Table 2.1: Social SWOT Analysis (Paragraph nos. relate to Section 1)
 relatively highly skilled general workforce augmented by skilled and innovative newcomers through inmigration |
124 |
problem of service delivery in remote rural areas |
139 |
| quality of life arising from high quality environment |
44 |
lack of employment opportunities outside declining primary industries/consumer services for those with transferable skills |
109 |
| diversity of rural communities |
97 |
seasonality of employment, especially tourism |
109 |
| culture, traditions and heritage |
73-78 |
below average earnings/higher living costs |
117 |
| family networks and stable communities |
131 |
reliance on benefit system |
110 |
| small firms networks in rural areas |
111 |
hidden deprivation and polarisation of communities |
117,134,138-139 |
| opportunities for leisure |
149 |
lack of affordable rural housing, exacerbated by second/holiday home ownership |
132 |
| equable climate |
6 |
rural communities unbalanced by influx of incomers can lose community spirit/cohesiveness |
135 |
| tranquility and rurality of region |
10 |
poor public transport infrastructure |
101-106,137 |
| |
|
lack of community voice for South West |
|
| |
|
lack of voice for youth in rural areas |
|
| |
|
rural vocational skills not being communicated |
130 |
| |
|
lack of skill flexibility/transferability in primary industry workforce |
130 |
| |
|
short term approach to Government initiatives |
|
| |
|
peripherality |
96 |
| |
|
| quality of environment |
44 |
decline of agriculture and traditional industries |
113 |
| coastal and market towns |
29 |
aged population |
98 |
| improve employment flexibility of workforce |
129 |
increasing turnover of population leads to destabilisation of community (e.g. second home ownership) |
92 |
| improve skills of resident rural workforce, particularly in ICT |
129 |
outward migration of younger people in search of job opportunities and affordable housing |
98,134, 162 |
| capitalising on skills of newcomers |
145 |
traffic congestion and pollution |
101 |
| capacity building to empower local communities |
126 |
unmanaged tourism |
|
| diversified employment opportunities and support for homegrown businesses |
93 |
breakdown of family networks |
93 |
| promoting the region, the environment and its products |
124-130 |
deepening social exclusion through lack of accessibility to rural services |
137 |
| Regional Planning Guidance findings |
245 |
increasing levels of rural stress |
139 |
| improve quality of tourist facilities |
267 |
|
|
| develop telecentres in rural areas |
142 |
|
|
| create more opportunities for leisure |
277 |
|
|
| Objective 1,2,3 Structural Funds and Community Initiatives |
|
|
|
| community planning |
146 |
|
|
| adaptability and loyalty of workforce |
124 |
|
|
| quality of education/training base |
123 |
|
|
Table 2.2: Economic SWOT Analysis (Paragraph nos. relate to Section1)
| low regional unemployment |
110 |
transport infrastructure inadequacies |
30 |
| good image for marketing purposes |
161 |
lack of local processing facilities |
240 |
| good climate - e.g. grazing season for pastoral farming, growing season for crop and tree growth and for outdoor pursuits relating to tourism |
6,9,200 |
poor co-operation in farming industry nationally |
232 |
| strong countryside tourism and recreation base |
267 |
seasonality of employment, particularly in the tourism sector |
109 |
| good environment/diverse landscape |
44 |
lack of alternative options for farming outside pastoral systems where climate/land quality are limitations |
21 |
| strong regional identity |
|
remoteness and inaccessibility |
93 |
| net exporter of livestock products |
234 |
ageing rural population and agricultural workforce |
99 |
| support for regional/speciality foods via Taste of the West |
243 |
problematic mobile ICT communications |
141 |
| good education/training base |
123 |
poor access to training and support services |
137 |
| good provision and use of IT infrastructure (e.g. digital exchanges) |
142 |
problems with supply chain efficiency |
241 |
| |
|
lack of private sector gap funding
underemployment |
166 |
| |
|
continued structural economic decline in far South West |
151 |
| |
|
| strengthen producer links to preferred suppliers in high volume markets |
232 |
increasing peripherality of remoter parts of South West from European centre |
93 |
| collaborative economic activity |
276 |
climate change, with wetter wilder winters and drier summers, resulting in loss of early cropping advantage |
9 |
| increase efficiency of core agricultural businesses and others in primary industry |
157 |
global nature of markets |
232 |
| innovative approaches to business structures and restructuring |
232 |
