APPENDIX 1
Cowdenbeath Area Economic Profile Report
A report to Fife Council from GEN
July 2010
GEN
4th
floor, 137 Sauchiehall
Street
GLASGOW
G2 3EW
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 4
CONTEXT ................................................................................................................................. 4
GEOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................ 4
REPORT STRUCTURE ................................................................................................................ 5
2
ECONOMIC AND POLICY CONTEXT .............................................................................. 6
ECONOMIC CONTEXT ................................................................................................................ 6
POLICY CONTEXT ..................................................................................................................... 7
SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................. 10
3
BUSINESSES AND ENTERPRISE ................................................................................. 11
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES ....................................................................................................... 11
ASSETS AND OPPORTUNITIES.................................................................................................. 15
SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................. 18
4
PLACES AND ENVIRONMENT ...................................................................................... 20
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES ....................................................................................................... 20
ASSETS AND OPPORTUNITIES.................................................................................................. 23
SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................. 24
5
PEOPLE AND SKILLS .................................................................................................... 26
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES ....................................................................................................... 26
ASSETS AND OPPORTUNITIES.................................................................................................. 33
SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................. 34
6
SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... 35
CONTEXT ............................................................................................................................... 35
BUSINESSES AND ENTERPRISE ................................................................................................ 35
PLACES AND ENVIRONMENT ................................................................................................... 36
PEOPLE AND SKILLS ............................................................................................................... 36
CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................................... 37
Report completed / submitted by: David Eiser
Date: July 2010
1
Introduction
This report sets out an economic profile of the Cowdenbeath Area,
structured in line with the three themes of: business and enterprise; places and
environment; and people and skills.
1.1
Context
In its ‘Building Stronger Communities1 statement, Development Services
explains how it will narrow the gap between the most and the least deprived
communities in Fife. It highlights the need to improve skills, jobs and incomes, as
well as securing an excellent quality of physical environment.
1.2
This Economic Profile Report sets out the needs of the Cowdenbeath
area, examines what assets the Area can capitalise on, and identifies new
opportunities which will benefit the community. A separate Action Plan identifies
how the Cowdenbeath Area Committee and its partners will respond to these
challenges.
1.3
Geography
Throughout this report, the ‘Cowdenbeath Area’ is defined as the area
covered by the Cowdenbeath Area Committee. It consists of three wards, (wards
7, 8 and 9) shown on the map below (Figure 1.1). The Area includes the
settlements of Cowdenbeath, Kelty, Lochgelly, Cardenden, and Ballingry.
1.4
1Building
Stronger Fife Communities Statement, Fife Council (2009)
Figure 1.1: Map of the Cowdenbeath Area
Report Structure
1.5
The report is presented as follows:

Section 2 provides an overview of the wider economic policy context and
the local policy context;

Sections 3, 4 and 5 set-out the issues/ challenges and assets/ opportunities
that the Cowdenbeath Area has within each of the three themes of:
Business and enterprise; Place and environment; and People and skills

Section 6 concludes.
2
Economic and policy context
It is essential that the Regeneration Action Plan for the Cowdenbeath
Area is grounded within the existing economic and policy context. This section
sets out briefly the current economic context at Scottish level, and the key
Fife-wide economic development and community regeneration policy.
2.1
Economic context
The Scottish economy is beginning to emerge from the deepest
recession since the 1930s (Figure 2.1). This has had a major negative impact
on employment. Across Scotland, there were around 60,000 fewer jobs in
2009 compared to pre-recession levels of employment. The Scottish economy
is not expected to return to growth until 2011, and the jobs lost during the
recession are not forecast to have been replaced until post-2012 (Figure 2.2).
2.2
Future employment growth is anticipated to be driven by private sector
employment in high value sectors. The recent report by the UK Commission
for Employment and Skills, Towards Ambition 2020: Skills, Jobs and Growth
in Scotland highlights the critical importance of having more and better skilled
people to make this transition. At the same time, public sector employment is
likely to fall – the March 2010 budget set out proposals to make £20 billion of
savings in public expenditure through ‘efficiency savings’, scaling back spend
in some areas, and public sector pay constraints.
2.3
Figure 2.1: Scottish quarterly GVA growth, 2000 - 2009
Quarterly Scottish GVA growth
Source: Scottish Government
2
1.5
1
-1
-1.5
-2
-2.5
-3
2009 Q3
2009 Q2
2009 Q1
2008 Q4
2008 Q3
2008 Q2
2008 Q1
2007 Q4
2007 Q3
2007 Q2
2007 Q1
2006 Q4
2006 Q3
2006 Q2
2006 Q1
2005 Q4
2005 Q3
2005 Q2
2005 Q1
2004 Q4
2004 Q3
2004 Q2
2004 Q1
2003 Q4
2003 Q3
2003 Q2
2003 Q1
2002 Q4
2002 Q3
2002 Q2
2002 Q1
2001 Q4
2001 Q3
2001 Q2
2001 Q1
2000 Q4
-0.5
2000 Q3
0
2000 Q2
Percentage growth
0.5
Figure 2.2: Scottish net employment change scenarios
Forecast Scottish net jobs growth under three scenarios
High scenario
Central scenario
Low Scenario
Source: Fraser of Allander
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
2009
2010
2011
2012
-20,000
-40,000
-60,000
-80,000
-100,000
Policy context
Fife Council Plan
The Fife Council Plan 2007-11 sets out a Vision for Fife as ‘a truly great
place to live, work and visit’. This Vision is underpinned by 8 key priorities
(known as the ‘Big 8’). These are:
2.4

