Interpreting Rurality

Details of a recent seminar are available here: 

http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/dynamic.asp?page=events&eventid=7823&showevent=1

Thanks to those attending for some stimulating discussion afterwards and thanks to the organisers for a lovely spread of sandwiches and cakes!

Gary

Skegness is looking at new ways to grow its tourism provision with exciting new developments proposed for the heart of the town.  This will undoubtedly make a difference in terms of the business potential for those trading in the centre, both in terms of the extended visitor season and the improved attractiveness of the town centre as a destination. 

However, as part of the outgoing mayor’s “legacy lecture”, I argued that the growth of Skegness must also be rooted in its rural hinterland as peripheral towns such as these play a key role in the vitality of their surrounding rural populations.  The local population needs work 12 months a year and thinking about other opportunities for entrepreneurship are critical.  The rural economy can be a driver of growth with growing numbers of small businesses, growing populations and growing consumer demands for rural products and experiences. Enterprise in rural areas also provides essential services and meeting places, strengthens local identities (especially where products have local provenance), offers employment and training opportunities and of course can support the economic growth of the region.  If the rural economy is seen as part of the whole regional economy, it might be possible to benefit from a combination of showcase investments in the town centre and smaller initiatives that reinforce connections between Skegness and its surroundings. 

At the mayor’s event, we saw a group of enthusiastic 6^th form students with a real desire see a better town, both economically and aesthetically. While tourism can help this, we know from other destinations around the country that there are always the hidden “backstage” areas of any tourist town where the poverty associated with low-skilled and seasonal employment sits uncomfortably alongside the investment aimed towards tourists and externally-focused businesses. 

This leaves local politicians facing the dilemma of whether to prioritise investment for those living and working in Skegness today or whether to invest in externally focused initiatives in the expectation that higher visitor numbers and/or external investment from private sector businesses will generate local economic multiplier effects that reach all members of the local community.  At a time of restricted budgets for Local Authorities, I would argue that more creative approaches to economic development policy that seek to join up with community-focused opportunities (e.g. those in the Localism Act) can help to sustain rural and peripheral economies.