Philip A Turner, Dipl. Arch., Dip TP, RIBA (retired), MRTPI

Vice President, ECOVAST

The European Council for the Village and Small Town

ECOVAST

Developing and Implementing Whole Town Centre Strategies-Glasgow 29 October 2009Piecing Together the Towns Jigsaw

A European Perspective on Whole Town Strategies

A European Perspective on Whole Town Strategies

Town centres, towns and hinterland - ASSET Project

Policy background

Partnerships

Characteristics of towns

ASSET Research

A European Perspective on Whole Town Strategies

Town centres, towns and hinterland

ECOVAST has a current project

Action to Strengthen Small European Towns - ASSET

http://www.ecovast.org/english/asset_e.htm

Partners are:

-ECOVAST

-APURE (l'association pour les Universités Rurales Européennes)

- South East of England Regional Development Agency (SEEDA)

- Yorkshire Forward (Regional Development Agency, England)

- The Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) England

- MONTE, ACE - Desenvolvimento Alentejo Central, Portugal

At an ECOVAST Conference in Retz, in November 2005, it was apparent that work was needed to find out more about the issues facing small towns in Europe

Small towns fall into an EU “policy gap” – larger urban centres are covered, as are rural areas, but although Europe’s small towns are home to a large percentage of the population, there is no specific policy to take forward their well-being

It is also not easy for them to work together to share their concerns or “good practice”, with an absence of Europe wide networks, and in many states, not even a national organisation focusing on them

What is a small town?

Population as a means of definition has significant limitations

Variations between national definitions of the small town

In Germany, a small town can have a population of between 5,000 and 20,000

in Austria, 2,500 to 50,000

in Sweden it is 200 – 10,000

in the Republic of Ireland 500 – 5,000

It is also necessary to ascertain whether the figures are given for the town centre, the main settlement, or if they include the hinterland

Typology Prof John Shepherd, Rural Evidence Research Centre Birkbeck College, is developing A Typology of the Smaller Rural Towns of England with CRC & Action for Market Towns (AMT)

East Midlands Development Agency has typology research by the University of Lincoln and will work withAMT, Birkbeck and CRC

“Status” - Royal Burgh Charters, market charters – in Austria, the “small town” is a legal entity, with an official status, whereas in, for example, Sweden, the term is used loosely

It seems wise to cling to the definition offered by a speaker at an event in Jyväsklä, Finland in 2006 :

“If you think you are a small town, you probably are”

http://www.highland.gov.uk/businessinformation/economicdevelopment/regeneration/smalltownnetworks.htm

INTERREG III Northern Periphery Programme Mike Greaves

Policy Background

Jyväsklä:

Small towns are home to 20 per cent (to fifty per cent ***) of Europe’s population and many of its most creative businesses/service-providers as well as being a rich repository of our collective heritage and local history’.

*** ESPON 1.4.1 The Role of Small and Medium-Sized Towns (SMESTO) Final Report June 2006

‘ In some areas, small towns have been absorbed by the city or overwhelmed by modern development, environmental dilapidation and have suffered from prolonged under-investment.’

‘There is a serious policy gap at European and local levels.

The confidence and wellbeing of small towns are being undermined by exclusion from Europe’s existing cities’ and rural development programmes.

This is short-sighted and ultimately dysfunctional for communities of all kinds.

In the long run, the performance of Europe’s city-regions and deep rural areas alike is highly dependent on sustaining the constellation of small towns and the villages in their hinterlands, which underpin and anchor these regions.’

Jyväsklä:

‘Maintaining territorial cohesion via balanced regional development and creating opportunities for all of Europe’s people are fundamental principles of the Union. Better ways of supporting small towns (throughout Europe) must be urgently identified’.

European Commission

Work on Territorial Cohesion and Urban Rural Linkages is now advanced by DG Regio:http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/conferences/urban_rural/index_en.htm

http://www.cureforsustainability.eu/index.php?id=7205

European Commission

Some LEADER projects exclude funding for larger market towns

At a June 2009 seminar

Dirk Ahner, European Commission Director General of DG REGIO, made strong mention of small cities/towns/market towns as poles for provision of services and transfer of ‘know how’

Loretta Dormal Marino - Deputy Director-General for Agriculture and Rural Development saw rural areas as having knowledge intensive services and suggested an urban/rural focus, not just in micro-regions, but looking at wider regions of Europe

ESPON has news of two current projects of applied research

1. PURR project: Potential of Rural Regions

The aim of the PURR study is to create and test new ways to explore the territorial potentials of some rural areas and small and medium-sized towns in peripheral parts of Europe around the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the Baltic Sea

http://www.rtpi.org.uk/item/2483

http://www.espon.eu/mmp/online/website/content/programme/1455/1496/2621/2646/index_EN.html

2. EDORA (European Development Opportunities for Rural Areas)

- to develop a better understanding of the development opportunities and challenges facing diverse types of rural areas in Europe.