adverse changes to home/export markets for food/forestry commodities |
|
| new food products to exploit changing consumer demands |
232 |
unfair competition from low cost producers within and also outwith the region |
|
| green tourism/farm tourism |
274 |
changing consumer demands (e.g. declining red meat eating) |
235 |
| increasing organic food consumption |
180 |
World Trade Organisation negotiations |
|
| speciality/niche foods |
242 |
concentration of buyers in few multiples |
|
| new business opportunities in environmental products and services (e.g. environmental branding) |
232 |
environmental controls and regulations |
|
| improve public interface in agricultural marketing, including farmers' markets |
235 |
loss of skilled young people from rural areas |
162 |
| improve quality of tourism product and establish new markets |
277 |
limited farm diversification options beyond tourism |
191 |
| part time farming creates opportunities for alternative income streams, new forms of land tenure and retraining/reskilling of displaced primary industry workers |
166 |
market saturation in farmhouse accommodation sector in some areas |
278 |
| new methods of training |
127 |
|
|
| improve flexibility of funding and planning mechanisms |
|
|
|
| energy crops |
246 |
|
|
| improved management and creation of more woodland |
201 |
|
|
| support for new entrants, both young farmers and "incomers" |
162 |
|
|
| skills of incomers relocating for quality of life in region |
126 |
|
|
Table 2.3: Environmental SWOT Analysis (Paragraph nos. relate to Section 1)
| wealth of biodiversity |
69 |
easily damaged and vulnerable environment |
67 |
| variety and quality of the landscape and farmed and wooded countryside |
66 |
fragmentation of habitats |
67 |
| biogeography of climate, soil and vegetation associations underpins landscape/habitat/species diversity |
44 |
uncertain future viability of lowland pastoral livestock systems |
192 |
| archaeological heritage |
73 |
low returns for agriculture enterprises restrict funds for environmental land management |
48 |
| coastal and marine environment and inland waters |
66 |
biogeographic limitations in some areas restrict flexibility of farming systems to incorporate best environmental practices |
18 |
| cultural distinctiveness linked to rural land use |
|
lack of consistency in setting clear objectives for land use management |
|
| quality of environmental assets reflected by European and National Environmental Designations |
57 |
lack of appreciation of interconnectedness of the economy, farming/forestry practices and the environment |
|
| agricultural/forestry industry capable of delivering environmental returns |
70 |
influences of CAP |
51 |
| |
|
inadequate funding for environmental land management schemes in proportion with the region's environmental assets and compared with other biogeographically comparable regions |
|
| |
|
lack of targeted funds outside designations |
|
| |
|
| developing cohesiveness of environmental conservation measures in South West |
44 |
decline in landscape/habitat quality and loss of biodiversity |
67 |
| environment as a driver for economic development |
45 |
over exploitation of environmental assets (e.g. for tourism) |
55 |
| employment opportunities in environmental land management |
93 |
declining farm incomes and increasing costs of regulation |
191 |
| recreating habitat and landscape |
71 |
loss of skills in practices underpinning environmental land management |
47 |
| improved management of woodlands (particularly small and on farm) and appropriately sited expansion of woodland area |
158 |
declining rural infrastructure (e.g. small abattoirs), partly due to over regulation, threatens viability of environmentally friendly small scale farming |
237 |
| environmental land management which integrates farmland and woodland |
53 |
agricultural intensification leads to environmental damage e.g. soil erosion |
85 |
| conversion to organic production and developing organic systems/practices |
180-186 |
abandonment of marginal land (e.g. scrubbing) threatens habitat conservation |
48 |
| tap into academic knowledge |
123 |
inmigration of population brings pressures (e.g. provision of services) which may have a negative impact on the environment |
95 |
| learning from experience of existing integrated rural development models |
45 |
|
|
| countryside products which demonstrate link to environmentally sensitive land management |
283 |
|
|
| development of appropriate public access and recreation/leisure |
147 |
|
|
| environmental education |
130 |
|
|
| build on existing rural skills base |
130 |
|
|
| improve farmers' soil, air and water resource management |
85 |
|
|
| Objective 1, 2 and 3 Structural Funds designations |
41-42 |
|
|