Improving educational attainment and achievement for all

Making Fife the leading green council in Scotland

Increase access to housing

Improving local conditions for economic development

Improving sport, leisure and cultural opportunities

Targeting support to vulnerable people

Improving community safety; and

Becoming a top performing council.
The Economic Strategy for Fife 2009 – 2020
The Economic Strategy for Fife 2009 – 2020 outlines a ‘new direction’
for the Fife economy that integrates sustainability, promotes inclusion and
generates strong and stable economic prosperity. It sets out an aspirational
vision for Fife in 2020. This vision is that Fife is:
2.5

The easiest place to do business – where a flexible business
infrastructure and responsive services for new and growing businesses
ensure that Fife is the location of choice for business investment from
any industry sector; and

A centre of excellence for renewable energy – where Fife’s strengths in
providing an excellent business environment for renewable energy
manufacturing, research and services have led to the region becoming a
leader in renewable energy.
In addition, the Vision sets out how Fife will become the first location of
choice where people and businesses choose to invest, work, learn, visit and
live. Fife will become more prosperous, more inclusive, adaptive to change,
and more environmentally conscious.
2.6
To achieve the Vision, the Economic Strategy sets out six strategic
objectives, shown in Table 2.1 below.
2.7
Table 2.1 Fife Economic Strategy Strategic Objectives
Fife Economic Strategy Strategic Objectives
1
Increase the number of employees in medium and large enterprises by
10% (6,000 jobs)
2
80% of working age population in employment
3
Attract private sector investment through Invest in Fife of £550m
4
Double the amount of business expenditure in R&D to £36m
5
Grow Fife’s tourism revenue by 20% (£51m)
6
Increase the number of people employed in green jobs by 2000 (i.e. to
grow the number of people employed by 2,000, not to grow the number
of people employed by the year 2,000)
To achieve these objectives, the Strategy identifies six ‘outcome
themes’ which are:
2.8

Supporting the growth of dynamic businesses – including enhancing
supply-chain procurement opportunities for Fife-based companies, and
attracting more inward investment.

Extending employment and skills opportunities – including the
restructuring of Opportunity Centres to become a flexible network of
seamless employability support services, improving the accessibility and
targeting of employability services in deprived areas of Fife, widening
opportunities for engaging those without work in activities that will move
them towards training and employment; capitalising on training and
employment opportunities afforded by major capital projects; and
expanding locally-based degree level provision in Fife.

Developing a modern business infrastructure – including the
remediation of key employment land sites in Fife to stimulate inward
investment and business expansion, stemming retail leakage outwith of
Fife, and supporting renewable energy infrastructure projects.

Improving our knowledge and research base – including the provision
of support to stimulate innovation and growth in SMEs, and establishing
a knowledge-transfer network between local companies and educational
institutions across Fife.

Growing business and employment in key sectors – including
promoting the tourism economy and supporting tourism businesses,
supporting renewable energy projects, and connecting niche sectors in
Fife to city-region activities.

