Over 50 delegates from around the country – bringing a diverse range of expertise and experience in areas such as planning, urban regeneration, heritage, and community development – gathered for the first ever conference exploring the future of small towns. The conference was funded and supported by Action for Market Towns.

Conference summary

Download the conference agenda

Small Towns for the Big Society: how are small towns going to develop in the future and what can we do now to prepare for that?

For many people the phrase ‘England’s small towns’ conjures up picture postcard images of market squares, quaint churches, small, independent shops all set amidst beautiful countryside in which nestle the many, equally picturesque villages that, tradition has it, depend upon the small towns.  We all know the reality is different but this idealised picture persists and, in terms of 21st century England, is unhelpful.

What is a small town?

Small rural towns are diverse: some poor, some rich, some inland, some seaside, some picturesque, some essentially industrial or, more likely, post-industrial. Many are commuter towns, bases for the workers in the ‘knowledge based’ occupations of the big towns and cities.  Diversity and character are a key part of the attraction of smaller towns as places in which to live and work and we must preserve these.

Unfortunately, for most of the post-war years policy has paid little attention to the wider role and potential of our rural towns and larger villages.  Currently, over 11 million people or more than 85% of rural England’s population live in rural towns and in most parts of the country they are growing very fast.

Growing but in decline

The research picture is complicated and contradictory and policy must be founded upon a sophisticated and flexible evidence base.  We already know that many small towns are growing in an almost uncontrolled manner as the pressure to build more houses increases, while the pressures on their traditionally strong independent retail mix means that local services are in decline, as are local employment opportunities as public services become increasingly centralised and remote from local decision making.

Commuting patterns may turn some towns into dormitories but that does not mean they need be devoid of services and community infrastructure. The popularity of rural living for older people means that some small towns with expensive housing have an older than average population – with the obvious implications for health and social care provision. Others, such as ex-mining towns, have their lost their reason to exist and require an approach to economic development that recognises their local and regional context.

Keynote speaker

Chairman Professor Ray Pahl opened the conference and introduced the keynote speaker, Sir Peter Hall, Bartlett Professor of Planning and Regeneration at University College London.

Sir Peter set the context for the day with his insight into a new geography for England, and how small towns fit into this.  He talked about the continuing north-south divide with a Golden Belt of prosperity sweeping across the south, and the ‘archipelago economy’ of other areas where prosperous ‘islands’ have emerged among areas of greater disadvantage.

In particular, he mentioned the challenges that small towns are facing, including the ageing population and the young being priced out of smaller towns, population growth but lack of housing, out-of-town superstores competing with traditional town centres, and the increasing competition with larger urban areas, both domestically and overseas.

View Sir Peter’s presentation

• A New Geography of England – first half (Powerpoint presentation)
• A New Geography of England – second half (Powerpoint presentation).

Expert presentations

Danny Friedman, Director of Housing at Ecotec

Small towns in the context of housing and planning

Danny spoke of the paradox whereby those living in more rural areas tend to be on lower incomes, yet housing in those areas is deemed more desirable and is priced above the national average.  He also talked about planning that is too often developer-led and can lead to a less holistic approach to town planning which in turn can result in fewer integrated services, new housing on the periphery and lack of a sense of place for residents both existing and new.  Danny stated the need for more affordable housing, stronger community involvement and greater partnership working.

• View Danny’s presentation: The growth of small towns and impacts of this on housing and planning (pdf)

Dr Peter Damesick, Head of Research at CB Richard Ellis

The economy of small towns including opportunities and challenges for inward investment

Peter spoke about the way in which the traditional town centre retail role is changing.  He used the grocery sector to illustrate the changing structure and pattern of retailing with the example of 2.3% of the grocery market being serviced by independent stores while the rest, some 97.7%, being served by the big-box supermarkets and multiples such as the Co-op.

Given the fact that supermarkets have now very much diversified into offering non-grocery product line, the impact of this is tremendous.  He talked about supermarkets and out-of-town shopping complexes being the new town centres, and factors such as the recession, the increasing shift towards online shopping and lack of suitability of some high street premises for modern shopping, only adding to the situation.

He finished his presentation by identifying possible ways forward given this backdrop, including accepting that the role is changing, having possibly fewer but larger in-town stores and making the planning rules more flexible to enable change of use.

• View Peter’s presentation: The economy of small towns, including opportunities and challenges for inward investment (pdf)

Harold Goodwin, Professor of Responsible Tourism Management at Leeds Metropolitan University

Tourism and Renaissance in Small Towns

The visitor economy is an important sector for many small towns.  Harold defined what is meant by tourism underlining the need for a balance between the benefits and disbenefits of tourism in terms of its economic, social and environmental impacts, with the local community at the heart.

He spoke of the need to realise that a town that is desirable for residents will be desirable for visitors and businesses too.  An important part of Harold’s presentation dealt with the need for local democracy at the very local level.  Local people must feel empowered to shape the places in which they live, and hence a democratic system must be in place locally to ensure that all sections of the community can contribute equally.

• View Harold’s presentation: Sustainability issues for small towns including reducing the carbon footprint (pdf).