- to support targeted policy development, relating (inter alia) to job creation and social change

- support the practical implementation - across a range of policy fields of spatial development principles which have evolved out of perspectives presented in the Fifth Cohesion Report, and elaborated in the recent Territorial Cohesion Green Paper. In particular the project should support the further integration of the Lisbon and Gothenberg agendas into the post-2013 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

http://www.espon.eu/mmp/online/website/content/programme/1455/2233/2236/2240/index_EN.html

PartnershipSome principles

Decision makers cannot operate / implement without the involvement of citizens - stakeholders and civil society

Effective partners - each partner should understand what is expected of them and of the other partners

Small and remote places / municipalities / NGOs have limited capacity to apply for funding and administrate / monitor outcomes.

They need to work together - with similar bodies in nearby areas (sub-regions) - with regional and national bodies

Partnerships Small Towns…and the villages and activities within the surrounding area

Examples

Regional Policy - the Town of Wittstock and the region (State of Brandenburg) with the town / regional Chambers of Architects and assisted by ECOVAST Germany

“Small towns as the metropoles of the rural area - of the cultural landscape” (based on Brandenburg draft spatial policy)

http://ecovastdiscussion.ning.com/forum/topics/small-towns-draft-position

Partnerships - new associations

Croatian Union of Towns and Municipalities (UNION OF THE ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND THE ASSOCIATION OF MUNICIPALITIES OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA)

ActivitiesSamobor, a market town with a sparse rural hinterland on the Slovenian border, but so near to the capital, Zagreb, that the green gap between, a wetland/floodplain, is critical to the town’s identity, and is threatened by development for employment

Other activities in which ECOVAST Croatia is involved

Makarska

Zagreb to Dubrovnik motorway

route through the cliff side

above the coastal town and

below the Biokovo Mountain

Natural Park

Omisalj

Environmental impact on the heritage of a coastal town on the island of KRK where a liquid natural gas terminal is proposed

Mošćenice

Townscape appraisal of town eager to attract tourists

Partnerships in England

Market Towns Health Checks - examples

Yorkshire Forward - Renaissance Market Towns

http://www.rmtportal.com/

South East Rural Towns Partnership

http://www.setowns.org.uk/

Richmond & CatterickSituated in Richmondshire in North Yorkshire, Richmond is a thriving historic market town with a Norman castle, Georgian architecture, a cobbled market place, monuments and abbeys.

Richmond Heritage Partnership Scheme - a pilot scheme to test the viability of reusing the upper floors of Richmond’s retail buildings, developing the opportunity sites and the restoration of commercial buildings within the town centre

Richmond Station

In 2003, after a chequered history, the building was taken over by the newly formed Richmondshire Building Preservation Trust, with the aim of restoring it to its future splendour and making it once again a focal point of the local community

http://www.richmondstation.com/

http://www.yorkshire-forward.com/improving-places/where-we-live/rural-market-towns/richmond-catterick/case-study

Faringdon, Oxfordshire

In 2002, a town Healthcheck found:

higher unemployment rate than expected

lower than average monthly earnings

lack of transport to Swindon, Oxford,

Wantage and Abingdon.

The research was comprehensive and touched on a number of complicated issues such as job opportunities, education, the environment... It recognised that the youth of the town were lacking in facilities for sport and music. It established that the farmers and those working in industry did not have the infrastructure on which one might build a sustainable economy. http://www.focusonfaringdon.co.uk/

http://www.faringdon.org/

Faringdon Area Project

A market town Healthcheck process is essentially a tool leading to a local action plan that guides and plots regeneration activity

In addition, the Healthcheck process itself aims to involve communities and strengthens relationships between active community groups and local government

Faringdon Area Project is a group of volunteers local to Faringdon

They, with help from friends and associates, have undertaken both of the Healthchecks in 2002 and 2007 and put together the Action Plans that have resulted from them

Action Plan item links Town Centre and hinterland through local food

Health Check influences statutory Local Plan

There was consensus on the need for many more houses to sustain viability of this town on the edge of Vale of White Horse District

The District Council held exhibitions in Faringdon where the most significant changes were proposed

