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Major Scheme Business Case Camborne Pool Redruth Transport Strategy

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2 Overview of the Study Area

2.1 Definition of the Study Area

The WebTAG methodology is based on assessing the impacts of a scheme in a tightly defined “Regeneration Area” (RA) and its “Hinterland”. Definition of the RA for this study was simplified by the fact that the URC has a defined boundary around the CPR urban area in which the majority of the deprivation and regeneration proposals are located (Figure 2.1); this boundary was therefore adopted as the RA for this study.

There is a large amount of policy justification for defining the study area as a RA:

• The Regional Planning Guidance (RPG) identifies Camborne and Redruth as an area for growth and regeneration. Policy SS2 (Regional Development Strategy) notes that designated centres for growth, such as Camborne-Redruth, can provide for sustainable and balanced growth to maintain and enhance the range of facilities in areas of the region distant from the 11 PUAs. The RPG also states that the vitality and viability of existing centres should be protected and enhanced.

• Policy SS18 specifically considers Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and supports the

regeneration of the main towns to act as employment and service centres for their population and rural hinterlands. Furthermore, it also identifies the need to attain the significant improvement of the Camborne-Redruth area as a focus for economic growth.

• The Cornwall Structure Plan sets out the long-term strategy for development in Cornwall.

Policy 1 (Sustainable Development) states that development should be compatible with the regeneration of towns and villages in meeting the needs of their population and surrounding area. Economic growth and employment will be encouraged by prioritising the regeneration of urban areas and town centres as a focus for retail, commercial and business activity (Policy 13). Policy 16 specifically considers town centres and retailing. The overall distribution of development will give particular focus to the role and function of strategic urban centres (including Camborne-Pool-Redruth). Camborne-Pool-Redruth is identified as a strategic priority for regeneration and growth (Policy 19) and better retail provision in the town centres will be supported.

• Assisted areas include Objective 1 areas under the Structural Funds, which are areas with low

GDP per capita (<75%) relative to the European Union average. The current Tier 1 areas include Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

• Kerrier was recognised as being in the top 10% of the most deprived areas in England in 2000. Those wards in Kerrier within the 10% most IMD-deprived wards in England were identified as NRF priority areas and are listed below:

- Camborne West;

- Camborne North;

- Redruth North;

- Illogan South.


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Government statistics now indicate that Kerrier has economically improved and as a result has come off the list of most disadvantaged districts. However, the South West region has 95 census-based 'Super Output Areas' (SOA) that rank within the most deprived 10% in England according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2004. Three of the most-deprived SOAs in the region are in the CPR area (Camborne South, Camborne West, Redruth North).

Travel to work data shows strong commuter flows between CPR, Truro and Falmouth-Penryn. The relationship between these towns and their importance is explored in the Cornwall Towns Study commissioned by Cornwall County Council1.

The study’s findings suggest that Cornish towns are the strategic centres for employment, service use and social activity, but these roles and functions vary from town to town. It identifies the Truro/CPR/Falmouth-Penryn area (Figure 2.2) as the strategic core of the county because of the combination of the attributes of the three towns and the potential for regional sustainable development. This is very important considering that usually only cities with more than 100,000 population are considered to be strategically significant within the region.

The study recommends that the network of Truro/CPR/Falmouth should be the focus for regionally significant levels and types of development, because it is a strategic entity of regional significance, and future planning strategies and decisions should focus on the relationships between the 3 towns in the network. Taking this into account the hinterland for the study was designated to include Truro, Falmouth-Penryn and the local towns of Hayle and Helston, which also have significant community links with CPR (Figure 2.3).

Figure 2-1: The Study Area showing Spatial Distribution of Deprivation

1 Land Use Consultants, Roger Tym & Partners and TRL for Cornwall County Council, 2005, The Cornwall Towns Study


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Figure 2-2: The Truro/CPR/Falmouth-Penryn network

Source: Cornwall Towns Study,2005

Figure 2-3: RA and Hinterland


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2.2 Socio-economic characteristics of the Study Area

Once one of the most important tin mining areas in the world, the area has suffered from a century of decline and is characterised by low incomes and social problems. Although the area has the largest urban population in Cornwall, it is a much less significant retail and service centre than Truro. The conurbation has a poor reputation in Cornwall and, despite a very recent growth in economic activity rates and reductions in unemployment; it remains an area in need of regeneration.