Dr Bob Crichton, Managing Director of HOP Associates

Small Towns and the Changing Nature of Work

Bob spoke about the drivers of change over the last century that have impacted upon the way in which we work, from the development of the motorways and the introduction of the home computer, to the internet and other technological advances.  The impacts are great and have enabled a massive shift in terms of what is now feasible.

For small towns, which can suffer from an inequality between affordability and income, this poses some interesting opportunities for the future, including the possibility for higher paid workers to live further from their traditional places of work and work from home.

Bob introduced the emerging concept of work-hubs – community-based shared workspaces – which could instil a new lease of life into empty town premises, and serve a local home-based work community.

• View Bob’s presentation: Future drivers of change and potential outcomes for small towns (Powerpoint presentation).

Find out more about the speakers

Expert panel session

Chris Wade, Chief Executive of Action for Market Towns (AMT) gave a short presentation before chairing a panel session.  He introduced the need to underpin any thinking on the future of small towns with a focus on self-reliance, with the current political emphasis on Big Society and greater community empowerment.

Chris summarised the key policy foci for AMT – Affordable Housing, Community Led Planning, Rural Services and Prosperous Places (local economies) – and welcomed ‘Small Towns for Tomorrow’ as a positive forum for debate and research that could help to motivate the political agenda for this particular audience.

• Download Market Towns – the Next Ten Years (pdf) – AMT’s discussion paper on the future of market towns over the next ten years.

Key points from panel session

Build on the fact that small towns hold a special meaning for many people
Small towns do face many challenges over the future, but it is not all doom and gloom.  Change needs to be embraced and planned for.  Small towns benefit from the fact that many can empathise with their needs and opportunities having lived in them themselves, and this should be seen as a positive.

Understand the role of local communities, volunteers and local partnership working
As illustrated through Community Led Planning for example.  However, some towns are better equipped than others – a more desirable town may have greater numbers of educated and trained volunteers, as opposed to other towns that might require more assistance in building capacity.

The need to ensure democracy at the grassroots level was also flagged to ensure that sectors of the community are not disadvantaged in the process.  Furthermore, a reliance on grassroots-led development, combined with the potential loss of the regional tier of governance, might result in a reduced strategic view for future planning, where an area strategy is better placed to address issues such as tourism and transport planning.

The need for further research
What sorts of towns exist and what kinds of problems are faced in different types of towns? The key is to understand the issues, explore solutions, and communicate these to central government in a collective, sensible and meaningful way.  Potential areas for further research and understanding include:

• exploring towns in more deprived areas and understanding why some are prospering while others are not. What lessons could be shared?
• understanding the likely impact of changing work patterns and spending power in small towns.  What might the impact of home working be on small towns?  Can it help small towns to compete with larger urban areas?
• exploring the practical opportunities for low carbon economies offered by small towns.  What might the drivers of change in small towns mean on an environmental level?
• learning from the example in Yorkshire and Humber of ‘Town Teams’ as a way of encouraging open participation among local people in a democratic way.
• learning from overseas case studies on issues such as transport and access

Take stock of the wealth of evidence already available
The Regional Development Agencies, for example, have undertaken much work on small towns.  There is a need to ensure that this is not lost as a result of government cuts, and to build upon what is there already to avoid duplication.

Use education to upskill people to match local needs
Understanding the role that education and further education can play in creating dynamism in small towns as well as raising local aspirations.  An example was given of American community colleges which provide training for local people matched to need and also to spur entrepreneurialism – what can be learnt from this?

Learn from the past to create new towns
Build on lessons learnt to ensure that new towns are sustainable and resilient.

Address the planning system
A shift towards new localism in the planning system might be a challenge, for example where local communities can act against a proposal for affordable housing, which might actually be required in the town.

Presentation on research into small towns

Professor John Shepherd, Director of the Rural Evidence Research Centre at Birkbeck, University of London

Rural Towns: what do we know and what do we need to know?

John introduced the need to develop a narrative about small towns, underpinned by a policy oriented evidence base to ensure that towns are properly represented within Government policy.  He talked about the typology of small towns that has been developed using a series of data to define different types of town that can then be compared and contrasted.  He went on to speak about the kind of data that is currently available and what might be of use in the future, and the need for accessible, shared information.

• View John’s presentation: Rural Towns: what do we know and what do we need to know? (Powerpoint presentation)

Discussion groups

Five workshops took place in the afternoon. We summarise the key outputs below:

Discussion group 1 – The economic viability of small towns

Economic viability, within the wider context of sustainability, is a key issue for small towns especially in a time of growth and increasing competition both nationally, globally and virtually.

Discussions focused on how small towns can improve their economic viability through, for example, attracting inward investment, collaborative working, understanding relationships with other towns and cities and greater partnerships and networking.

• See key points from the discussion group: The economic viability of small towns

Discussion group 2 – The contribution of small towns to the green agenda

Climate change is arguably the largest problem facing the world – now and into the future. The need to achieve sustainable development through, for example, environmental technologies and solutions must begin at the local level.

Discussion focused on what small towns are doing, and can do, to contribute to the green agenda in order to secure a sustainable future for the long-term.

