Coalfield Communities ODPM Committee 10 Nov 2003

Mr David Clelland, in the Chair

Chairman: Good afternoon. Welcome to this first session of the Committee on coalfields communities. Does anyone want to make any statement, or would you prefer to go straight into the questions?

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Q10 Chairman: Many years ago Durham County Council, for instance, had a policy of what they called "category D" villages - this is a long time back - and a category D village was basically a village which was doomed; it was not going to survive, because the coalfield had closed and the community could not survive on its own. Not that that has reversed, but some of those villages have only survived because they have become commuter villages. Do you see the future of most regenerated villages being on the basis of commuting rather than developing their own energy?

Professor Fothergill: I think, in fairness, this will vary from place to place. Different towns and different villages will find new roles in time. Some of them may indeed become commuter settlements for neighbouring big cities, but that cannot be the way forward for the whole lot. We are not talking about a small number of villages and a small number of people; three and a half million people live in the English coalfields alone - five million if we add in Scotland and Wales. They cannot all be commuting out to neighbouring settlements. It is going to vary. Some of the significant settlements undoubtedly can be developed as new employment centres, others through time will adapt to become commuter settlements for neighbouring towns or indeed cities. Sometimes we will find that things will settle down at a lower level of population and a lower level of economic activity than we started at 20 or 30 years ago maybe. But that does not mean to say that these places should be wiped off the face of the earth. There is a process of adaptation, which needs to be encouraged and nurtured, and that is going to vary from place to place.

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Q10 Chairman: Many years ago Durham County Council, for instance, had a policy of what they called "category D" villages - this is a long time back - and a category D village was basically a village which was doomed; it was not going to survive, because the coalfield had closed and the community could not survive on its own. Not that that has reversed, but some of those villages have only survived because they have become commuter villages. Do you see the future of most regenerated villages being on the basis of commuting rather than developing their own energy?

Professor Fothergill: I think, in fairness, this will vary from place to place. Different towns and different villages will find new roles in time. Some of them may indeed become commuter settlements for neighbouring big cities, but that cannot be the way forward for the whole lot. We are not talking about a small number of villages and a small number of people; three and a half million people live in the English coalfields alone - five million if we add in Scotland and Wales. They cannot all be commuting out to neighbouring settlements. It is going to vary. Some of the significant settlements undoubtedly can be developed as new employment centres, others through time will adapt to become commuter settlements for neighbouring towns or indeed cities. Sometimes we will find that things will settle down at a lower level of population and a lower level of economic activity than we started at 20 or 30 years ago maybe. But that does not mean to say that these places should be wiped off the face of the earth. There is a process of adaptation, which needs to be encouraged and nurtured, and that is going to vary from place to place.

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Chairman: Good afternoon. Thank you very much for coming along. Is there anything that either of you wish to say by way of introduction or would you like to move straight into questions?

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Chairman: Gentlemen, thank you very much for your evidence. We do apologise for the late start and keeping you a little later than scheduled, but we do appreciate you coming along.

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Q74 Chairman: Thank you for coming and I apologise for the problems we are having with divisions today. Perhaps, for the purpose of the record, you could introduce yourselves.

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Q75 Chairman: Does anyone want to make an initial statement before we go into questions?

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Chairman>: Gentlemen, thank you once again for coming. Our apologies for keeping you so late, but we do appreciate your evidence.

Full text of session at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmodpm/uc1169-i/uc116902.htm (as of November 2003)