Stronger communities through regeneration – including ensuring that
renewable energy developments enhance the regeneration of deprived
areas; supporting social enterprises as a key part of the local economy in
priority areas; tackling inequalities through investing in town centres,
developing business incubator units, and delivering the ‘Be your own
boss’ programme in priority areas.
Building Stronger Fife Communities Statement
The Building Stronger Fife Communities Statement sets out how
Development Services will narrow the gap between the most and least
deprived areas of Fife, by addressing the causes of poverty (not just the
symptoms). It focus on the ‘basic building blocks’ of society – skills, jobs and
incomes – and also considers how town centres are supported to become
‘vital and vibrant’ centres of their communities.
2.9
The Statement describes how Development Services can play its part
in improving local conditions for economic development by focusing on the
three themes of: people and skills, places and environment, and businesses
and communities:
2.10
Under people and skills, priorities are to support those furthest from the
labour market as well as those ‘job ready’; introduce employers to the benefits
of recruiting from priority groups; re-motivating low achieving 14-19 year olds
on work skills and qualifications; encouraging a movement up the skill-ladder
for those currently in entry level jobs; and valuing creativity to help deliver new
sustainable businesses and support the local economy.
2.11
For places and environment, priorities include: tackling dilapidated
properties; investing in town centre vibrancy and vitality; introducing quality
landscape areas; developing image and identify for each community; and
promoting sustainable lifestyles.
2.12
For business and enterprise, priorities include: providing accessible
business start-up support through ‘Be Your Own Boss’, providing business
incubation to encourage small business growth and entrepreneurship;
expanding social enterprise’s role as a key part of the economy and job
market; and supporting small town centre businesses.
2.13
Opportunities Fife Strategy
Opportunities Fife is the partnership responsible for driving forward the
employability and skills agenda in Fife. The Opportunities Fife Strategy 2009 –
12 outlines the partnership response to tackling unemployment and high
levels of dependency on ‘workless benefits’, and focuses on partnership
action to provide targeted support to connect people to learning, skills and
jobs.
2.14
The overarching target for Opportunities Fife is to see a return to prerecession employment levels, and achieve an 80% employment rate by 2020.
The Strategy identifies 10 priorities, which include: removing barriers to
employment; enhancing skills levels and providing access to flexible training;
maximising work opportunities through volunteering, social enterprise and
business start-up, narrowing the gap in economic activity rates between the
most and least deprived areas, and to promote sustainable employment and
progression in the workplace.
2.15
Summary
The economic climate during the past two years has been extremely
challenging, and the Scottish economy has contracted by 6% since 2008.
Although there are signs that Scotland’s economy is now poised to move out
of recession, it will probably not be until 2012 before the jobs lost during the
past two years have been completely replaced. The post-recession economy
will look quite different, with a much higher proportion of the workforce
employed in higher skilled occupations, and less reliance on the public sector
as a source of employment.
2.16
Fife’s economic and community development polices aim to respond to
this agenda, and set the broader context within which the Cowdenbeath Area
Action Plan must fit. Across these policies, the emphasis is on improving
employment prospects through strengthening and diversifying the economy
into key growth sectors (especially tourism and renewable energy), supporting
business growth through the provision of appropriate infrastructure and
support, addressing poverty and deprivation by improving skills and removing
the barriers to employment, and improving the quality of the natural and built
environment. These priorities are reflected in the actions identified for the
Cowdenbeath Area later in this document.
2.17
3
Businesses and Enterprise
Issues and challenges
Key sectors
Some 10,200 people are employed in the Cowdenbeath Area, with a
strong reliance on public sector employment - 48% compared to one third
nationally (Figure 3.1). This poses a significant risk given the likely reduction
in public sector budgets over coming years.
3.1
The Cowdenbeath Area economy is still making a slow transition to a
higher-value service economy, with only half as many people employed in
finance, business services and other services compared to Scotland as a
whole.
3.2
Figure 3.1: Employment by sector
Employment by sector
Scotland
Source: ABI
Fife
Cowdenbeath Area
Percentage workforce employed
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
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The bubble chart below (Figure 3.2) shows how recent change (20068) in sectoral employment in Cowdenbeath Area compares to the national
picture. Employment in public sector activities has grown much more strongly
in Cowdenbeath Area than nationally. Service sector employment in
Cowdenbeath Area has tended to decline, while increasing nationally. On the
positive side, manufacturing employment has declined slightly less slowly in
Cowdenbeath Area than across Scotland as a whole.
3.3
Figure 3.2: Sector employment, 2006-8
Key sector trends
Source: ABI
Banking, finance and
8% etc
insurance,
Employment growth in Scotland, 2006-8
6%
Construction
4%
Other services
2%
-40%
-20%
0%
Distribution,
0%hotels and
restaurants
-2%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Public
administration,education &
health
-4%
-6%
Manufacturing
-8%
-10%
Employment growth in Cowdenbeath Area 2006-8
Income
The lack of higher value employment opportunities is reflected in lower
average weekly wages, which range from £340-£360 in the Cowdenbeath
Area, significantly below the Fife average of £455 and the Scotland average of