People outlined a new proposal for 400 homes, land for business development

Local Planning Authority included this allocation in the second deposit review local plan

The winner of the prestigious National Market Town Awards is an innovative eco-project in Faringdon, Oxfordshire. The winner was announced on 13 October at the Action for Market Towns Convention in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire.

http://towns.org.uk/

South East Rural Towns Partnership is funded by SEEDA Small Towns Fund

Each county area has a specific allocation

Minimum and Maximum grants– minimum level small grants set at £40K [56K Euros] per

town– maximum of level set at £240K [336K Euros] per town

SEEDA project money to be matched– in cash not in kind

Principles– Allows local people to make decisions about the future

of their town– Allows them time to develop their ideas

Towns form their own partnerships and develop their ideas

Each town must carry out a ‘Health Check’– which will identify needs– ensure an inclusive local partnership– who will then develop a Action Plan of local solutions

Each county area will have a county-wide partnership with a dedicated officer

The county officer & county partnerships will work with local towns in their area

Each county partnership will need a formal ‘Accountable Body’ to help manage the process - cash flow - monitoring and evaluation

But local partnerships set priorities for their areaLocal partnerships agree which towns should go forward

SEEDA and the regional Partnership only ensure a relevant annual budget is available and monitor the programme

Final decisions always made by local people

SERTP will be supported with £50K[70K Euros] per year

–to remain the voice for the region–to seek other funding sources–to support training activity for partnerships–to support the Health-check process

County co-ordinators / officers will be supported with £20K [28K Euros] per year

Hampshire Market Town Project is regenerating small rural towns

Hampshire rural communities have already invested £352,000 of SEEDA funds on projects they have prioritised through community Healthchecks, attracting a further £685,000 of funds from other agencies, including Local Authorities and the private sector.

New Milton now boasts a revamped high street and many other improvements to the business environment.

Stockbridge vital modifications are to be made to the dilapidated Town Hall in the centre of Stockbridge.

A programme of improvements is under way in Whitchurch town centre. Anne Harrison, Hampshire Market Towns Manager

Across England, the Market Towns initiative stemmed from the 2000 Rural White Paper

But the last tranche in the South East will end in 2010

Regional Development Agency financial support to market towns / small towns is finished or about to end

DCLG Communities Secretary John Denham announced on 13 August 2009 £3million empty shop revival fund:

- for 57 most deprived and hardest hit high streets- available to help areas hit hardest by the recession find creative ways to reduce the negative impact empty shops are having on the high street and re-open them as facilities for communities

But very few are small rural towns

AMT says: Almost 11 million people live in England’s 1,600 market towns and larger villages – over 20% of the total populationRecent research by Action for Market Towns and the Centre for Local Economic Strategies showed that the number of vacant shop units has increased over the last six months, while around 60% of existing vacant retail premises have remained empty during that timeThis damages both the look and economic vitality of town centres

AMT offers a Towns-4-Towns best practice transfer fund:- a shop local campaign, a sustainable transport initiative, or a loyalty card scheme- the Fund can be used towards a study tour of another town to see a project in action, or mentoring and training from thepeople behind it

AMT is active to support small towns:

• ‘Prosperous Places: Making the Economy Work for Your Town’ deals with how your town can develop a strategy for its economic development and boost the business community

• Action for Market Towns Position Statement & Background information. Retail and Town Centres. (February 2009)

• Action for Market Towns -Retail and Town Centres. Position & Background. PPS6 for Dummies & Revisions in 2009

• A report for the Gloucestershire Market Towns Forum on the effect of the recession on Gloucestershire market towns

• AMT’s response to CLG consultation paper on a new Planning Policy Statement 4: Planning for Prosperous Economies

AMT’s Policy Forum is called ‘Small Towns for Tommorrow’– including town centres and market towns and villages in their hinterland

AMT TOWNS ALIVE has received Big Lottery funding to help the work it undertakes to support market towns. This funding has allowed the creation of the Knowledge Hub, which has two purposes:

1) Assisting market towns at the local level – a Strategic Information Service for use by organisations who have an involvement in market towns - a directory of information relating to all aspects of market town policy and we hope that it will be a place where you can come for help and assistance when developing strategies for your local area

2) Influencing Government policy – AMT is working to be the voice for market towns and sees a role in shaping Government policy to reflect the needs of small towns. A Market Towns Policy Forum has been established - to undertake research into medium to long-term issues affecting such towns - to play a greater role in influencing policy at the national, regional and sub-regional level

Characteristics of Towns - Assets and sustainable placesHeritage at heart http://www.planningresource.co.uk/Dave Chetwyn, chairman of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation and chairman of Urban Vision North Staffordshire:

The continuing maintenance and productive use of historic buildings and areas are effective means of counteracting "clone town" tendencies, in terms of local identity and diversity of uses … regenerated buildings accommodate community facilities and social enterprises, for example through the activities of development trusts.