• See key points from the discussion group: The contribution of small towns to the green agenda

Discussion group 3 – Small towns and the Big Society agenda

The new Government is committed to the idea of Big Society.  Some of the areas that Big Society is looking to support include giving more powers to local communities, encouraging people to take an active role in their communities, transferring power from central to local government, supporting co-ops, mutuals, charities and social enterprises and the publication of central government data on local issues.

Discussion focused on the emerging Big Society and explored what this means for small towns and their communities including opportunities to seize.

• See key points from the discussion group: Small towns and the Big Society agenda

Discussion group 4 – Using the diversity of small towns for strategic benefit

Small towns exhibit a range of different characteristics based upon their heritage, industries and communities.  In an era of growth and change, the challenge will be to understand how these differences can benefit towns strategically.

Discussion focused on the importance of the individuality and diversity of small towns and how to maintain this within in a broader vision for small towns over the long-term.

• See key points from the discussion group: Using the diversity of small towns for strategic benefit

Discussion group 5 – Reclaiming local government in small towns

A push towards greater community involvement within the local area appears on the surface to be a positive policy.  It does however require a need for all sectors of the community to have the capacity and ability to get involved with the avoidance of any unintended consequences.

Discussion focused on how to reduce the democratic deficit in the small town setting, exploring ways to ensure that local people retain a voice and input into their community and are not overshadowed by bigger interests.

• See key points from the discussion group: Reclaiming local government in small towns

Research and policy round-up

The final session of the day included a brief response to the day’s debate from both a research and policy perspective.

Adrian Alsop, Director for Research at the Economic and Social Research Council

Adrian suggested that the day had provided a useful and interesting starting point for debate.  Small towns are a hidden wealth of the nation and are a dynamic part of the economy.

There were plenty of areas where additional research would be useful – exploring how towns interact with each other, their rural hinterlands and larger urban areas, leadership at the small towns level, undertaking international comparisons and transferring knowledge – and bringing together partners through the Small Towns for Tomorrow Forum was a positive first step in achieving this.

Keith Thorpe, Head of Urban Policy Team at the Department for Communities and Local Government

Keith suggested that central government has had a tendency to overlook smaller towns, mainly due to the lack of clarity over which department has responsibility for them.  Many departments were not very ‘place-based’ in their policy approaches and tended to focus more on sectors or individuals.

He thought that the debate from the day highlighted that small towns have much to offer and while they face challenges such as an ageing population and the flight of the young, there are opportunities to build on, from the effect of the digital economy to the push for more local and greener thinking.

He suggested that much could be learnt from work that has taken place on coastal towns and that engaging MPs would provide political support for the development of the policy forum.  A Select Committee Inquiry and adjournment debates on coastal/seaside towns, coupled with lobbying by groups of coastal town MPs, had helped to trigger Ministerial interest in and action on the issue.

Furthermore the shift towards Big Society provides an excellent opportunity for small towns and their communities to shape their own futures, and now is the time to lead the way in finding local solutions through mechanisms such as Local Enterprise Partnerships.

There was scope for drawing on learning and best practice on small towns policies from across Europe. Urban development policy was now a recurrent theme of successive EU Presidencies with an increasing interest in understanding urban–rural relationships.

For places interested in producing their own ‘state of a small town’ report, the interactive Places Database on the Communities and Local Government website gives access to a broad range of statistical data down to super output area (SOA) level: www.places.communities.gov.uk.

Final Word from Professor Ray Pahl

In thanking the speakers Professor Pahl thought it significant that both Adrian Alsop and Keith Thorpe had warm personal emotional attachments to small towns and this emotional capital could be seen as a hidden resource.

Turning to consider the future of STfT, Ray Pahl emphasized that it should be a national watchdog for small towns and not a whinging group. It should not seek or accept Government support if it is to be truly independent. This actually increases its usefulness to policy makers; especially if it is in the position to be able to warn them of, or expose, unintended consequences of specific policies that might affect the 11 million people living in small towns.

He went on to echo Adrian Alsop’s suggestion that research should be of high quality, done in partnership and shown to have an impact. As a Thinktank, STfT would have credibility and impact if its approach was solidly evidence-based. The model of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, whilst well out of our league, shows what true independence can achieve.

STfT must be free to be constructively critical of the policies and activities of Central and Local Government as well as well-meaning organisations with a stake in the field. There needs to be more research on, and evaluation of, all their approaches and activities and the long-term consequences for the maintenance and development of economically and socially successful small towns.

• For further information about any of the information contained in the Conference Summary, please contact Alison at Alison.Eardley@towns.org.uk

Visit the Small Towns for Tomorrow homepage

AFFORDABLE HOUSING – POLICY INTO PRACTICE – your feedback required (scroll down..)

Affordable Housing is a key issue for market towns.  AMT recently commissioned some work to explore the issues surrounding the provision of affordable homes in more detail, to form the basis of our Affordable Housing Policy into Practice Paper and feed into our Position Statement and Campaign Plan for this campaign area.