£457 (Figure 3.3). Cowdenbeath Area has not been as successful as other
parts of Fife in diversifying into new growth sectors.
3.4
Figure 3.3: Gross weekly income
Average gross weekly income (2004)
Source: NOMIS
£500
£450
£455
£457
Fife
Scotland
£400
£350
£361
£341
£340
Lochgelly and
Cardenden
The Lochs
£300
£250
£200
Cowdenbeath
Key employers
There are few large private sector employers in the area (Purvis Group
and FFDR in Lochgelly, S M Bayne & Co in Lochore and Shell’s Mossmorran
site are amongst the largest). However, the area is well represented by social
enterprises, including Recycle Fife (employing 38 people), BRAG Enterprises
(employing 14), Furniture Plus (employing 16), and others including Transfife
and Living Solutions. These social enterprises now make a significant
contribution to the area in terms of employment, and also in terms of
contribution to social objectives. The area’s towns, particularly Cowdenbeath,
benefit from a relatively high proportion of independent businesses and
retailers, which contribute to a sense of business diversity.
3.5
Retail development
The Fife Retail Capacity Study 2009 identifies capacity for an additional
mid-size supermarket (5,000 sq m) in the area. The development of new retail
capacity is seen as important in stemming retail leakage from the area, in
other words in reducing the extent to which people travel outside of
Cowdenbeath Area (and Fife) for shopping and leisure purposes. A number of
potential sites have been identified for a new retail development (in
Cowdenbeath and Lochgelly), although no firm decisions have been made as
yet. The potential of new retail development poses both an opportunity and a
threat – the opportunities relate to the new employment opportunities arising
for local people, although the threat is that existing independent retailers may
find it harder to compete.
3.6
Employment land
The Fife Employment Land Audit 2008 identifies that the availability of
employment land in the Cowdenbeath Area is highly constrained. Since its
publication, the Council has responded by committing to service sites at
Cowdenbeath town and Lochgelly, and making some land acquisitions.
Furthermore, the Mid-Fife Local Plan identifies that two of Cowdenbeath’s key
industrial sites (the 11ha Thistle Industrial Estate and 3ha Woodend Business
Centre) are ageing and are in need of redevelopment. It is anticipated that
future housing development in the town will cross-subsidise refurbished and
improved business facilities, and this will be critical both to attract new
business investment, but also to retain existing employers.
3.7
Business premises
3.8 The Area’s employment premises are also constrained. Fife Council
manages a portfolio of 28 business units, all of which were occupied in 2009.
However, the Area is generally better provided for in terms of incubator
premises. A number of incubator units, small offices and business units are let
by BRAG Enterprises in Lochgelly and Crosshill.
In the medium term, the development of the Lochgelly Business Centre,
including 21 offices in the town centre will benefit greatly as a result of the
successful application of Fife HARCA (Housing Association Regeneration
Alliance), a subsidiary of Ore Valley Housing Association based in
Cardenden, to the Town Centre Regeneration Fund. A gap site in a prominent
location on Main Street will be brought back to life through the development of
a business centre that will support new business development and job
creation in the town. The building itself is cutting edge in terms of its energy
efficiency, the first of its type in Scotland.
Enterprise
Figures on business start-up are not available at small area level.
Analysis of business start-up rates shows that business start-up rates are
consistently lower in Fife than nationally (Figure 3.4). However, there is no
real difference in business survival rates between Fife and Scotland as a
whole (Figure 3.5).
3.8
Figure 3.4: Business start-up rates
Business Birth Rate
Source: ONS Business Demography 2008
60.0%
56.1%
52.3%
50.4%
50.0%
46.5%
47.1%
44.4%
44.0%
40.4%
40.0%
38.1%
37.7%
Fife
Scotland
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Figure 3.5: Business survival rates
3 Year Business Survival Rate
Source: ONS Business Demography 2008
100.0%
93.4%
93.3%
90.0%
77.4%
76.7%
80.0%
70.0%
64.0%
62.8%
60.0%
Fife
Scotland
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
1yr
2yr
3yr
Number of Years
Looking forward
The key growth sectors for Fife in coming years are anticipated to be
renewable energy, tourism, creative and technical industries, and
construction. Cowdenbeath Area has not yet capitalised significantly on the
growth of the tourism or ‘green’ economies, although it has scope to do so
through new tourism opportunities linked to the natural environment, and new
specialist business premises at Westfield (described below). There may be
scope to capitalise more effectively on opportunities elsewhere in Fife, by
linking Cowdenbeath Area businesses into supply chain opportunities at Fife
Energy Park, and by ensuring that the Area has a supply of high quality sites,
premises and skilled people.
3.9
Assets and opportunities
Promoting enterprise
The Be Your Own Boss (BYOB) programme has been operational in
deprived areas of Fife for several years, providing support to individuals who
are interested in self-employment (40 clients were assisted by BYOB in the
Cowdenbeath Area in 2008/9). In the Cowdenbeath Area, BYOB has been
running a popular Business Club in the Lochgelly Miners Institute for several
weeks, and there is appetite to roll this out in other community centres,
especially Cowdenbeath town, if appropriate premises can be identified.
BYOB is working closely with Ore Valley Housing Association to ensure that
sole traders are made aware of the new business units being developed.
3.10
In other parts of Fife, BYOB is also embedded in Jobcentres, and is now
exploring the possibility of establishing a presence within the Cowdenbeath
Jobcentre Plus office.
A wide range of other support exists to businesses in the area,
including business start-up advice from Business Gateway (69 new
businesses were assisted in the Cowdenbeath Area in 2008/9), the Fife
