TREPENPOL REGIONAL GROWTH FUND SCOPING REPORT

Transcription

1 Consultancy TREPENPOL REGIONAL GROWTH FUND SCOPING REPORT future

2 Consultancy 1 TREPENPOL VISION STATEMENT We as a consultancy plan to work in conjunction with policies and funding (including BIS regional growth fund [1], Cornwall Council s Core Strategy [2], Cornwall Council s Future Vision [3], Cornwall Local Enterprise Partnership [4], and Communities and Local Government [5] ) to create a Aims: high value, high knowledge, green community Promote a high quality of life for all through social inclusion, security and green space Increase economic security through affordable housing and local job opportunities Create high skilled jobs around an innovative low carbon research eco park Encourage SME s by providing support and interconnectedness Initiate a sense of community and civic society through community ownership and a Parish Council Build sustainably and adapt for future climate change

3 Consultancy 2 CONTENTS 1. Vision Statement 3. Why Trepenpol? 4. Sustainability Challenges local and national 6. The Phased Development 7. Creating a Community 8. Providing Social Sustainability 9. Security and Well-Being Community inputs 10. Monitoring 11. Conclusion 12. References

4 3 WHY TREPENPOL? Why do we feel the Trepenpol development is needed in Cornwall? Figure 1. reproduced from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership [4] Showing the individual annual income in Cornwall of 12,681 (2007) is lower than the UK average of 20,072. Trepenpol Redruth Truro Figure 2. reproduced from Cornwall Council [6] - to show the positioning of Trepenpol in Cornwall. Showing deprivation levels in Cornwall, based on the Communities and Local Government deprivation indices from 2010 [7]. Dark areas show more deprived areas. We feel that Trepenpol will improve Cornwall. Overall the individual income in Cornwall is lower than the national average (Figure 1). We understand that income does not equal quality of life, as other factors such as access to green space can enhance quality of life, but employment and a steady income provides security for people, potentially improving well-being, health and consequently quality of life [8]. Parts of Cornwall currently suffer from deprivation (Figure 1), including the Redruth and Camborne area network (where Trepenpol will be created), suffering particularly from low employment and income levels, housing, and services [6]. The creation of Trepenpol will provide affordable housing, job opportunities (including sustainable high skilled jobs), and services, which will hopefully reduce the deprivation of Cornwall, thus improving the quality of life in surrounding areas. This creation of Trepenpol follows the aims of the Cornwall Council Core Strategy [2] and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership [4].

5 4 SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES When creating the Trepenpol community it is important to establish a cross-agency approach with other policies in Cornwall, and on the national scale, to ensure the same issues are being tackled, and the same goals are being worked towards and achieved. Local Scale The key issues in Cornwall need to be understood in order to establish the potential future sustainable challenges of the new Trepenpol village, and to identify the problems in Cornwall that the new Trepenpol development can help to combat. Understanding Cornwall [9] identifies the key current issues in Cornwall by drawing from evidence produced by the Council and partner organisations from around Cornwall (Figure 3). The key points arising from Understanding Cornwall [9] are: Cornwall's communities are very varied and the delivery of services needs to be flexible to different needs. The population of Cornwall is not just increasing, but also changing demographically, with an increasingly ageing population. Prevention and early intervention of crime, ill-health, deprivation etc. can make a real difference to people's lives and can save money. Deprivation is a persistent problem in both rural and urban areas. With small pockets of deprivation scattered around Cornwall, which are often difficult to identify. Cornwall's natural environment is a key asset and contributes to the quality of life of both residents and visitors. We need to make the most of our strengths and opportunities, such as renewable energy technologies. There is a strong sense of Cornish identity, unique local culture, and landscape history. Figure 3. Reproduced from Understanding Cornwall [9]. Showing people, places, views and themes used to understand Cornwall s current challenges. The Understanding Cornwall [9] assessment is used as the basis of the Sustainable Community Strategy Future Cornwall [3] which sets out the future vision for the economic, social and environmental well-being of Cornwall. The Core Strategy [2] has been created to provide the planning framework for achieving this. It is therefore vital that the development of Trepenpol follows the plans of the Cornwall Core Strategy [2], to ensure the same direction in the development of Cornwall. Cornwall Core Strategy [2] plans that need to be followed at Trepenpol: Enable future prosperity; Provide the right amount and type of housing; Secure better futures for communities which are run down and struggling, Meet the challenges of climate change