The information on affordable housing has been developed to give practitioners working within market towns an understanding of the current policy guidance as regards enabling and delivering affordable housing within market towns.  It details current government policy thinking at a national level and how this thinking has been disseminated into regional and local policy to enable affordable housing within market towns.

The provision of affordable housing is important within any community.  It provides high quality housing for people who are unable to access private rented accommodation or afford to buy a home of their own.  Development can make important contributions to communities by: meeting the needs of local people; sustaining local amenities, services and the economy; and, supporting the social mix and networks within communities.

Affordable housing or the lack of it is a key issue in many market towns.  Higher than average house prices and lower than average wages has resulted in households on lower and median incomes being unable to remain in market towns and the surrounding rural hinterlands.  This is often where they were born and have family roots, some who have left the area cannot afford to return to take up work or support relatives.  This situation can create challenges for individual families, the local economy and the wider sustainability of the community.

The founding principle of much government policy is the promotion of ‘sustainable’ development, with ‘sustainable’ communities an integral part of that concept. Over the last five years considerable attention has been given to the extent to which public policy has inhibited the achievement of this objective in a rural context (specifically for communities under 3,000 population or with a population 3,000 to 10,000). As a result current government policy is centered on a new ‘Place Shaping Agenda’ of which delivering housing, market and affordable, is an integral part.

The contents can be found further down this page – please have a look through as the guidance should help you understand what affordable housing is and how you can develop it in your town.

Please let us have your feedback:  Email us at: Alison.Eardley@towns.org.uk

We would welcome your experiences in developing affordable housing within your market towns, in particular your experience of:

• Working with housing associations and private developers;
• Source of funding in addition to Homes and Communities agency grant and housing association finance that you have been able to access to develop affordable housing;
• Arrangements for community participation in shaping the planned development;
• Examples of specialist accommodation provided within market towns that have serviced the town itself and the rural hinterland.

Also, in preparing this Policy into Practice paper there are a number of recommendations relevant to organisations working to improve affordable housing supply in market towns.  These include national government and their regional partners, local authorities and registered social landlords and individual residents and community groups concerned about the future growth of their community.

RECOMMENDATION 1 – Assumed level of knowledge

Within the majority of guidance and advice in relation to affordable housing and the planning system, there is an assumed level of knowledge which is above the level of knowledge that perhaps practitioners working on the ground have in this policy area.  There has been significant change in government’s approach to enabling housing and planning policy following most notable the Barker Review and Taylor Review.

We would ask that future guidance is created in an approach with does not discourage community members from wishing to find out more.

RECOMMENDATION 2 -  Master planning

The Taylor review called for a different approach to developing affordable housing within rural communities and we would support and encourage this approach.  Master planning is a process to map a strategic vision and plan for development that takes into account not just the buildings, spaces and street plans but also the social and environmental contexts of the community to provide a plan for achieving a fully shaped place.

In preparing their Sustainable Community Strategies we would ask that local and regional authorities adopt this approach for all communities where housing supply is to be targeted.

RECOMMENDATION 3 – Partnership working

Effective partnerships are not necessarily those with the responsibility to enable affordable housing (local authorities, RSLs, HCA, Regional Assembly and private developers) and need to include all sections of the community from business interests to organised community groups.

We would ask for all projects to increase or regenerated housing supply that a stakeholder analysis is undertaken that incorporates all interested parties.  This in turn should inform community participation practices as regards housing development and regeneration.

RECOMMENDATION 4 – Effective community participation

The Taylor review noted ‘Enquiry by Design’, a process developed by the Princes Trust to help communities understand and shape what new and existing communities want from development.  The event would be undertaken during the course of the design process bringing together relevant information about the site and sets out to harmonise this with the aims and aspirations of the community.

We would ask ‘Enquiry by Design’ becomes standard practice and seeks to involve all interested stakeholders.

RECOMMENDATION 5 – Willingness to accept change

A sustainable community is often referred to as one which is socially, economically and environmentally vibrant.  In achieving a sustainable community the concept of change has to be accepted.  If guidance and advice was more targeted at practitioners and community residents living or working within market towns, it would help to alleviate the barriers caused by the concept of ‘what is the hidden agenda’.

We would ask town councils and market town residents to become involved in the decisions affecting their community, not simply when a planning application goes in, but in shaping their areas when local authorities seek to involve residents.

Do you agree with the recommendations?  Please email us if you have any feedback, at: Alison.Eardley@towns.org.uk

Policy into Practice Paper – CONTENTS

Part I: National Government Policy -  Introduction to national government and housing and planning legislation policy

Part II: Regional Policy Context -  The role of regional agencies in disseminating national government housing and planning guidance to a local level.  There are three elements of regional level strategy that are particularly important as a context for housing and planning policy, Regional Spatial Strategy, Regional Economic Strategy and Regional Housing Strategy.  However, change is happening and from 2010 these strategies will be integrated into a single Integrated Regional Strategy.

Part III: What is affordable housing? – Having set the national and regional policy context as regards planning and housing policy, the next section is  This covers the definition of affordable housing, the main providers, who is eligible and how it is allocated.  This includes the new push from government for local authorities to adopt a Choice Based Lettings approach to all tenures of affordable housing (social rented and intermediate).

