Living projects
As Cornwall strides on through the 21st Century, it could also be stepping back, in some senses, to its standing in the 18th.
A place of more self-contained, more self-sufficient towns and villages; a place of great renown for invention and ingenuity, although this time driven by next-generation technologies and knowledge, rather than steam and engineering. And with a wealth in part won by exploiting natural resources – but extracting energy from wind, wave, ground heat and sunshine, rather than copper and tin from the earth.
The Government has set the massive target of an 80 per cent reduction in national greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy and Climate Change warns that a shortfall in generating capacity may lead to power cuts in the future. If so, they are almost certain to hit Cornwall, here at the end of the line of electricity and gas distribution.
Cornwall, by an absolute mile, has a wider combination and a higher level of renewable energy capacity than anywhere else in the UK. All we have to do is exploit it.
Stephen Cirell, Director of Green Cornwall
But an answer to both these challenges also lies in Cornwall’s hands – or rather, its environment. Stephen Cirell, Director of the ‘Green Cornwall’ Programme, says: “Cornwall, by an absolute mile, has a wider combination and a higher level of renewable energy capacity than anywhere else in the UK. All we have to do is exploit it.” By employing a range of wind farms, solar installations, geothermal energy, biomass boilers and, potentially, wave and tidal energy, he believes Cornwall could be self-sufficient within two decades.
That will put further pressure on housing. Cornwall has the highest concentration of second homes in Britain (although many are owned by local people making a living from holiday lets), and the combination of low average wages and the pre-recession boom in property prices has created a major affordability gap for many local people.
However, Cornwall Council has won £150 million of national Public Finance Initiative funding and plans to build up to 1200 new affordable homes a year for the next three years.
Cornwall will also be leading the development of new sustainable building techniques with the creation of an ‘eco-town’ project to help regenerate the china clay area around St. Austell; one of just four in the UK. In February 2010 the Government granted £9 million to construct ‘carbon neutral eco-show houses’, as part of a programme that could eventually see up to 2000 new eco-homes built.
Alec Robertson, the Leader of Cornwall Council, believes the place is well set to tackle its future. “After years of talking ourselves down, we’re just starting to talk ourselves up again and driving our own agenda.
“We’ve got strong communities; we’ve a fantastic environment. These are our selling points – that, simply, this is a good place to live. We have to protect that. And we have to face our challenges in a Cornish way – one which suits us rather than a ‘one size fits all’ solution from somewhere else.”
Which is exactly what the Dott Programme looked for; bespoke answers to particular questions. Alan Livingston, the Chair of Dott and former rector of University College Falmouth, siad: “Cornwall has a unique and proud history. We all have to be bold and confident enough to do things differently.
“That must be based on a respect for place – you have to be careful that you don’t become casual with Cornwall’s beauty – and ensuring that people not only share in the information and take part in the debate, but believe they can make a difference to what happens as a result. This is about design as a very empowering thing; making sure that people want to be involved and take responsibility for change.”
Tim Hubbard, an award-winning phone-in show host and cultural commentator at BBC Radio Cornwall since its launch in 1983, believes Cornwall has become a fundamentally different place over the past two decades. “The county has altered from being very inward-looking, celebrating its past, to being outward-looking and inclusive. That seems a fairly radical shift – and I think one major reason for that is the arrival of quality design development from outside into Cornwall.”
He cites the opening of the Tate St.Ives in 1993 as a catalyst. “A lot of people had been incredibly sceptical about it, so it was the first time that it hit them that something can come from outside, and yet enhance what was already here.” The Tate was, of course, later followed by the Eden Project and the National Maritime Museum Cornwall. “One might have expected that these big developments landing from England would have diluted the character of the place, but actually they haven’t weakened the intrinsic quality of ‘Cornishness’. Instead, the Cornish culture generally has been made stronger and more confident.”
If you would like to find out more about how Dott addressed the issues discussed, visit the following projects: Living Well helped
