Economy & development

I’m not close to or very aware of actual measures taken already/routinely by Cornwall Council and other bodies to encourage investment & development of (sustainable) “industry” in Cornwall. BUT, there are three common threads from previous posts that just seem so pertinent for a more positive Cornish future.

Firstly, keeping tourism within sustainable bounds. Leaving aside Covid-19, Cornwall hardly needs to advertise it’s attractions: seems to me Cornwall already has a national and international reputation that attracts quite sufficient visitors.

Secondly, sustainable and valuable employment prospects for all, but for younger generations in particular. We live in a very different world to the days when mining, farming and fishing were the major employers. I have to ask whether our economic development planners and industry leaders are doing enough to attract and broaden a modern and sustainable commercial/ industrial base here.

Thirdly, housing! We all know, without me going on too much, there are cons and pros to second homers and holiday lettings. Needs some more very careful consideration to ensure those Cornish folk who aspire to own their 1^st Cornish home are not unduly prevented from achieving their aspiration.

So, to round off:

Tourism is great, but let’s have a very deep think about what “sustainable tourism” means. As someone mentioned, we Cornish folk live here 365/6 days of the year and there has to be a balance – Cornwall is not Disney Land. Do we, as many have mentioned, really need any more tourism developments?

Valuable all-year-round employment: traditional Cornish industries/skills do still need to be promoted (where still relevant) and there remains a wealth of skills embedded in the Cornish community to be exploited for economic development in the modern world. Someone mentioned maritime engineering and other such: yes. But there are all the new-fangled ways of making a living via the web with on-line services etc: if only those Cornish folk who have the nonce to do that could afford to live here !

And so to housing: well, I believe we all know that, as many have already said, local (young) folk need some sort of leg-up in competition with those who can afford a 2^nd home or a buy-to-rent property (not all of whom will be out-of-county owners). ALSO, we need to ensure that Cornish communities are not unduly affected by a propensity of seasonally-empty holiday-let/2nd-homer properties. There needs to be some more targeted by-laws (or whatever) that enable Cornwall to manage Cornwall for the primary benefit of those who chose/need to live here all year round, in other words, the proper Cornish community (whether born and bred or the less-blessed who have come to live amongst us and do actually contribute to the Cornish community/economy day-in day-out).