APPENDIX 1 - VISIT NOTE
Urban Affairs Sub-committee visit to Easington,
County Durham, and South Yorkshire
Tuesday 1st December - Wednesday 2nd
December 2003
PARTICIPANTS
Andrew Bennett, MP
Clive Betts, MP
John Cummings, MP
Chris Mole, MP
Christine Russell, MP
Kate Emms, Clerk
Ben Kochan, Committee Specialist
Ray Hudson, Special Advisor
Fred Robinson, Special Advisor
TUESDAY 1ST DECEMBER
Easington
Overview
1. The Sub-committee was welcomed to Easington by
Councillor Alan Napier, the Leader of Easington District Council.
Progress on Regeneration in Easington
2. Janet Johnson, Director of Regeneration and Development
set out the problems in Easington and the progress made in regenerating
the district since the pit closures. More than 10,000 jobs in
coal mining and 2000 jobs in textile industries had been lost.
The local economy was still fragile. Employment was now mainly
in retailing and contact centres. Jobs were being lost faster
than they were being created. The majority of new jobs were not
going to residents and there had been a recent decline in employment
of residents. There were low levels of income and car ownership,
and low levels of educational attainment and achievement. The
district had one of the worst health records in the country. There
are low aspirations and confidence. The incapacity rate amongst
working age people was 16.3% compared to a national rate of 5.5%.
21of 26 wards were in the top 10% most deprived in the country.
The standard mortality ratio was the 12th highest in Great Britain.
All 26 wards were in the top 5% most deprived in terms of health.
Literacy and numeracy were the worst in the region. There were
900 public sector housing voids.
3. A Task Force had been set up in 1991 involving
a wide range of agencies. Community involvement was increasing
and there had been engagement with the private sector. 225 hectares
of derelict land had been remediated, 257 hectares of former colliery
land had been reclaimed, 1,059 new private sector houses had been
built and 5,600 new jobs attracted to the district. 1,250,000
sq.m. of new business floorspace had been created. Two town centre
developments were being carried out. There was now greater emphasis
on promoting social regeneration, to increase economic diversity
and local employability and to seek community based economic growth.
The council was seeking to improve the transport and access infrastructure
and the relationship of coalfield issues within Regional Agendas
and Strategies (RSS, RES, RHS). Currently there was no strategic
document or context for Coalfield issues regionally. There were
major questions about future investment incentives with the ending
of the enterprise zones.
4. The Sub-committee was then taken on a tour around
the coalfield sites and the villages in the area, where they saw
some of the problems and solutions that had been discussed earlier
in the day. The tour included physical developments, reclamation
of former colliery sites in the enterprise zones, environmental
improvements and town & village centre renewal programmes:
- Dawdon Colliery
was one of the first Enterprise Zone sites. It had a mixture of
light manufacturing, warehousing, call centres, and several vacant
speculative units.
- Seaham Colliery had
been reclaimed by One NorthEast/English Partnerships and housing
development was being planned.
- Vane Tempest Colliery,
another site reclaimed by One NorthEast/English Partnerships,
where housing is being built
- Seaham Harbour. The
harbour had originally been built for the transport of coal but
the Dock Company was being relocated to another basin to make
space for the expansion of Seaham town centre.
- Dalton Park retail centre
- an out-of-town retailing park which was providing a wider range
of shopping than is available in any of the towns and villages.
5. The final part of the tour looked at Easington
Colliery, a dilapidated village suffering from low housing
demand, poor retailing, poor access to the main road network and
the coastal rail route. The main street is very narrow as it was
not designed for cars.
6. After the tour the committee met with officials
from Easington District Council: Councillor Alan Napier, Leader
of Easington District Council, Peter Coe, Head of Regeneration
and Partnerships and Tony Forster, Senior Economic Development
Officer. The problems posed by the ending of many Government and
EU regeneration programmes in the area were discussed, as well
as the problems of low housing demand and the poor environment
in the villages, and possible strategies for addressing the low
housing demand.