Part IV: The New Place Shaping Agenda – Local Authorities have a key role to play as regards government’s new place shaping agenda.  At a local level their role is to prepare a strategic vision for their area with four key mechanisms, Local Strategic Partnership, Sustainable Communities Strategy, Local Area Agreement and Local Development Framework.

Part V: Enabling affordable housing at the local level – Local authorities have a key role of facilitating the delivery of affordable housing.  This chapter details policy in place to enable them to deliver the right amount of affordable housing, in the right place with required community consultation.

Part VI: Challenges to developing affordable housing in market towns – Over the past five years there have been three significant government inquiries into the current planning system, the rural economy and delivery of affordable housing in rural communities, the Barker Review of Housing Supply 2004, The Affordable Rural Housing Commission 2006 and the Taylor Review of the Rural Economy and Affordable Housing 2007.   This chapter details the main findings and recommendations in each of these inquiries and then, using the case studies and evidence from the inquiries, details barriers to developing affordable housing in market towns and opportunities to overcome these barriers.

Part VII: the Credit Crunch details the effect the current economic downturn is having on the affordable housing sector.  In many urban and rural areas, development work on schemes that were considered viable twelve months ago has stopped.  There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that developers are pulling out of schemes and off-loading land assets in an attempt to manage risk.

Part VIII: Party Politics and Affordable Housing attempts to summarise the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat policy commitments to providing housing, both market and affordable. This section has been taken from relevant pages on each Party’s website and the content is information in the public domain.

Part IX: Next Steps details Action for Market Towns recommendations to improve supply of affordable housing within market towns and future research required.  With a general election looming and England hopefully emerging from a recession, we are in a period of change.  We would welcome your experiences in developing affordable housing within your market towns; working with housing associations and private developers, sourcing  funding in addition to Homes and Communities agency grant and housing association finance that you have been able to access to develop affordable housing, arrangements for community participation in shaping the planned development, and examples of specialist accommodation provided within market towns that have serviced the town itself and the rural hinterland.

Part X Useful Websites lists the websites from which the majority of information has been gathered for this ‘Policy into Practice paper’.

Case Studies – Four case studies have been prepared to illustrate Affordable Housing in action at the town level:

The first case study, Whitehill Borden, East Hampshire which at one time was considered as a possible overspill area for London and is a Ministry of Defence training area saw large scale development in the 1970s and 1980s.  The town was recently awarded eco-town status.

The second case study, Coalville Housing Estate, Longton, North Staffordshire, is an ex-mining market town that became part of the City of Stoke on Trent.  The city is one of 9 housing market renewal pathfinder areas and the whole town is undergoing extensive regeneration.

The third case study Penrith, Eden District Council, is a large market town in Eden valley where the local authority successfully developed the town centre with a mixed tenure development.  They are also supporting young people to remain in the area with a Foyer development.

The fourth case study, Wells next the sea, North Norfolk District Council is a high demand housing market fuelled by tourism and the desire for second home ownership.  The sub regional partnership, involving an active community partnership, has been working to improve its evidence base to support the case for increased affordable housing provision and influence district council policy.

The fifth case study is Hitchin, a market town in North Hertfordshire; the town has seen  high demand for housing outstripping supply with the recession impacting on a partnership between the local authority, housing association and private developer to develop a site in the town centre with a mix of affordable and market housing.

Go to Part I: National Policy Context ]]> http://towns.org.uk/2010/06/29/housing_draft/feed/ 0 http://towns.org.uk/2010/03/17/market-towns-next-10-years-paper-from-2009/ http://towns.org.uk/2010/03/17/market-towns-next-10-years-paper-from-2009/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:55:52 +0000 Alison http://towns.org.uk/?p=3373 Read more >]]> Market Towns: The Next Ten Years (Updated)

Chris Wade, Chief Executive, Action for Market Towns

Download a printable version of the shorter summary document in Word (or scroll down to read).

Download the full document (members only).

Back in the autumn of 2007, whilst signs of the impending credit crunch, fuel price increases and climate change were evident to some, they were not issues that were in common parlance and the impacts had not begun to be widely felt. At that time, the analysis of issues facing small towns identified three broad sets of policy issues:

Looking Beyond the High Street
Whilst the health of the High Street was recognised as a very visible issue in small towns, it was equally understood that their economic and social well-being was dependent on wider issues such as employment, housing, education, health and transport. Similarly, whilst it was recognised that influences such as climate change and global economics would inevitably have an impact, it was understood that it was important for policy makers to be proactive in mitigating change.

Joined-up Settlements and Policies
By 2007, an understanding had emerged that strategies for regenerating individual small towns could not be developed without a better appreciation of how these towns both complement and compete with their neighbours. Equally, wider regeneration strategies and policies needed to take account of any ripple effects such as, for example, the inadvertent impacts of strong urban-focused economic development and housing strategies on smaller rural towns. One inference was that spatial theories and policy needed to be updated to provide a better understanding of different types of small towns and reflect increased mobility and a global economy.