Council Supplier Development Programme (which supports businesses to
access public sector procurement opportunities, and which has 14 businesses
registered from the Cowdenbeath Area); and the Fife Council Market
Development Programme (to help companies enter new markets). The
challenge here is to continue to raise the profile of these opportunities to the
indigenous business base, and to maximise their uptake.
3.11
Developing a tourism niche
Lochore Meadows Country Park is a key asset (described further in the
section on Environment), and there is scope for the Park to make a more
significant contribution to the local economy. Currently, most visitors to the
Park are local, generating annual spend in the economy of around £3m. (In
contrast, the Fife Coastal path, which attracts the same number of visitors,
generates spend of around £22m). A key challenge is therefore to widen the
Park’s appeal and maximise the Park’s economic contribution to local
communities.
3.12
Other, related tourism developments are also underway. Proposals are
now well developed for the restoration of the St.Ninians opencast coal site to
the west of the M90 to be restored as dramatic and visually arresting public
parkland. The restoration will encompass landscape scale public art, 10km of
surfaced walkways, a water feature and interpretation. The concept, to be
known as the Fife Earth Project, has the potential to become a major tourism
destination for Fife (a recent economic impact assessment suggests that it
could attract 150,000 visitors per annum), but, as with Lochore Meadows, the
challenge will be to ensure that local communities experience an economic
impact as a result.
3.13
The proposals for St.Ninians are closely linked to the allocation of 9ha
of land immediately to the south, at Junction 4 of the M90, for tourism uses.
Planning consent has already been granted for a hotel and chalet
development, and several other proposals are being discussed. Other tourism
projects in the pipeline include the expansion of the network of trails and
facilities at Blairadam Forest, potentially to include a Sculpture Park, and
scope to expand the path network around Benarty Hill and towards Kinrossshire.
3.14
The challenge with tourism developments is to ensure that they
maximise their contribution to the local economy. To do this means ensuring
that more visitors are attracted to the area from elsewhere. There is potentially
scope to market all the attractions in a more co-ordinated way as part of this,
possibly around the shared theme of nature or adventure tourism. It also
means ensuring that visitors to new attractions are encouraged to visit and
spend money in the Area’s towns and businesses. This will require
appropriate signage and marketing to be developed.
3.15
It may also require supporting existing businesses, which often serve a
local clientele, to make the transition to providing for tourists and visitors from
elsewhere. Tourism has been identified as a key sector for Fife, and support
for the sector includes a newly established Tourism Business Network. The
network provides a forum for networking and information dissemination
among tourism businesses, helping businesses to raise their profile and
improve the quality of their offer.
3.16
In addition, six sub-area Tourist Associations are being developed
across Fife. The Cowdenbeath Area will be covered by the Kirkcaldy and MidFife Tourist Association which is currently being developed. The Associations
will play a critical role in deciding how the area is branded and marketed, and
then bidding for resources from the Fife Tourism Partnership to realise the
identified priorities. There is scope to raise awareness of tourism opportunities
among existing Cowdenbeath Area businesses, help them respond to the
demands of visitors, and to encourage them to become involved with existing
partnerships and networks (both the Tourism Business Network and the
Tourist Association).
3.17
Social enterprise: at the heart of business
Social enterprises in Cowdenbeath Area contribute significantly to
employment locally, as well as contributing to social well-being through
environmental and community projects. Fife Council has until recently
provided both strategic and operational support to the sector. The
Government has announced significant changes in how support will be
provided to the social enterprise sector from 2011, and this will see the
Council play a more strategic, and less operational, role in supporting the
sector. However, the Council and its partners have confirmed their continued
commitment to ensure that the Area’s social enterprises receive the support
they require to make a full contribution to the economy.
3.18
Capitalising on the renewable energy economy
The Fife Economic Strategy identifies renewable energy as a key
growth sector for Fife. In the Cowdenbeath Area, renewable energy has todate had less of a presence than in some other parts of Fife, but Ore Valley
Housing Association is pursuing two ambitious renewable energy schemes.
One of these is a community wind development at Dundonald near
Cardenden. This wind development will be part-owned by the community, with
profits being available to spend on local projects. The scheme is anticipated to
go for full planning application in the next 12 months. The other is a combined
heat and power scheme at Cardenden which will supply hot water to 1500
homes, and potentially, could also support commercial uses (e.g. agriculture
requiring hot water as a heat source).
3.19
Both these schemes provide an opportunity for the Cowdenbeath Area
to capitalise on wider policy goals to pursue renewable energy. They will
create employment and business supply opportunities both during
construction and their operation, and the Housing Association is already
working with local suppliers to ensure local benefit.
3.20
Developing a new green business cluster at Westfield
A significant longer term opportunity exists at the Westfield Green
Development site. The Westfield site itself occupies an area of some 390ha,
and has been subject to opencast mining since the 1950s. A 65ha part of the
site has been allocated as a Green Business Park. The masterplan for the site