WEDNESDAY, 2ND DECEMBER
South Yorkshire
Overview
7. The Sub-committee was taken around key coalfield
sites and developments in South Yorkshire by:
- Janet Bibby, Chief Executive,
Coalfields Regeneration Trust
- John Woodside, Head of Community Planning, Barnsley
Metropolitan Borough Council and Local Strategic Partnership representative
- Martin Kendall, External Funding Officer, Doncaster
Metropolitan Borough Council
- Richard Poundford, Head of Rotherham Industrial
Development Office
- Ian Deighton, Single Regeneration Budget Manager,
Wakefield Metropolitan District Council
- Richard Breese, Strategic Coordinator, South
Yorkshire Coalfield Partnership.
The Committee saw:
- Cortonwood Enterprise Zone
a former colliery site which has now been developed with a range
of light industry, and offices for call centres, with adjacent
housing and retail uses.
- Old Moor Wetlands Centre
an area managed by the RSPB where as part of the reclamation process,
new wildlife habitats and flood defences have been created.
- Field's End Enterprise Zone
which had attracted a range of warehousing and some speculative
development which has yet to be occupied.
- Thurnscoe Managed Workspace
which was developed in the old pit head baths building by Barnsley
Council.
- South Kirby Industrial Estate
which had been equipped with services but had failed to attract
development.
- West End Estate, Hemsworth
in Wakefield, an mining village suffering from neglected terrace
housing, poor environment and some anti-social behaviour.
- Grimethorpe Village
- a mining village with a poor environment. Much of the worst
housing had been demolished leaving large open spaces, but it
is as yet unclear when redevelopment will take place.
- The Grimethorpe/Houghton employment zone -
former colliery sites which have been reclaimed with some land
developed for light industrial uses but there is limited demand
for development and the landscaping is poor.
- Manvers Way is the
main Enterprise Zone area which has attracted modern industrial
uses including call centres, distribution centres and some manufacturing
operations as well as the administrative offices for the Coalfields
Regeneration Trust.
- Conisborough, a traditional
mining village, with poor housing, social problems, limited shopping
and high levels of worklessness.
8. The Committee visited the Acorn Centre in Grimethorpe.
The former British Coal offices had been purchased by Barnsley
council and redeveloped for community uses and training and some
small business spaces. The Committee saw two short presentations
at the Centre. The centre's manager, Jayne Remington described
a wide range of community support and training projects which
took place in the centre which included a citizen's advice bureau,
business advisors, youth support services and basic skills training.
Steve Palmer from Barnsley Community Build described its work
helping former miners develop new skills, particularly for construction
work. He pointed to considerable interest among former miners
in retraining which was frustrated by a lack of courses and trainers.
9. At the offices of the Coalfields Regeneration
Trust, Richard Breese from the South Yorkshire Coalfields Partnership
Board set out the major challenges for the regeneration of the
coalfields in South Yorkshire. Most colliery-related sites had
been reclaimed and the environment had been greatly improved.
Some of the key infrastructure projects especially new roads were
completed. There had been major employment creation in the heart
of the former coalfields, but low wage and low skills jobs predominated
which were vulnerable to macro-economic forces. Recorded unemployment
rates were historically low but the record on education, health,
social problems, community development, housing, public transport
was mixed. Former coalfields need to be linked with each other
and into regional, national and international networks.
10. The Committee then saw two presentations about
key projects seeking to regenerate the South Yorkshire coalfields.
Greg Lindley from Rotherham Council's Investment and Development
Office described plans for an advanced manufacturing park at Waverley
close to junction 33 of the M1 between Rotherham and Sheffield.
Mr Lindley described the joint venture with the UK Coal Mining
which also involved the University of Sheffield and Boeing. It
included a mixture of development for high technology industry
and training, with possible new housing developments as well.
New transport links were needed with the M1 and an extension of
public transport networks to support the scheme.
11. Jeremy Johnson from Doncaster Council's planning
department set out the private sector development for reopening
Finningley RAF airbase as a commercial airport. It was estimated
that the airport could create 6,000 jobs by 2014. The council
was looking at how to improve the transport links to the new airport.
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