On 2001 figures Kerrier was recognised as being in the top 10% of the most deprived areas in England (out of 354). In 2004, Camborne South had the 1580th most deprived SOA of the 32,482 SOAs across the country and Camborne West the 2849th. The more refined analysis of the 2004 IMD emphasises this picture on intense deprivation concentrated in the Super Output Areas (SOA) in the inner industrial areas. In CPR, 3 out of 33 SOAs are in the bottom 10% in the country on overall ranking and 10 are in the bottom 20%. Of the 22 SOAs within CPR, 10 (45%) are within the 20% most deprived SOAs in England. Close to 15 000 people are resident in these areas, a third of the CPR’s population.

Table 2.1: Zones within the RA and Hinterland

Zone Population(1) No Name 1 Camborne North (ward) 6,661 2 Camborne South (ward) 6,875 3 Camborne West (ward) 6,796 4 Illogan North (ward) 6,922 5 Illogan South 7,144 6 Redruth North (ward) 6,501 7 Redruth South (ward) 5,851

Sub-Total Regeneration Area 46,750 8 St Day, Lanner and Carharrack (ward) 5,438 9 Breage and Crow an (ward) 5,838 10 Constantine, Gweek and Mawnan (ward) 3,740 11 Grade-Ruan and Landewednack (ward) 1,956 12 Helston North (ward) 5,910 13 Helston South (ward) 4,323 14 Mabe and Budock (ward) 3,946 15 Meneage (ward) 2,539 16 Mullion (ward) 1,986 17 Porthleven and Sithney (ward) 3,830 18 St Keverne (ward) 2,107 19 Stithians (ward) 2,004 20 Wendron (ward) 2,150 21 Carrick (LA) 87,865 22 Penwith (LA) 63,012

Sub-Total Hinterland 196,644 Grand Total (RA and Hinterland) 243,394


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Kerrier is one of the two West Cornwall districts (the other is Penwith) and it is comprised of 20 wards with a total population of 92,517 (Census 2001). The seven wards that make up the CPR area have a population of 46,750 people. The main population is concentrated within the towns of Camborne (16,000) and Redruth (11,400). Only nine towns in all of Cornwall have a population of more than 10,000 people.

2.2.1 Population and Employment

The population of the RA (CPR) is some 46,750 persons, of which 18,278 are employed. Employment in Kerrier is concentrated in the CPR area, which is responsible for around 60%2 of employment in the district. The proportion of jobs and vacancies to population is particularly high in Illogan South and Redruth North, indicating that these wards are key employment locations for people throughout the district. Table 2.2 sets out a profile of the current population and employment characteristics in the RA.

Table 2.2: Current Population and Employment Characteristics

Zone Population Resident Economically Active

Resident Employed

Claimants Jobs Current Vacancies

(2001)a (2001)a (2001)a (Dec 2005)b

(2004)c (Aug 2005)d

Camborne North

6658 62.65% 2655 105 1825 27

Camborne South

6883 58.25% 2521 71 556 8

Camborne West

6796 57.79% 2423 93 2817 39

Illogan North

6921 61.74% 2861 60 666 7

Illogan South

7136 61.90% 2897 74 5628 43

Redruth North

6503 58.32% 2397 79 4601 36

Redruth South

5852 63.71% 2524 53 1679 13

CPR 46750 60.62% 18278 558 17772 216 Kerrier 92517 61.97% 35278 829 29457 230 Carrick 87865 62.90% 35939 975 45664 382 Penwith 63012 59.90% 24368 898 20460 249 South West

4928434 67.51% 2205441 43626 2194660 18216

Source: (a) 2001 Census (b)Claimant Count from NOMIS (c) Annual Business Inquiry (d)Information from Annual Business Inquiry was available for Travel to Work Areas, this was further weighted by population.* Including self employed people

2 Annual Business Inquiry 2003 from NOMIS


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Another characteristic of the area is the ageing population. In the CPR area 17.8% of the population is over 65 years old compared to a national average of 15.9%. This means that a relatively large part of the population is retired and therefore also economically inactive. However, the CPR population is also younger than the district average of 19.1% of the population over 65 and the County average of 20.1% over 65. In the age group 15-64, which basically represents the people of working age, Cornwall has less people (62.5%) than England (65%) or Wales (63.5%).