envisages a small wind farm and biomass plant (for which planning
permission has been granted) which would sell energy to local businesses, as
well as business space for uses including recycling, waste treatment, and
renewable energy technologies. Realisation of these proposals could clearly
generate significant benefits for the local area. A number of major barriers
remain to be overcome including the considerable costs that will be involved
in land remediation, and the fact that the Council has no stake in the land
ownerships. This is a major opportunity for the area, but significant work will
be required to move it forward.
3.21
Summary
The Cowdenbeath Area economy is characterised by a reliance on the
public sector (which employs almost 50% of the workforce) and relatively lowskilled manufacturing and distribution sectors, as the main sources of
employment. The Area’s economy has been relatively slow to diversify into
higher value service sector. This has an impact on average wages, which are
£100 per week less in the Cowdenbeath Area than in the rest of Fife. On the
positive side, the Cowdenbeath Area has a strongly performing social
enterprise sector, and is witnessing the construction of new, high-quality
business incubator premises at Lochgelly.
3.22
The challenges for the Cowdenbeath Area economy are to diversify the
economy and in so doing to provide an additional 1,000 jobs for local
residents. The Area has a number of key opportunities which could contribute
towards this goal. In the short-term, the challenge is to stimulate local
entrepreneurship, by maximising take-up of enterprise and business support
activities available, and by continuing to support the Area’s social enterprise
sector.
3.23
In the medium and longer term, the Area has a number of significant
opportunities to build on. These include the potential to develop a cluster of
tourism activity, anchored on Lochore Meadows and the landscape
architecture project at St. Ninians, and incorporating improved facilities for
visitors throughout the Area – including an improved network of paths and
trails, and a wider accommodation and food and drink offer. Longer term, the
opportunity to develop a regionally significant green business park at
Westfield has the potential to create substantial jobs, and to help the
Cowdenbeath Area capitalise on the green energy economy, which is a
priority for Fife and Scotland.
3.24
4
Places and environment
Issues and challenges
The study area includes the towns of Cowdenbeath (population
12,000), and the former mining towns of Kelty (population 6,000), Lochgelly
(6,000), Ballingry and Lochore (6,000), and Cardenden and Dundonald
(5,000).
4.1
Town centres
The town centres are generally well perceived within the local area,
although, in keeping with the rest of the country, the recession has led to an
increase in the level of vacant and redundant shop-front premises in most
settlements. A key challenge will be how to work with landlords to either
market these premises, secure funding for redevelopment, or convert to
alternative (possibly temporary) uses.
4.2
Housing
In partnership with Housing Associations, the area has already
benefited from a range of new housing, including sheltered housing, and
refurbishment of the existing housing stock. There is a perception that there is
a shortage of housing in the Area and owner occupation in the area is 60%,
significantly below the Fife average of 69% (Figure 4.1). This reflects some
issues of housing affordability, and issues around the suitability of the housing
mix in some settlements. The strategic allocations to build 375 houses in Kelty
and Ballingry, and 1,700 in Lochgelly, will help to address these issues. The
Home Ownership Improvement Scheme, which allows people who are
struggling with mortgage payments to begin renting their property from a
Housing Association, has helped many residents to keep their homes during
the recession. However, there are fears that the shortage of homes,
particularly for young couples and families, is worsening, and could become
critical in the next few years as shortages feed through to increasing prices.
4.3
Figure 4.1: Housing tenure
Housing tenure
Owner Occupied
Other Social Landlord
Private Landlord
Council
Source: KnowFife/ Scottish Government Housing Statistics
120.0%
100.0%
18.4%
13.4%
6.0%
4.9%
9.5%
30.3%
Percentage
80.0%
3.3%
6.0%
60.0%
11.0%
40.0%
68.5%
59.9%
62.6%
20.0%
0.0%
Cowdenbeath Economic Area 2009
Fife 2009
Scotland 2008
Greenspace
The recent Fife Greenspace Audit (2009) shows that the Cowdenbeath
Area scores ‘reasonable’ on quantity and accessibility of its greenspace, but
‘poor’ in terms of the quality of greenspace, with many greenspace areas unfit
for purpose, and characterised by anti-social behaviour (Figure 4.2). The
forthcoming Fife Greenspace Strategy will set out how the Council intends to
‘create a strong network of life-enhancing greenspace’, but the priority within
the Cowdenbeath Area is clearly on enhancing quality rather than increasing
quantity.
4.4
Figure 4.2: Results of Fife Greenspace Audit
Natural environment
The Cowdenbeath Area benefits from a number of significant
environmental assets. The 486ha Lochore Meadows Country Park is a
significant asset for the area, attracting 536,000 visits in 2009. Reclaimed
from former mine works, and opened in 1976, the Country Park is already well
equipped for visitors, featuring a visitor centre, walking and biking trails,
boating facilities, café, play area and outdoor education centre.
4.5
The recently prepared Development Plan sets out further aspirations for the
Park, including improved catering facilities, a new visitor centre (feasibility
study underway), new mountain bike trails (recently completed), canoe slalom
facilities, camping facilities, and various biodiversity projects.
Other assets include Blairadam Forest and Benarty Hill, where a
growing network of paths is being developed in response to the Fife Core
Paths Plan. There are also a number of community woodlands including the
Leuchatsbeath Community Woodland which is now well established and will
be an important greenspace provision for the northern extension of housing in
Cowdenbeath. Scope to develop these assets for the benefit of local