Community Leadership and Capacity
There was a strong emphasis on the potential of a new localism expressed in modified forms of community leadership and action planning. It was considered important to capture the lessons learnt from a decade of community-led regeneration within market towns to help improve upon the existing good practice. Suggestions for increasing capacity and effectiveness included improved leadership skills, new models of local governance and techniques for achieving greater strategic influence.

The last two years have been dramatic in awakening people to the realities of what previously had seemed like scare mongering about future scenarios for small towns. First there were rapid fuel price rises that made everyone think about fuel dependency and highlighted opportunities and threats for rural livelihoods. This at a time when increasing evidence of impending climate change raised similar issues from a different perspective. Then came the global credit crunch and recession with immediate and visible impacts on the United Kingdom and small town High Streets in particular.

Ongoing Work and Responses to Changing Circumstances
AMT’s work over the last two years has continued to balance long-term research and strategic influence, with the ongoing transfer of knowledge and good practice between its members. The launch at its 2008 Convention of its £2million National Lottery-funded Towns Alive programme has provided extra resources to achieve this. In a sense, the impacts of the recession and threats of climate change demonstrate the validity of such a twin-track approach.

Knowledge Hub
As part of its work, AMT seeks to serve as a knowledge hub for transferring existing knowledge, informing policy and commissioning research. It seeks to do this through a network of Policy Advocates and a national Market Towns Policy Forum called ‘Small Towns for Tomorrow’ involving key agencies, businesses and academic institutions.

Work recently commissioned by AMT as part of this role, shows that there are 1,607 small towns or service centres in England alone. Although individually these towns might appear insignificant in national policy terms (over 80% have a population of less than 10,000), collectively they serve 11.1 million people or over one fifth of the population. Moreover, the work showed that these are some of the fastest growing settlements; with growth rates for small towns being well over twice as fast as larger towns and cities.

The figures in this work by John Shepherd emphasise a dichotomy for regional and national policy makers: How to develop strategies that respond to the individual characteristics and needs of small towns; whilst nurturing their collective potential to contribute to the wider economy and society.

Understanding Different Types of Towns
Usefully, John Shepherd’s work offers some help with this dichotomy by providing a typology of eight groups of small towns that share common social and economic characteristics. These different groupings can then be used in formulating responsive economic and social policy and comparing activity between similar towns. In this respect this work shares similarities with ongoing research by the University of Lincoln and AMT is now working with both institutions to develop a definitive approach to classifying small towns.

Developing Community Led Planning
Community Led Planning has been a widely-used technique for identifying local issues and responses within small towns but it is not delivering its wider potential. Over the last year, AMT has been working in partnership with NALC, ACRE, Carnegie UK and the Urban Forum to develop a coordinated approach to improving community-led planning techniques and widening its strategic influence. Research about to be published by AMT, supports calls for the approach to be developed so that it can provide policy-makers with usable data about the individual and collective needs of towns. AMT is managing an Empowerment Fund contract with CLG, to test how community-led planning can fit better with local authority strategic planning. Two of the first areas that AMT is seeking to test the wider application of community-led planning are in influencing rural service provision and reducing community carbon footprints.

Towns-4-Towns
Through its Towns-4-Towns good practice exchange, AMT seeks to help towns across the country to learn from each other’s experiences. This is achieved through the National Market Towns Awards; a knowledge transfer fund; a database of case studies, local network events and online forums.

Market Towns Academy
AMT is providing training and guidance on sustaining successful local regeneration initiatives through its newly launched Market Towns Academy. This provides an online diagnostic tool to help town partnerships and councils assess progress and an accredited development programme for face-to-face training and online tuition.

Prosperous Places Campaign
Prosperous Places is one of four key campaigns that AMT has been working on over the last two years. The other campaign areas where AMT is focusing its current work to improve the vitality and viability of small towns are community-led planning; rural services and housing. These campaigns draw together particular strands of AMT’s work around a key issue.

In a sense, market towns have been battling with their own ‘mini-recessions’ for a decade or more. The Prosperous Places campaign provides a focus for pulling together this existing experience; understanding the further impacts of a global recession and developing practical and policy responses.

Prosperous Places resources are accessible from the campaign section of the AMT website and include a special Policy in to Practice paper providing guidance on how towns can develop an economic development strategy and bringing together a range of tools, case studies and policy links. One of the key conclusions from this paper was about the important role that town-based action plans and economic strategies will have in informing county and unitary economic assessments from 2010.

Related policy work includes AMT’s position statement on retail and town centres which emphasises the importance of siting new supermarkets and retail parks close to existing High Street shops. AMT attended the Government’s Town Centre Summit with Ministers in April and has submitted detailed proposals that it is now discussing with officials at CLG. Through the network of Advocates, consultation is being conducted on the Government’s new Planning Policy Statement on Planning Prosperous Economies.

Through amt-i, Action for Market Towns’ research and consultancy division, small towns across the country can participate in a national benchmarking scheme to assess their economic vitality and compare year-on-year progress. amt-i also offers a series of town centre services aimed at providing additional support to help towns respond to the recession. amt-i can also draw-on AMT’s network of members to undertake strategic research on economic issues such as inward investment. amt-i is currently undertaking a detailed research programme in conjunction with CLES and the Commission for Rural Communities to assess the impacts of the recession on markets towns and identify transferable good practice in responding to it.