6 5 National scale When creating the Trepenpol community it is important to also consider and follow guidance from policies at the national scale, to ensure the same direction in aims across the UK. Nationally Defra has provided five key principles for policies to follow, in order for developments to be sustainable (figure 4). The Trepenpol development therefore needs to follow this guidance: by respecting environmental limits, ensuring a strong, healthy and just society, achieving a sustainable economy, using sound science responsibly, and promoting good governance [10]. We also plan to work towards the creation of the national Big Society, decoupling from the state, giving local communities more power to make decisions in shaping their area; encouraging people to play a more active part in society [11] [12]. Figure 4. reproduced from Defra [10] showing the shared UK principles of sustainable development on the national scale. According to Defra, for a policy to be sustainable, it must respect all five principles.

7 THE PHASED DEVELOPMENT We plan for the Trepenpol development to take place in phases to ensure its success as a sustainable community. 6 C A B Figure 5. showing the phased development of Trepenpol Phase 1 We will begin by enhancing the environment in and around the future Trepenpol community, and then continue to maintain the green environment throughout the development process. We aim to donate the parkland at the south west of Trepenpol to the National Trust [13] and/or Wildlife Trust [14] and/or Natural England [15] as it holds ancient woodland and environmentally sensitive areas. This donation will ensure it s management and protection as a green space, providing a sustainable green space for the village community and visitors to enjoy as a recreational area for now and the future. Phase 2 Construction of the new Trepenpol village. This will take place in 3 sections over approximately 15 years: Phase (figure 5) Construction to Include: 2.A Beginning construction from the central organic shape. Including 1,300 homes, a poly-functional hall (the central hub), the high street, a medical centre, a central pedestrianized square to provide an area for a market, and primary school. Estimated duration 5 years 2.B A further 850 homes, outside sports facilities, secondary school. 5 years 2.C Final 850 homes, further outside sports facilities. 5 years 3 Infill connecting the new community with the old Trepenpol, working with Cornwall Sustainable Buildings Trust to use traditional building methods and material to reflect traditional buildings in the local area. 4 Future eco-park. Including innovation centre for low carbon research, business incubation space, and wind turbines. Table 1. showing the phases of construction in the Trepenpol development. 5 years 5 years + It is important to phase the Trepenpol development as it allows community involvement in design decisions and planning., involving the Old and New Trepenpol in the construction process, providing social inclusion and giving the community a sense of ownership [16].

8 7 CREATING A COMMUNITY Creating the village of Trepenpol will involve creating an entirely new community. To ensure Trepenpol s future prosperity social sustainability needs to be ensured. Community must to be at the heart of the development from the outset (figure 6), involving the surrounding areas such as the Old Trepenpol village. environment economy well-being community social inclusion participation community ownership empowerment security overall quality of life and civic pride Figure 6. showing the key component inputs and outputs of community and their links. SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY Britain as a society is becoming increasingly divided, bringing rise to social tension and exclusion [17], something must be done to change this. Britain needs social sustainability. We feel that a sustainable community can be created at Trepenpol through encouraging and providing a base for civic participation. Participation and involvement of the community in the Trepenpol design, decisions, and planning is key in creating community cohesion and social inclusion. We hope that this will lead to a sense of community ownership, and a genuine sense of empowerment [18] ; creating a civic society with high well-being for all. A carefully facilitated early involvement of the local community, resembling that of the already existing Poundbury in Dorset, will help to create a place with community spirit, meeting people s needs, desires and aspirations, engendering civic pride [19]. England today is highly diverse, with society made up of a mix of social groups [20]. It is more likely for conflicts of interest to arise in diverse communities than in a homogenous society, but on the other hand it is more likely that tolerance and a culture of compromise and negotiation can be established in diverse communities. We understand that conflicting ideas and views between people are likely to arise in Trepenpol [20]. Each view point arising will need to be considered and understood, to ensure social inclusion. Conflicts will be mediated by Trepenpol Town Management, Parish Council and through voting systems. There can only be a sustainable community if members have fair, agreed and inclusive means of talking together about matters that affect them all, agreeing on solutions to problems, and acting on those solutions [20].