Table 2.3 shows that in the decade 1991-2001, the population of Cornwall grew at a rate more than the average for England and Wales. In Cornwall, population growth was 7.6%, compared to 4.4% in England and only 2.4% in Wales. Moreover, in Cornwall the male population seems to have grown more than the female in the last ten years, whilst in England and Wales the difference between the sexes is not significant.

Table 2.3: Population Growth in the last 10 years

Population Growth 1991-2001 Male Female All people Cornwall 8.61% 6.68% 7.60% England 4.80% 4.08% 4.43% Wales 2.46% 2.34% 2.40%

Source: 1991 Census, 2001 Census

In 2004/05, the employment rate (% of people of working age in employment)3 in Kerrier was 74.2%, very close to the national average of 74.5% and the Cornwall average of 74.9%. Unemployment in Kerrier, as measured by the Job Seekers’ Allowance (JSA) claimant rate, was 1.8%, exactly the same as Cornwall and lower than the national average of 2.2%. For CPR, the claimant rate was 1.9% in August 2005, equivalent to 558 people; this has fallen from a high of around 12% in the mid 1980s. Due to seasonal employment, it is anticipated that the CPR unemployment rate will rise in the winter, but it is not expected to exceed the national average. Seasonal employment is not a significantly relevant issue in the CPR area since the tourism industry is not as important as for the rest of Cornwall.

Even though unemployment has decreased, there are still pockets of high unemployment in the CPR area. Camborne North (2.6%) and Camborne West (2.4%), for example, have a higher proportion of claimants than the national average, even during the tourist season.4

However, the JSA claimant rate is considered to underestimate unemployment. The unemployment rate measured in the Annual Population Survey (% of the economically active working age population), was 6% in Kerrier, higher than the 4.8% in Cornwall and the national average of 4.7%. West Cornwall has also a high percentage of self-employment. At 19.4% of the economically active, it is significantly higher than the national average of 12.4%.

3 Annual Population Survey 2004/05 4 Claimant Counts August 2005 from NOMIS


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Figure 2-4: Current Population and Employment Characteristics

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2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

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2.2.2 Economic Activity

Gross Value Added (GVA) in Cornwall in general is very low compared to the national average. In Kerrier, GVA per head in 2004 was 57.9% of the national average. However, the Cornish economy has seen higher growth rates than England as a whole in the last few years. The national rate is 5% pa, while in Kerrier growth rates in the last few years have been around 7%.

Economic activity in West Cornwall is slightly lower than the national. In CPR, the economic activity rate stands at 71.2% compared with the national average of 76.4%. It is interesting to note the difference in the ward figures - from a high of 75.8% in Redruth South, to a low of 68.3% in Redruth North.

Economic inactivity is concentrated in the Penwith district and it mainly affects the people over 50 years old. The economically inactive population is divided to three categories: retired, students and other (sick, disabled etc). Economic inactivity in West Cornwall is not much higher than the national average. However, the percentage of people in the ‘other’ category is 18%, whilst in Cornwall it is 16% and in England and Wales 15.2%. Out of the 5 SOAs with the highest percentage in the ‘other’ category, 4 are in Kerrier, especially in the town centres. The number of incapacity benefit claimants is higher in the area too. There are over 2400 single parent families within Kerrier, of which half are not in work. Out of the 1260 that are not in work, 86% are economically inactive.


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Economic activity rates and employment rates have improved significantly amongst Kerrier residents in the past ten years. This has been helped by a growth in jobs in Kerrier of 14%5 between 1998 and 2002. This growth has been particularly significant in Camborne North and Redruth North. However, it should also be noted that although improving, economic activity rates in Kerrier remain lower than regional averages, partly due to a relatively high level of people claiming incapacity benefit. Economic activity rates are particularly low in Redruth North and Camborne West. While the latter is largely down to a high proportion of pensioners in the area, the former suffers from the highest number of incapacity benefit claimants in the district.

2.2.3 Benefits6

Over the past 8 years the number of people claiming JSA within Kerrier has fallen by 55%, from 2,700 claimants in 1998 to 1,200 in 2005, which compares with a fall of only 38% nationally. However, during the same period the average weekly payment to a claimant in Kerrier has risen by 8%, compared with an increase of only 2% nationally.