communities and businesses was discussed in the preceding section.
4.6
Community venues
The area is generally well-served by community venues, some of which
are being renewed. A new community centre will be built in Benarty in
2011/12, bringing together three existing centres. Longer-term plans are also
being developed to develop a community centre in Kelty, which the
community is taking forward. The Lochgelly Centre is about to undergo a
major £2.4m programme of refurbishment. On reopening in late summer
2011, the building will house a new community library, as well as continuing to
act as a hub for community arts events and learning, including exhibitions,
performances and workshops.
4.7
Assets and opportunities
Improving town centre high streets
Several of the area’s town centres have benefited from significant
investment to improve shop fronts. Fife Council’s shopfront improvement
programme has been operational in Lochgelly, Cowdenbeath, and Kelty,
offering grants to businesses of up to £1,000 to improve shopfronts and
access to specific retail training. Take-up has been significant, with over
£36,000 of grants taken up in the past two years, making a real difference to
the appearance of the towns, and it may be possible to roll-out the programme
to other settlements, including Benarty and Cardenden. However, many of the
towns are affected by the poor appearance of redundant or vacant buildings,
and it is often difficult to have any influence over this, where these buildings
are in private ownership. Working with private landlords to market premises
and make premises available for appropriate uses will be a key challenge.
4.8
Other specific opportunities include the emerging plans to develop a
public square and area of public realm in central Cowdenbeath town (part
funded through previous developer contributions as part of another scheme),
and the Town House in Lochgelly, a listed building currently occupied by the
Council, but which will become vacant once the new Lochgelly Centre is
completed.
4.9
The Lochgelly Charette
Lochgelly has been allocated as a Strategic Land Allocation within the
Fife Structure Plan 2006-2026. A Strategic Design Framework sets out
aspirations for the town, which include 1,700 new homes (of which 5% will be
‘affordable’), 25ha of business land, community facilities, a new primary
school and health centre, improvements to Lochgelly rail station and improved
park and ride facilities. This significant opportunity, which has the potential to
double the size of Lochgelly, has culminated in the town’s selection as one of
only 11 projects selected to take part in the Scottish Sustainable Communities
Initiative (SSCI). The Lochgelly ‘Charette’ as it is known is a high-profile
initiative nationally, aiming to deliver well connected and pedestrian-friendly
settlements that represent ‘best practice’ in town centre regeneration. The key
challenges here are to ensure that local people and businesses benefit, both
during construction, and also as a result of new business activity.
4.10
Central Park Cowdenbeath: long-term regeneration potential
In the longer-term, Cowdenbeath FC would like to re-locate to a new
site within the area. To do this, the Club will need to realise the development
value of its existing land asset in Cowdenbeath town centre. The Local Plan
envisages a predominantly residential use for the town centre site once it has
become vacated, with some ancillary retail and/or commercial uses also
permitted. This could significantly contribute to the vibrancy and sustainability
of the town centre, although this is very much a long-term opportunity,
following the possible relocation of the Football Club.
4.11
Summary
The Cowdenbeath Area consists of a number of small and mediumsized towns – Cowdenbeath town, Lochgelly, Kelty, Ballingry, Lochore,
Cardenden and Dundonald. The towns are the lifeblood of the Area, and play
a key role in influencing the perception of the Area held by people elsewhere.
Recently the Area’s town centres have struggled during the recession, but
they benefit from a good range of community facilities. The Area’s housing
offer is broadly good but suffers from a lack of diversity, and a shortage of
provision for families and young people – and this influences the Area’s ability
to attract and retain young people to live.
4.12
Lochgelly has been selected to be part of a high-profile government
initiative to create a sustainable community. As a consequence, plans are
being made that will double the size of the town by 2025, and create new
schools, community facilities and business opportunities. This is a significant
opportunity for the Area as a whole. In other towns, the challenge will be to
ensure that town centres enhance their role as hubs for their local
communities, and improving the physical appearance of town centres will be
an important part of this. In Cowdenbeath town there is a specific opportunity
to develop the Central Park area following the relocation of the football club,
although there remain a number of uncertainties around the timescales and
practicalities of how this will happen.
4.13
The Cowdenbeath Area benefits from a good quality of natural
environment, with particular assets including Lochore Meadows, Blairadam
Forest and Benarty Hill. There is scope to enhance the quality of the visitor
experience at some of these assets, and also to further improve the quality of
local greenspace within each of the Cowdenbeath Area settlements.
4.14
5
People and Skills
Issues and challenges
Population
The population of Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly and the Lochs was 39,000
in 2008 (Figure 5.1). 61% of the population are of working age, which is
slightly below the equivalent figure for Fife (62% of population working age)
and Scotland (63%). In contrast, the Area has a slightly higher proportion of its
population who are children, young people or over 65 than the national
average. The area is experiencing some out-migration of its working age
population, and anecdotal evidence suggests that people have been leaving
the Area to take advantage of better employment opportunities elsewhere.
5.1
Figure 5.1: Population
Population (2008)