9 8 PROVIDING SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY So how will we kick-start a sustainable community at Trepenpol? SOCIAL INCLUSION AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT We will work with the Local Development Framework of Cornwall to publish plans online and in newsletters for public consultation [16]. The Trepenpol development will be advertised in the local areas from the outset, through newsletters and posters with links to published plans and the Trepenpol website, to ensure awareness. Education presentation/meetings involving public officials, planners, politicians and local residents, will be held in the Old Trepenpol before development, and in the new Trepenpol throughout development to negotiate and imagine new solutions. It will highlight the potential environmental, economic and social improvements that will upscale the area [20]. Welcome packs will be provided to new members of the Trepenpol community, explaining facilities and services. Trepenpol will have a website, with tabs for all aspects of the town e.g. advice, volunteering, sports and leisure, arts and culture, faith, transport, forum etc. The forum will allow the public to voice opinions. The website will provide a place to schedule community meetings. Hiring of the poly-functional hall will be available on the website. A community bank will also be set up on the website, encouraging the Big Society through people helping each other on a local scale [11][12]. For those who do not have access to a computer a newsletter will also be published weekly, by the Parish Council, providing all the latest information on the website, with a contact number, to ensure inclusion of all. Community involvement in LINk in Cornwall will be encouraged, to provide a community voice nationwide on health and social care services [21]. Community ownership of public places (e.g. shops, pubs, town hall) will be encouraged [22][23]. We plan to involve local youth in design elements of the development, such as playgrounds, skate parks, sculptures and youth clubs. Participation has been shown to reduce youth offending and drug use through diversion from criminal behaviour, improving social and emotional skills, and prospects for the future [18]. We will provide public places where people can come together including the Hub (central town poly-functional hall encompassing a Parish Council Office, large space for performances/meetings/presentations, art display space), pubs, library, allotments, parks, church. Neighbourhood watch and social programmes will be established. A market space will be provided in the town centre, where local businesses, particularly the neighbouring organic farms will be able to sell produce. This will promote localism, providing food security and well-being for Trepenpol, helping to move away from the post-modern society problems surrounding uncertainty of synthetic food additives, pesticide residues and genetically modified organisms [24]. The build design in Trepenpol will be mixed to encourage a socially mixed demographic, which is important for social sustainability as it helps to prevent an aging demographic and includes young first time buyers. Participation and involvement needs to become a normal way of behaving in the community to ensure social sustainability [25]. Through the development process town management will ensure that all aspects of community involvement are available, this will be funded through Cornwall Council and Communities and Local Government Office. Once the construction is complete and town management feel that the community has been established, a Parish Council will be created and the roles will be passed over.

