Breadcrumbs
Engage the community for a succesful market town - 24 September 2004
Market towns will thrive if they learn from a report published today, according to Richard Wakeford, chief executive of the Countryside Agency - particularly if the whole community is involved.
Commenting on the results of the study published at the Action for Market Towns Convention today (Friday 24 September), Richard Wakeford said, “The idea of our Market Towns Initiative is to draw on all the knowledge there is in the community, with visiting experts ready to be realistic about the art of the possible, and all the public agencies lined up to invest in a joined up way.
“Each town is very different, facing different sets of challenges. The evaluation highlights those towns with committed and entrepreneurial leadership as particularly successful.
“Market towns need the skills, experience and commitment of local people to take a lead in the regeneration of their own towns. Our initiative has acted as a catalyst, showing that disparate groups and activities in the community can come together with partners and agencies to ensure that the right range of skills can be identified, engaged and nurtured to ensure a better future for their town,” he added.
The MTI evaluation and its case studies provide a vital tool for any market town. Highlights include:
· The healthcheck approach: now a recognised tool for collecting baseline information provides a focal point for activity, a medium through which local communities can express both local and strategic issues, and a model for widespread adoption. It is generally seen as a successful way to address key issues within the town.
· The partnership approach: the MTI process is characterised by diverse forms of partnerships, which make the most of existing relationships and seek to minimise conflicts of interest.Successful partnerships need to include a range of local public, community and business groups. Where existing structures exist, opportunities to build upon them should be taken; where there are none, the importance of inviting officers from the local authority and people from within the community who are known to have energy, knowledge and experience is crucial. The key to getting the job done appears to be the commitment of members to the partnership.
· Funding: MTI towns have, in general, been successful in securing funding from a wide range of sources. However, the study revealed concerns now about the future of funding, as funding regimes change and action plans mature. The challenge is to achieve a joined up approach drawing on funding from RDAs, local authorities and other sources such as voluntary and charitable organisations, the Lottery and European funding, as well as the private sector and national organisations such as English Heritage.
Next year will see much of the Countryside Agency’s successful market towns demonstration work mainstreamed, with regional development agencies, government offices in the regions and rural community councils taking it forward.
The Countryside Agency will be working hard to ensure that there is a smooth transition of its regional socio-economic functions to the Regional Development Agencies and will seek to ensure that the lessons learned through MTI are disseminated and will continue to be available and developed.
- ends -
Assessment of the Market Towns Initiative: a summary - carried out in partnership between Defra and the Countryside Agency - includes a number of case studies, and is available as a PDF from the Countryside Agency website www.countryside.gov.uk/market-towns
Notes to editors:
For more information please contact the Countryside Agency press office on 020 7340 2909.
Market towns are towns in rural England with a variety of backgrounds, usually with populations from 2,000 to 20,000. In defining a market town, the ability to serve people in both the town and its surrounding countryside is more significant than population size. Some towns are thriving, some are in decline, but all have the potential to carry out a healthcheck and prepare an action plan to ensure a stronger future.
Case studies
Frodsham in Cheshire successfully levered in £2.4 million in just nine months. This success has been attributed to the knowledge and experience of the project officer and signing up external agencies to the Action Plan. Aside from securing new sources of funding, the partnership has also been very successful in identifying money earmarked for the area and, where appropriate, have successfully had it re-directed towards projects identified in the Action Plan.
Contact: Anne Boyd on 01928 735967 or 07909 801779.
In Thirsk, North Yorkshire, medium term plans, which include closer engagement with the local authority, the local business sector and the Local Strategic Partnership have been developed. They hope this will allow them to develop effective and well-considered long term plans which are likely to include establishing an asset base.
Contact: Mark Haynes 01845 524964.
Wolverton was established in 1838 by the London and Birmingham Railway Company as the first Railway Town. It now sits adjacent to Milton Keynes, which has been identified by the Government as a Growth Area. The proposal will result in the development of 70,000 new homes in Milton Keynes, with provision for 2,000 homes within Wolverton. For Wolverton this presents both problems and opportunities. Within Wolverton affordable housing is becoming a significant problem, with first-time buyers finding themselves priced out of the market. The new development will bring around 600 affordable homes to the town, but residents are concerned about where these might be situated and their style. The town’s partnership, ‘Wolverton Unlimited’ is a unique example of community engagement. Its key role will be to assess how to influence the strategic location of housing development.
Contact: marie.osborne@btopenworld.com
Malton/Norton Market Towns Partnership: Knowing that the MTI was due to end in March 2004, the Malton/Norton Market Towns Partnership wanted to make sure that they could continue to serve local communities once MTI funding had come to an end. They have now got together with three other market towns in Ryedale District to form a district-wide Development Trust. The resulting Development Trust, the Ryedale Economic Trust, will shortly come into being. The Malton/Norton Market Towns Partnership will continue in a more advisory/consultative role. By repositioning itself in this way, the Market Towns Partnership has developed from a vehicle to deliver projects in the town, to acting in a more strategic and consultative way, hence ensuring greater likelihood that it will be sustainable in the long term.
Contact: Andrew Leeming 01653 600666.