In contrast to JSA, the number of Kerrier residents claiming Incapacity Benefit/Severe Disablement Allowance has increased over recent years. Since 1998 there has been an 18% increase in the number of claimants (from 4,400 to 5,200); during the same period the number of claimants nationally only rose by 6%. The average weekly payout rose by 6% in Kerrier over the same period. Furthermore, the proportion of people claiming for more than 3 years (against all claimants) has risen from 58% in 1999 to 71% in 2005; which is greater than the national rate of 67%.

Since 1998 Kerrier has witnessed a slight increase in the number of people claiming Income Support (to 2,900 people), but during the same period the County and national figures have fallen.

2.2.4 Labour Skills and Earnings

Lack of skilled labour is a major constraint to the continued regeneration of the area. Statistics from the 2001 Census indicate that a very high proportion of the population have no academic qualifications. This problem is particularly concentrated in the CPR area where over 33% of the working age population have no qualifications, compared to the average for Cornwall and England of 29%. Redruth North has the lowest levels of educational achievement in the area - almost 40% of residents have no qualifications.7

The most educationally deprived ward in Cornwall is in Redruth and it is in the top 3.5% nationally8. Four other Kerrier wards were in the top 10% most educationally deprived nationally. It is worth noting that educational attainment at Key Stage 3 (14/15 years old) in West Cornwall is higher than the national average, especially in Mathematics and Science and the same in English. In Kerrier, attainment in English is higher than in West Cornwall, while the other subjects are the same. However, this performance does not continue to GCSE level, where the percentage of pupils achieving 5 or more grades A* to C in West Cornwall is 51% compared to the national average of 54%. Kerrier has an even lower percentage of 48%. Out of the top 5 SOAs with the lowest GCSEs attainment, 4 were in Kerrier and also in the top 10% most educationally deprived nationally.

5 Annual Business Inquiry 1998-2002 from NOMIS 6 Area statistics provided from CPR URC 7 2001 Census, Office of National Statistics 8 The English Indices of Deprivation 2004


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In terms of qualifications, it is obvious that the area suffers from a lack of higher qualifications. At low skill levels, up to NVQ level 2, Kerrier is in the same levels with the rest of the County and England and Wales, in some levels even a bit more qualified in these levels of skills. However, in the higher skill levels, Kerrier and West Cornwall generally fall behind. This low level of educational achievement is reflected in the occupations of residents in the area. Fewer residents of working age in employment in Kerrier are in managerial and professional occupations than regional and national averages, with more people employed in routine and semi-routine occupations.

The tendency for CPR’s workforce to be employed in lower skilled occupations is reflected in CPR’s average gross weekly pay levels. The average weekly pay level within CPR is approximately £370 per week, which is below the Cornish average of £388; and it is only 77% of the national average (£483)

2.2.5 Employment by Sector

Tables 2.4 and 2.5 provide a breakdown of employment by sector in the CPR area compared to the regional and national levels. It is obvious that around 60% of the economic activity in the RA is accounted for by the public sector and distribution, hotels and restaurants. Employment in the service sector has increased in recent years, whilst traditional manufacturing has declined slightly.

The economic activity in the RA shows an increase in the service sector, notably the tourism sector and the financial intermediates. There has been a significant development towards a service based economy in the CPR area illustrated by the fact that employment in distribution, hotels and restaurants and banking, finance and insurance has grown by over 56% between the 2000-2003 intervals.

Almost a third of all employment in the CPR area is provided by the public sector, compared to the 25% England average and around 27% for the South West and the rest of Cornwall. Another 27% is employed in distribution, hotels and catering, which is higher than the England average of 25%, but significantly lower than the Cornish average of 35% or the district average of 30%. This is due to the fact that the CPR area is not a popular destination for tourists. However, some people from the area are employed in the industry in surrounding areas. Although the manufacturing industry has declined, 17% of people in the CPR area are still employed in manufacturing, compared to 11% in the rest of Cornwall and 12% in England. At the same time, employment in banking and finance in CPR is 11%, almost half of the England average of 20%, but also lower than the Cornish average of 12%. Employment in transport and communications is also significantly lower in CPR compared to the English, but it is a bit higher than the average for Cornwall.

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