10 Security and Well-being both contribute to social sustainability: SECURITY Security is an important component in communities, which must be considered at Trepenpol. 9 ECONOMIC Financial security for the community will be provided through: Affordable housing. 30% of housing at Trepenpol will be built on land trusts. With 20% social housing and 10% community housing. Increased local job opportunities on the high street, in services, self-employment, SME s, and the future eco-park. Self-employment and SME s will be encouraged through high speed broadband [4] improving interconnectedness. They will also be encouraged to take advantage of the free online mentoring from BIS [26]. The future eco-park will provide high-skilled jobs and learning in low carbon technologies. We plan to connect with the Tremough and Pool innovation centres through BIS funding, providing business incubation space and research. Working towards the Cornwall Councils Future Vision [3] and the Local Enterprise Partnership [4], to up-skill Cornwall s existing low carbon business and research. FUTURE CLIMATE To ensure Trepenpol is sustainable we need to prepare for future climate change. Evidence suggests higher frequency and magnitude in storm events, and dryer conditions in the summer in Cornwall [27]. The Trepenpol development therefore needs to prepare for this through: Complying with the Cornwall Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) [28], by building in low flood risk areas. Storm drainage (figure 7) Sustainable buildings (figure 8), built to cope with humidity and temperature, using eco-friendly woodfibre board systems [29]. Shaded areas in public space (figure 9), provided by tree plantation for sufficient shading during hot summer days, potentially increasing welfare by reducing heat related illnesses. Encourage use of renewable energy, such as solar panels, wind turbines etc. to decouple from carbon linked growth and generate a sustainable existence. Figure 7. Storm drainage system at Heartlands [30] Figure 8. Sustainable building Figure 9. Open shaded areas WELL-BEING Well-being is an important component of sustainable development. Evidence suggests that access to natural clean open space can enhance well-being and health [31] [32] [33]. The National Well-being Debate [8] demonstrates that the public regard the present and future conditions of the environment highly for their well-being, often ranked above education. We plan to provide a sense of well-being for the community of Trepenpol by: Providing access to green space, through - public parkland with walk-ways and cycle paths, playgrounds, and outdoor sports facilities - individual garden space - allotments (encouraging self-sufficiency) Health, economic security, income, and an ability to have a say on local and national issues are all classed as important to well-being also [8]. Health care will be provided for all through a medical centre. As mentioned previously economic security will be encouraged through affordable housing and job opportunities, and individuals will have a voice through social inclusion.

11 10 MONITORING Our Trepenpol vision aims will be monitored during the development process and into the future. This will be achieved by working in conjunction with the Cornwall Council Annual Monitoring Report [34] and the Trepenpol Parish Council to monitor the success of the vision aims, through Key Performance Indicators. Key Performance Indicator Social Inclusion Security Reason for indicator -Required for social sustainability -Provides sense of well-being -Provides sense of well-being and improved quality of life Method of measurement -Questionnaire -Monitor use of website forum and attendance to meetings -Questionnaire -Crime rate measurement Access to green space Affordable housing -Provides sense of well-being and improved quality of life -Provides social inclusion, by enabling young first time buyers, disabled, lower income groups and community workers to live in Trepenpol -Questionnaire -Monitor use of sports facilities, parkland and allotments -Compare affordable house prices against minimum wage income and mortgage rates, to ensure housing is affordable. Income -Often reflects well-being -Monitor wage payments in Trepenpol and the surrounding area High-skilled jobs SME success Community ownership Climate change adaption -Represents up-skilling of the area for sustainable development -Represents up-skilling of the area for sustainable development -SME s are important to Cornwall as they provide a large sector of employment -Important for overall quality of life and civic pride -Ensures future prosperity for a sustainable Trepenpol -Monitor growth and success of the eco-park -Monitor success rate of SME s, working in partnership with the BIS monitoring scheme [25] to look at amount of SME s signed up and continuing successfully -Questionnaire -Monitor use of website forum and attendance to meetings -Monitor public places and ownership (whether community people buy shares in public places) -Measure frequency of storm and drought events -Monitor storm drainage water levels -Ensure buildings do not suffer from mould; through breathable design -Monitor renewable energy methods and usage Table 2. Showing key performance indicators that will be used by Town Management, Cornwall Council and Trepenpol Parish Council to monitor the success of the sustainable vision of Trepenpol. Giving justification for the indicators and methodologies used to judge sustainability.

12 11 CONCLUSION Overall we aim to create a high value, high knowledge, green community that promotes interconnectedness, altruism and learning. To ensure Trepenpol is sustainable we need to address environmental, social and economic sustainability. We plan to ensure sustainability through a phased development, that incorporates social inclusion, security and well-being. To ensure sustainable success the development will be monitored using key performance indicators. Once completed, the monitoring and management of the community will be handed over to the Trepenpol Parish Council, creating a self-regulating sustainable community.

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