Resilience to the Recession
The ongoing research being conducted by AMT and CLES in to the resilience of market towns to the recession, reports the following findings based on the perceptions of AMT members:

• 61% said unemployment had increased
• 40% said business start-ups had decreased
• 59% said number of vacant business units had increased
• 60% were confident about their town’s future and 30% were unsure or did not respond

Initial conclusions drawn from analysis of the full survey include:

Future Support Requirements:

• Maintenance and increase in funding and support from RDAs and local authorities
• Greater cooperation and responsiveness from landlords
• Reduction in business rates
• Planning protection from out-of-town shopping centres
• Improved local infrastructure including transport links
• Devolving of power and resources including reforms to local governance

General Conclusions:

• Short-term, reactive nature of proposed responses
• Focus limited to town centre and retail
• Role of public economy and not understood
• Potential of third sector not recognized
• Urban-focused and area-wide economic strategies do not engage small towns

Despite the apparent optimism in-part indicated in this research, the findings also reveal some possible shortcomings in the level of capacity, understanding and resources at the town level. Coupled with a seeming lack of focus at the strategic level on the collective economic value of small towns or differentiation between types of towns, the future vitality of the economy seems dependent on local initiative and the inherent qualities of the town environment.

The case remains that whilst examples of successful initiatives exist that can bring together the necessary mix of factors to realize a town’s potential; it is doubtful whether most market towns possess the capacity and capability to proactively influence the wider agendas.

The economies of some market towns will undoubtedly thrive because of inherent strengths including location and transport links. The inevitable long-term decline of others may, however, have been masked by relatively high levels of public and private investment in recent years. Equally, some towns may be well-placed to benefit from the expansion of the green economy by virtue of their abundant natural resources, local enterprise and accessibility; others may find themselves constrained by rising energy costs. We need now a more sophisticated understanding of the potential of different types of small towns to contribute to the wider economy and the necessary local capacity to ensure this potential is realised.

• Action with Communities in Rural England
• Campaign to Protect Rural England
• Country Land and Business Association
• Local Government Association
• Royal Town Planning Institute
• Town and Country Planning Association

The group is chaired by Matthew Taylor MP and aims to develop a common vision for rural England, campaigning for reforms that will create a strong, confident and sustainable countryside.

The coalition’s prospectus ‘The future is rural too’ argues that “for 50 years or more, policy has undervalued rural England and failed to meet the needs of rural communities – and therefore of the nation.  In hindsight, the result is starkly apparent.  Rural communities have slowly but relentlessly become less and less sustainable and less and less self-sufficient.”

The Coalition has is currently drafting a more detailed report aimed at Government to present its shared policy agenda for rural communities, building on the recommendations in Matthew Taylor MP’s 2008 report to government.

Prompted by discussions with the Commission for Rural Communities, AMT has now been given an opportunity to influence the work of the Rural Coalition, including the chance to draft a possible market towns contribution to their report.  Following a meetnig with Matthew Taylor MP, AMT has contributed to the report and finalised its own overarching policy statement on Market Towns to add to the debate.

View AMT’s document, ‘A Market Town Renaissance: The Next Ten Years – Supporting self-reliance in communities’

Coordination of national community led planning development best practice advice

Aim – Work with ACRE, NALC, Carnegie, Urban Forum and other key partners to develop best practice advice on a coordinated and integrated national approach to Community Led Planning (CLP).

Achievements: The key partners with a role in CLP met to map out potential next steps in taking forward a joint approach to increase use of CLP in empowering communities.  The following roles were agreed where taking an agreed approach was considered useful:

- Advocacy role – including promotion of CLP at parish level and via Rural Community Councils; testing CLP in urban areas; good practice guidance; national-led advocacy to government, regional agencies, and local providers.

- Technical improvements – including review and refinement of Parish and Towns methodologies; compatibility of techniques across rural, market towns and urban areas.

- Support and sharing of good practice – including the need for a co-ordinated approach to presenting CLP to t he end user, including a shared bank of case studies and shared training resources.

AMT and ACRE have agreed a joint approach to promoting their respective CLP methodologies under a framework called LEAD, which illustrates a sequence of activities that community groups are expected to undertake when producing any Community Led Plan.  The four steps refer to generic stages involved in both the Parish Planning and Town Action Planning methodologies and the two organisations will promote this withing their documentation.

AMT has developed a best practice ‘Policy into Practice’ paper on CLP, which is aimed at community groups and towns/ parish councils.  The paper has been endorsed by ACRE and has undergone consultation with both AMT members and ACRE’s Rural Community Council Network.

Following the discussions among all key stakeholders (as noted above) a separate project (funded via the National Empowerment Partnership) has emerged.  This aims to explore how CLP might be developed for use in urban areas.  The work that has taken place undert he Empowerment Fund, for example the LEAD framework, will feed directly into this work.

