Regional Self-reliance and Economic Development: The Pembrokeshire Case

Abstract

This paper describes the outcome of an investigation to identify the scope for innovation and improvement of local economic interdependence in Pembrokeshire through greater self-reliance. It outlines a strategic framework identifying collaboration between various economic stakeholders supported by institutional actors, and provides an assessment of the potential impact of increased self-reliance on the growth and development of the Pembrokeshire economy. The paper concludes with more generalised observations regarding the lessons to be learned for self-reliance strategies in peripheral regions.

Notes

¹ See Midmore et al. (2005). We are grateful to PLANED for funding the study, and acknowledge the support and guidance of its staff, as well as the contributions of a wide range of individuals and organisations, during our investigations. We also wish to thank Rhian Eleri Jones and Ceris Berry for their research assistance. The opinions expressed in this paper and the accuracy of information contained are the sole responsibility of the authors.

² For details on the economic base multiplier method and its implications, see Hughes (1997).

³ For a detailed socio-economic profile of Pembrokeshire see WDA (2003) and Pembrokeshire County Council (2003).

⁴ This is in itself indicative of the problems of the area, with data only available for South West Wales, which also includes the adjoining authorities of Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion.

⁵ PLANED succeeded SPARC (The South Pembrokeshire Partnership for Action with Rural Communities) that had originally been established as an experimental initiative under the original EU LEADER programme. The EU LEADER+ programme follows on from LEADER I and LEADER II in its role as a laboratory that aims to encourage the emergence and testing of new approaches to integrated and sustainable development that will influence, complete and/or reinforce rural development policy in the community.

⁶ See Midmore & Thomas (2006) for a detailed account of our investigation. The selection for interview was made in consultation with members of PLANED staff, who also provided some assistance with recruitment. Interviews were mostly conducted in the summer of 2003, and completed during 2004 and early 2005. After piloting, the interview guide consisted of five groups of questions. The first group related to the overall interaction of the interviewee's organisation with the local Pembrokeshire economy, in terms of both significant contributions currently being made and the benefits that accrue. The second group probed supply requirements that are sourced locally, the potential for their increase or extensions, and constraints that prevent use of local suppliers. The third group was specifically concerned with renewable energy issues, including scope for adopting such technologies and the support that is currently available. The fourth group was equally specific and concerned waste recycling. The fifth group was concerned with giving interviewees scope to raise other issues relevant to improving economic self-reliance in Pembrokeshire, and also allowed for further interaction after the interview had formally ended.

⁷ Between 2000 and 2002 only one inward investment project (out of 168 in Wales as a whole) was located in Pembrokeshire involving 25 planned new jobs. According to Ernst and Young's (2003) European Investment Monitoring report, inward investment fell by 12 per cent across Europe in 2002 with the UK experiencing a slippage of 34 per cent.

⁸ The focus of the South West Wales Tourism Partnership's (2004) strategy is on generating new business outside the main summer season and to attract higher spending and higher value markets.

⁹ One such possibility involves the substantial but highly contentious Bluestone project, promoted as featuring aspects that are designed to fit closely with the sustainable tourism mould; depending heavily on biomass energy, as well as making commitments to other emblematic features of sustainability, such as local sourcing of organic food, and development of new wildlife habitats. With public opinion divided, and a concerned National Park Authority, the project's progress through the planning stages has suffered delays and protests.

¹⁰ The Future Skills Wales (1999) summary for south west Wales reported that employers blamed skill shortages for just over a half of their hard-to-fill vacancies. Eighteen per cent of employers identified a gap between workers’ skills and their organisation's skill needs, with 22 per cent of firms with 25 employees or more reporting skills gaps compared with 15 per cent for the UK as a whole. See also ELWa (2004).

¹¹ For recent studies of the various implications of inward investment for local ‘host’ economies see, for example, Girma et al. (2001), Phelps & Tewdwr-Jones (2001), Driffield & Hughes (2003), and Phelps et al. (2003).

¹² Since our study, WAG announced a shake up of its public sector business support strategy, which involves the disappearance of the WDA and WTB as distinct entities, to be merged and subsumed within the WAG's new Enterprise, Innovation and Networks Department. WAG's rationale for this change was based on the view that business support in Wales had become too confusing and programme-led and required a more customer-focused approach, with the emphasis on reacting to the needs of individual businesses. See WAG's (2005) consultation document for the latest presentation of its strategic framework for economic development.