Unifying cross-sector efforts is a critical part of unlocking future success for social and economic benefit
Regeneration is often conceived as the preserve of urban areas, with a strong focus on physical regeneration of city centres, docks and former hubs of heavy industry. However, it is just as important in rural areas, and needs to encompass physical, social, economic and environmental issues to be successful.
The Wisbech 2020 Vision in Cambridgeshire offers an insight into the challenges of rural regeneration. Wisbech has a rich history, becoming an active and wealthy port town following the draining of the fens in the 17th century. In recent times, however, parts are among the 10% most deprived wards in the country.
It was apparent from an early stage that unifying public, voluntary and private efforts would be critical in unlocking future success for the town. There are suggestions that in the past uncoordinated and sometimes conflicting efforts have diluted the impact of the resources rather than making the most of them, but early feedback from the 2020 project has pointed to the value of having a single focus.
The Wisbech economy is a largely rural one, with lower skilled agriculture and food production jobs forming a large part of the local business base. The county council invited the University of Cambridge to engage in the work, which aimsto help the community identify what the future economic role of their town may be.
Specific potential growth sectors, such as the emerging crop-science and agri-tech clusters, are being explored further. Wisbech is also located between Cambridge and Norwich, which are both home to world-leading scientific research in these sectors. The area boasts some of the best growing land in the world. As a result of Wisbech 2020 – the town has established new links to key stakeholders such as the National Institute of Agricultural Botany.
Given the constraints on public funding for critical infrastructure, Wisbech has been building the business case for investment. Key road improvements and better rail connectivity for the town would require significant levels of capital funding, which the 2020 Vision hopes to leverage based on economic and feasibility studies coupled with effective lobbying.
Cambridgeshire county council and other partners have been investing significantly in developing the Wisbech skills base, so that local employers can source the workers they need. The College of West Anglia is constructing a state-of-the-art technology centre funded largely by the county council and Fenland district council. Similarly, significant levels of public funding have gone into the Thomas Clarkson Academy, the local secondary school, which now boasts one of the best-equipped school campuses in the county.
Public funding for skills has also been used successfully in Wisbech to leverage significant private sector investment. A new horticulture skills centre is being established in Wisbech by private firm Delamore Ltd. This was made possible by unlocking funding from the Local Enterprise Partnership.
What has been clear from speaking to communities across Wisbech is the disproportionate impact that a small number of derelict buildings in prime locations has on damaging perceptions of Wisbech. It is clear that local authorities need to work quickly to address this issue, which is on the face of it a physical and aesthetic one, but is proving to have wider social and psychological impacts.
Regeneration of the town must also take account of social factors that impact on communities. Wisbech, which experiences high levels of immigration, needs to be a town where communities get on well together and support each other. The Wisbech 2020 Vision also contains a commitment for public sector agencies to work closer together to provide joined-up services for families and individuals that need them most.
Wisbech is a unique rural town, which is now developing a clear idea of where it wants to be in the future, and how it needs to get there. Perhaps most important to achieving this aim, and the biggest legacy of the 2020 Vision, will be how successfully all those in the wider Wisbech community can work together to focus effort, energy and passion behind a shared set of objectives.
Mark Lloyd is chief executive at Cambridgeshire county council
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