(2009 Draft planning Policy Statement on the Historic Environment ) PPS15 places [emphasis] on assets rather than places … Sustainability is almost entirely examined through improving buildings' energy use. There is no recognition of the role that older structures, which were developed in a low-carbon society and economy, play in building sustainable places today.

Historic town centres and housing areas can provide a model of sustainable practice based on mixed-use, high-density and permeable development, often with good pedestrian links and connections to a wide range of community facilities.

- lower maintenance needs of older buildings … - refurbishment … conserves energy and avoids landfill.

… separation of heritage services from wider place-making concerns means that the vital relationship between quality of place and economic and social characteristics is not adequately considered. The towns and cities that have experienced the most dramatic transformations in recent decades are those where councils, other public agencies and cutting-edge developers have appreciated the importance of quality of place in attracting investment, better-paid employment and an influx of visitors. Those who have adopted a development-at-any-cost approach have tended to become locked into a cycle of underperformance and low pay.

THE SMALL HISTORIC TOWNS OF EUROPE IN THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN (forthcoming)

As part of the ECOVAST project, ASSET (Action to Strengthen Small European Towns), research has been undertaken over a period of three years into the small towns of Europe, their characteristics and they challenges they face

This has principally been by questionnaire, and in the first phase of research, more than twenty responses were obtained from across Europe

The data from this has greatly informed the project, and analysis of the material continues

RESEARCH by Pam Moore, Secretary General ECOVAST

ASSET RESEARCH PHASE 1

… developed between 2006 and 2008, amassed data from more than 20 countries, which provided an insight into a wide range of topics.

- Governmental structure of country- Definition of a “small town” (population) & whether this includes its hinterland- Specific issues of concern to small towns- What support is received, from whom and whether larger towns get preferential treatment- Examples of “good practice”, research and case studies- Amount of interaction between town and hinterland- Any relevant websites

ASSET RESEARCH PHASE 2

Phase 1 had offered the outline of a picture of small European towns and the challenges they face

Early in 2009 it became apparent that it would be useful to seek further information, specifically on the impact which the economic downturn is having on these vital hubs

A new questionnaire was devised, and circulated to nineteen contacts since the Spring

Some of these were the same people who had completed the earlier questionnaire, but for some states more appropriate contacts had since been made

Already responses have been received from thirteen states – Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Scotland and Sweden. England has not been included, because the Commission for Rural Communities is doing similar research and provides access to the information

In the coming months, further replies will be sought, and those who responded, will be asked for an “update” on the situation in their country

However, the information already provided by respondents has given a valuable insight into the impact which the economic downturn is having across Europe

Data has been obtained from a geographically well spread range of states, in north, south, east and west Europe, and a mix of “old” and “new” EU members, as well as a pre-accession state, so a good coverage has been achieved Small historic towns are facing particular problems in a number of ways:

- Many depending on tourism are being adversely affected by the economic situation because people are taking fewer vacations. This results in a rise in unemployment and all the other problems associated – closure of shops and loss of other facilities, additional empty buildings- The very attractions which bring visitors to small historic towns are thus threatened- Fewer tourists to a centre results in historic buildings running the risk of becoming disused, and fewer being sold or let in a stagnant property market. Authorities are reluctant to invest in the upkeep of such buildings, or in conservation expertise

-with resources under extreme pressure, economic priorities will be changed

- many government authorities are expected to reduce their financial support leading deterioration of buildings and spaces, posing threats to long-term survival

Loss of employment opportunities – the questionnaire responses cited this as being a major problem

With a shortage of jobs, more people, especially the young, will migrate to larger urban centres. So a problem already facing small towns in Europe, will be exacerbated

This is likely to result in a lack of demand for accommodation and services, thus threatening a town’s vitality and viability

Key points The whole town approach

Town centres and small towns/market towns should be seen in the context of their hinterland

Partnerships within towns and with villages are essential, with necessary citizen involvement, in community led planning to identify challenges, chart actions and influence statutory authorities and agenciesPartnerships between towns in a sub-region could be useful

Problems faced include the recent economic downturn, which causes a re-assessment and refreshed action plansFuture challenges are climate change, peak oil and food security

Benefits to the town/village are economic, social, environmental and cultural - the whole span of sustainable development