, Catterick Garrison and Colburn, where despite the fact that this is where the majority of the population live, amenities have for a long time been relatively poor.
With the growth of Catterick Garrison and the release of Ministry of Defence land for development, this area becomes a major future economic growth point.
None of the three centres of population exists in isolation: an improvement in job prospects, leisure and retail facilities and the quality of the environment is a benefit to us all. Lack of services, lack of good jobs, closed-down shops and lack of incentive to tourists and potential investors to stay in the area, damage us all.
In the past the stark contrasts between Richmond and the Catterick Garrison/Colburn area have tended to mean that their problems and opportunities were seen as different and distinct from each other. They are not. In a world of accelerating technological change, fierce pan-European or global competition, world-wide waves of economic recession and recovery and, more locally, dramatic changes in shopping patterns and availability of work, mean that we sink or swim together.
One of the problems we share and which cropped up in most discussions, is that this area is supposed not to have a problem! We have not, for instance, suffered the dramatic collapse of an industry such as ship building or coal mining and are not, therefore, eligible for massive European re-investment and are not able to offer businesses, which might set up locally, financial incentives on the scale achievable in former industrialised areas.
The current funding for which a large part of our area is eligible is known as Objective 5b which has been allocated for the re-generation of the Northern Uplands region of Great Britain. The aim of Objective 5b funding is to improve the economic infrastructure through, for instance, service roads and appropriate workplace development, job opportunities and job skills and new sources of employment, most notably in tourism and in technologically-based industries.
A public meeting in February 1995 attended by over 100 people confirmed that the concern about the economic future of the area was widely shared. As a result of the initial meeting, four main areas for consideration were agreed:
Clearly, this was just a start. Other issues, such as housing, would merit future discussion.
A sub-group for each sector held meetings throughout the spring and summer to consult as widely as possible and examine in depth the problems and possible ways forward. The project was co-ordinated by a steering group the membership of which is shown in the original report.
The findings of each of the sub-groups are summarised in the latter pages of this report.
A uniquely attractive and spacious market square, dominated by the castle. If we were inventing the setting for a market town, we couldn't do better.
Beyond the immediate area of the project, the beautiful landscape of the Dales - a tremendous bonus to those living here, a powerful attraction to those who want to live here and the focus of the local tourist industry.
The area is a treasure-house of historical and architectural gems from modest barns to great castles. It makes the area a tempting destination and a good place to live. It is also an inheritance to be sensitively conserved.
All of these factors, plus the availability of quality housing, mean that plenty of people want to live here.
The A1(M) and A66 corridors, despite their limitations, provide easy and fast road access and distribution to the south and west. Air transport is reasonably accessible from Teesside and Newcastle airports and there is a fast rail service to London, and potentially to Europe from Darlington. Access to east coast ports is also reasonably convenient.
Catterick Garrison has a high proportion of employed young men with a total net disposable income of £75 million per annum. The potential is there to make a substantial contribution to the local economy
There is plenty of room available for business development at Gallowfields, Walkerville, Scotch Comer and Gatherly Road (Brompton-on-Swale). Although there is very little scope for development of new premises in the centre of Richmond, there is scope for imaginative and innovative restoration of upstairs accommodation for a variety of purposes. Most significantly, the possibility of the release of land by the Ministry of Defence and their potential support for the development of shops and services at Catterick Garrison for the local population could give a considerable economic boost to the whole area.
Although the area has an apparently low level of unemployment (between 4% wide base and 7.5% narrow base), the area is heavily dependent on tourism and the Catterick Garrison as its main source of employment. Employment in the tourist industry tends to be seasonal, temporary and relatively low paid. Changes in Ministry of Defence policy on centralised competitive tendering have meant that services to the Garrison, such as building and maintenance, are now more likely to be won by national companies using their own labour than by local companies. Employment prospects, economic confidence and the level of income have diminished. All of this means that people don't spend, don't buy houses and don't stay, which has a knock-on effect on local shops, businesses and services. Our young people have to go away to find work and there is a large pool of 'economically inactive' wives of service personnel in Catterick Garrison who would like to work and to re-build careers after raising a family but are held back by the lack of job opportunities
The local public transport infrastructure is poor and those who do not own cars (and that accounts for a high proportion of the local population relative to other parts of the country are seriously disadvantaged when it comes to travelling to work, shopping and leisure and social events.
Education and training opportunities for young adults and the not-so-young are very limited and problems of access are compounded by meagre public transport facilities. Yet the success of Darlington College of Technology's centre at Hipswell in conjunction with Risedale Community College, shows how enthusiastic is the demand for education for adults in all subjects.
Like rural towns throughout the country, Richmond is hard-hit by the growth of out of town shopping centres and hypermarkets which draw custom from the area. It becomes increasingly difficult for the small grocer, baker, butcher and hardware merchant to survive. Diminishing choice accelerates the downward spiral in sectors such as clothes shopping. At the same time, people's expectations of what they want from shops is increasing and the needs of the people who live in Catterick Garrison and Colburn are not met by the limited range of local shops, nor, in fact, by the shops in Richmond, as compared with what Darlington or Northallerton offer. If we accept the argument that the traditional family weekly shop has largely been lost to the out-of town supermarkets, we are left with trying to make Richmond something different - an enjoyable and entertaining activity with a wide choice of specialist shops, pleasant and safe surroundings, plenty of places to eat and drink and watch the world go by. Looking at the town centre as a whole, that is not what we have achieved.
Best means QUALITY quality shopping, quality offices, quality products, quality services and a quality environment in which we live. It means QUALITY employment too jobs which offer prospects of advancement, the chance to learn and use skills, some degree of security and a decent salary.
Best means PERSONAL - particularly in a rural area, we expect something special, however small. which makes us feel we matter, whether it is a welcoming tray of tea from the guest house proprietor or a well thought-out package of support for prospective investors; help with packing your shopping at the checkout or your office re-cabled by a local company exactly to your requirements with no disruption of business,
Best means PARTNERSHIP - getting together the people with the ideas with the people with the information and resources. Promoting the area jointly to businesses and tourists; relating training precisely to current and future business needs; sharing access to new technology; working together to capitalise on new opportunities for mutual benefit.
It was also commonly agreed that BEST means conserving the rural character of the area and the special charm of Richmond town centre at its heart. We want economic development, but not at the cost of large scale industrial or commercial detraction and pollution. This means that we are looking to new, small, high technology industries which are clean, nonintrusive, employ relatively small numbers of skilled people and are easily slotted into the area as it currently exists.
Developments in telecommunications and information systems mean that distance ceases to be a problem and we can compete on an equal footing with companies in London, Paris or Richmond Virginia. What is best for us, could make us the best supplier in a world market, too.
Larger scale projects of a more medium term nature will require more detailed planning, and possibly more substantial funding. We would wish to see a wider process of consultation before specific project proposals are put forward.
In the longer term the objective would be that the activities of the partnership would generate sufficient income for its own revenue costs.
Each project would be treated as a separate case and appropriate financial targets set.
©
1997 chris_kirby@geocities.com
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