How and why are remoter rural areas changing?

Case study of rural change in the Usk Valley section of the Brecon Beacons National Park between Brecon and Crickhowell

BBNP – Settlement Hierarchy• Level 1 Primary Key Settlement: Brecon

• Brecon will become the spatial hub to support opportunities for new employment and housing. Development will contribute to maintaining and enhancing a strong and vibrant Market Town.

• Level 2 Key Settlements Talgarth /Crickhowell / Hay-on-Wye / Sennybridge and Defynnog Key Settlement

• serve both their resident population and surrounding catchment. Within Key Settlements development will be focused to provide new housing opportunities, near to services and facilities to reduce over reliance on the private car. Employment opportunities will be focused within Key Settlements, servicing the needs of the wider community.

• Level 3 Settlements • These are villages that have the capacity to accommodate small developments.

Small residential development, small scale employment opportunities or community facilities which would support the vitality and viability of the area.

• Level 4 Limited Growth Settlements • These are villages and hamlets that do not have the capacity to accommodate

more development;

• Level 5 Countryside • Places with no potential to accommodate any level of growth. Development

here will be limited to that which is proven essential in accordance with National Planning Policy.

HOW – 1) Demographic Changes

Why – Counterurbanisation process from 1970

Population Growth 1970 – 1990 then stabilisation

HOW - Commuters who treat the village (Crickhowell, Llangynidr) as a dormitory settlement. Incomers.

Everest Drive estate Crickhowell built c. 1980 about 100 houses – four bedroom family homes Also an ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE – inappropriate style unlike the older traditional stone built cottages.

Why - Counter-urbanisation enabled by technological changes 1970 - 2000

Other Demographic Changes - Incomers

# Second home owners who just visit occasionally for holidays. Incomers

14 Bridge Street, Crickhowell£160,000

This property would be an ideal purchase for an investor, first time buyer or as a holiday home.

# Retired but active people wanting to enjoy the countryside - Incomers

Crickhowell Walking Festival - early March annually

# People who have moved to live and work in the villages for the ‘rural idyll’. - Incomers

Wern Watkin is a recently renovated stone built small holding, providing top class bunkhouse accommodation – Llangattock, near Crickhowell

Educated Young people - outmigrants

Leave for university and then a career

Young local couples -outmigrants

Affordable rural homes for Crickhowell: planning permission sought – 32 homes at Ffynnonau, CrickhowellShared equity for rent – BUT not enough to meet demand.Young local families can’t afford to live in the town.

How 2) Economic Changes

Why – car ownership – commuters - rise of supermarkets in nearby towns

Loss of rural services – pub closure. White Hart Crickhowell.

Llangynidr: Walnut Tree Stores and post officeThis small village shop in Coed yr Ynys Road has, in fairly recent years, provided the replacement home of the village post office, which was previously on the main road.

Why - Post Office privatised – pensions paid direct to bank accounts

How - Loss of Village School

Ageing population – few young families in area

Powys closing smaller primary schools - uneconomic

Cwmdu school for sale by auction arch 2014

Economic gains

Whit Hart Pub, Crickhowell becomes an Indian restaurant

2014. Changing social trends – ‘urbanites’

have broader tastes.

Economic gainsHow – growth of Garden design and maintenance services

Why -Affluent but busy inmigrants, older retired people - need help, absentee second home owners

Economic gain – new/expanded schools in growing settlements

Counterurbanisation – led to Crickhowell getting its own High School in 1983.

Has survived and grown but must stay ‘popular’ to survive

Relies on pupils travelling into the catchment daily

Other Changes

• Environmental – new estates – out of character (but controlled by BBNP planners)

• Communication – more traffic on narrow roads – particularly bad at weekends and in the summer.

• Conflicts of attitudes between ‘natives’ and incomers> e.g. open a new quarry ‘native’ – could provide jobs

but ‘incomer ‘ noise and pollution, devalue my property’.

> e.g. build a new affordable housing estate – ‘native’ – we can stay in the village and not move awaybut ‘incomer’ noise and devalue my property, take my view.