2. Revised Market Town Healthcheck

Aim: Develop a revised Market Town Healthcheck which takes forward the work of the previous Healthcheck.   It will encourage users of the scheme to understand their town better, by undertaking surveys and observing activity in the town.

Acheivements: The new Town Action Planning (TAP) is intended to be an updated version of the former Market Towns Healthcheck.  There is greater emphasis on the simplification of the CLP process and on enabling greater and more accurate data at town level upon which to base plans.

The TAP takes account of the new LEAD framework, and having been piloted in a number of areas in the southeast, is to be launched before the end of the financial year.

There may be opportunity in Yr2 to discuss how it might be promoted as best practice guidance by CLG, or within the plan-making manual.

3. Alignment with the statutory planning process

Aim: Asses how top-down local authorities approach to planning can effectively meet community-led bottom-up approach.  Seek to benchmark different authority’s approaches against other areas of the country and facilitate an exchange of good practice and lessons learnt from the local authorities’ perspectives.  Building on an early study with Carnegie UK in Yorkshire, AMT would be equally interested in assessing how to maximise the towns’ strategic influence.

Achievements: AMT has been working with Northumberland County Council and Durham County Council to assist hem in the developmentof an effective framework for CLP.  The aim of the process is to enable local authorities to work in partnership with the voluntary and community sector, encouraging them to identify their priorities through CLP and, where appropriate, acknowledging and addressing those priorities through strategic planning processes.

Recommendations are likely to include technical considerations about the process including common data packs and structuring of reports to align with LAA themes, for example.  However the key issue that is emerging is need to understand the requirements of different local authority departments and to develop a receptive and empowering culture across an authority.

The work will continue into Yr2 and a dissemination event planned for May 2010 could raise awareness of the issues and finding and these might also be included in the proposed Small Towns for Tomorrow Think Tank symposium planned for July.

4. Towns-4-Towns

Aim- To build on AMT’s current Towns-4-Towns element of the Towns Alive Programme by seeking examples of good practice in environmental issues, as well as the planning for and delivery of affordable housing.

Achievements: Empowerment Fund budget has been used to commission four good practice case studies in environmental issues, with the aim of broadening the scope of the CLP process to ensure that it is better able to address environmental issues. These are:

• Settle Hydro – harnessing power at Settle Weir it is estimated that the community run project will generate about 165,000 kWh (units) of electricity a year – enough for around 50 average houses – saving 80 tonnes of carbon a year or 3,200 tonnes of carbon over its expected lifetime of 40 years;
• Leominster Anaerobic Digester – a project to provide the market town with its own community owned and operated power plant producing renewable energy;
• Chippenham Environmental Initiatives – the Chippenham and Villages Environmental group are implementing a project producing thermal images of houses to raise awareness of energy efficiency and provide assistance to householders in taking action to save energy; and
• Comrie- Sustainable development of Cultybraggan Army Camp – 90 acres of land brought into community ownership in September 2007 for developing ecological building construction methods, renewable energy sources for the village and local food production.

This work will directly benefit AMT’s members as it provides examples of work that has successfully been carried out and resources to assist in new projects. The work will be developed in Year 2 of the Empowerment Fund, with links being made with the Centre for Sustainable Energy to embed good environmental practice into the TAP CLP methodology.

Four case studies focussing on affordable housing in market towns have also been developed in line with the Policy into Practice Paper for Affordable Housing and these will be published shortly.

5. Policy into Practice Paper on Affordable Housing

Aim: Develop a Policy into Practice Paper on ‘affordable housing’.

Achievements: The paper has been drafted has been drafted and is currently in consultation with AMT members.  The document will inform the development of a Policy Position Paper for AMT and associated Campaign Plan.

6. Knowledge Hub

Aim: To develop the webpages, the market town advocates programme and the think tank – Small Towns for Tomorrow.

Achievements: The webpages continue to be added to.  A market town Advocates Programme has been established and 15 have been ‘recruited’ so far to input into internal AMT policy development and external consultations.  The Policy Forum, Small Towns for Tomorrow, has been established and three meetings have been held.  A formal link with the Rural Evidence Research Centre has been established which can act as the research capacity for the group.  The launch will take place in July as a policy symposium focussing on the future of small towns including raising their visibility in government policy.

Click here to find out what is planned for Year 2

AMT has identified these needs by consulting widely with partnerships across England via its regional networks and through initiating a review of community-led planning approaches with key partners including Carnegie UK, ACRE, NALC and the Urban Forum.

In particular, we will be using the funding to:

• Increase capacity and early involvement in the planning process through the development of streamlined advice for networks operating within local communities, which offers practical support in helping them to align community planning with the statutory planning process, underpinned by a standardised and quality-assured approach.

• Increase capacity through the transfer of good practice in environmental issues and the involvement in the delivery of affordable housing, with the sharing of knowledge and related skills between 100 town partnerships.

• Extend the reach of CLP by contributing to 10 pilot interventions in strategy/ policy documents published by strategic bodies or initiatives proposed in the Communities in control: real people, real power White Paper.

Click here to find out more about what we achieved through the Empowerment Fund in Year 1.

Click here to find out how you can get involved in Year 2 work.