Source: KnowFife
16000
14000
12000
10000
Children
16-19
Pensionable Age
Working Age population
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
Cowdenbeath town
Lochgelly and Cardenden
The Lochs
Unemployment
The Area is still affected by the legacy of mine closures, with around
1,900 people, 7% of the working age population, claiming Jobseekers
Allowance (Figure 5.2). This JSA claimant rate is significantly higher than the
rate in Fife (4.8%) and Scotland (4.5%),and indicates both a lower skills profile
among the Area population, and a relative shortage of employment
opportunities.
5.2
The number of people out of work and claiming jobseekers allowance
in Cowdenbeath Area has almost doubled since the recession, up from 1,000
people in mid-2008 to January 2010.
5.3
This rate of increase in unemployment is slightly higher than the rest of Fife
(Figure 5.3), and this is indicative of the population’s slightly lower skills
profile, which is where the majority of jobs have been lost from. Relative to the
rest of Scotland however, Cowdenbeath Area has not seen such a large
increase in the claimant count since the recession.
Almost one third of the JSA claimants in Cowdenbeath Area are young
people aged 16-24, which is similar to the proportion in Scotland as a whole,
and emphasises the importance of providing adequate employment
opportunities to this group.
5.4
Figure 5.2: JSA claimant count
Fife
Scotland
Cowdenbeath Area
JSA Claimant count, Apr07 - Jan10
Source: NOMIS
8.0
1,877 claimants
7.0
6.0
5.0
1,135 claimants
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
-0
9
9
ec
D
09
ct
-0
O
Au
g-
Ap
r -0
9
Ju
n09
8
-0
b09
Fe
8
ec
D
08
ct
-0
O
Au
g-
Ap
r -0
8
Ju
n08
7
b08
-0
ec
Fe
7
D
ct
-0
O
07
Au
g-
Ap
r -0
7
Ju
n07
0.0
Figure 5.3: Claimant count since the recession
JSA Claimant count (July 2008 = 100)
Source: NOMIS
200
Fife
Scotland
Cowdenbeath Area
180
Index (July08 = 100)
160
140
120
100
-0
9
Ap
r -0
9
M
ay
-0
9
Ju
n09
Ju
l-0
9
Au
g09
Se
p09
O
ct
-0
9
N
ov
-0
9
D
ec
-0
9
Ja
n10
b09
M
ar
Fe
8
n09
Ja
8
-0
ec
-0
D
8
-0
ct
N
ov
08
O
08
Se
p-
Au
g-
Ju
l-0
8
80
Deprivation
As a result of lower than average employment and lower than average
incomes of those in work, levels of income deprivation are higher in
Cowdenbeath Area than in Fife as a whole or across Scotland (Figure 5.4). In
Cowdenbeath Town, 20% of the population are income deprived, rising to
24% in Lochgelly and Cardenden and 27% in the Lochs. This compares to
16% across Fife and 17% across Scotland. Furthermore, all Cowdenbeath
Area wards have experienced a more rapid increase in income deprivation
between 2004-9 than nationally.
5.5
Figure 5.4: Income deprivation
2004
2009
Proportion population income deprived, 2004 and 2009
Source: SIMD
30
Percentage population
25
20
15
10
5
0
Cowdenbeath
Lochgelly and
Cardenden
The Lochs
Fife
Scotland
Skills
The Cowdenbeath Area has a relatively low skills profile. In each of the
three Cowdenbeath Area wards, over 40% of the population have no
qualifications, compared to just over 30% in Fife and Scotland. In each of the
three Area wards, a lower proportion of the population has O Grade Plus than
nationally.
5.6
Figure 5.5: Skills profile
Population skills profile
Source: Census
80
10
The Lochs
Lochgelly and Cardenden
Cowdenbeath town
Scotland
20
Fife
30
The Lochs
40
Lochgelly and Cardenden
50
Cowdenbeath town
Percentage adult population
60
Scotland
Fife
70
0
Percentage adults with no qualifications
Percentage adults with O Grade Plus
School attainment
Figure 5.6 shows school attainment. At S4, the proportion of pupils
achieving level 3 or better in the Cowdenbeath Area is only slightly below the
Fife and national averages. However, the proportion of pupils achieving Level
5 or better is around 20% in each of the three Cowdenbeath Area wards,
significantly below the 30% in Fife and 34% across Scotland.
5.7
Figure 5.6: School attainment
School qualifications
Source: SQA/ KnowFife
Cowdenbeath
30
20
10
0
By end of S4 - % of the roll achieving 5+ awards at SCQF
level 3 or better- 2006
Scotland
Scotland
40
Fife
50
The Lochs
60
Lochgelly and Cardenden
Percentage of the roll
70
The Lochs
80
Lochgelly and Cardenden
Cowdenbeath
90
Fife
100
By end of S4 - % of the roll achieving 5+ awards at SCQF
level 5 or better- 2006
Health
A combination of higher than average unemployment and a lower than
average skills profile feeds through to higher rates of ill-health. Residents of
the Cowdenbeath Area are more likely to report being in ill health (Figure 5.7),
and experience slightly higher levels of alcohol misuse (Figure 5.8) than
across the rest of Fife. There is also a higher mortality rate in each of the
three wards than nationally (Figure 5.9).
5.8
Figure 5.7: Proportion of residents not in good health
Percentage residents not in good health
Source: census 2001
16
14
13.7
12.7
12
11.2
Percentage
10
10.2
9.5
8
6
4
2
0
Cowdenbeath town
Lochgelly and
Cardenden
The Lochs
Fife
Scotland
Figure 5.8: Alcohol misuse
Hospital admissions for alcohol misuse - rate per 10000 population- 2001 - 2004
Source: KnowFife
100
90
85.97
Rate per 10,000 population
80
70
60
72.46
72.27
61.89
50
48.52
40
30
20
10
0
Cowdenbeath
Lochgelly and
Cardenden
The Lochs
Fife
Scotland
Figure 5.9: Mortality
All cause mortality rate per 1000 population all ages- 2007
Source: KnowFife
12
11.7
11.5
11.5
11.3
11
Mortality rate
10.8
10.5
10.4
10
9.5
9
8.5
8
Cowdenbeath
Lochgelly and
Cardenden
The Lochs
Fife
Scotland
Crime
There is a feeling that the Area benefits from a strong community spirit
and good community engagement, and crime rates (vandalism) in
Cowdenbeath Area are on a par with the rest of Fife (Figure 5.10).
5.9
Figure 5.10: Vandalism
Vandalism rate per 10000 population- 2005 - 2006
Source: KnowFife
300
292.7
Vandalism cases per 10,000 population
290
286
280
274.1
270
260
250
252.9
240
230
Cowdenbeath town
Lochgelly and Cardenden
The Lochs
Fife
Looking forward
As the Scottish economy emerges from the recession and the
employment rate improves, the ambition of the Fife Economic Strategy to
return to and improve pre-recession levels of employment will look more
realistic. The emerging economy will be more reliant on skilled positions, and
it will be increasingly competitive for individuals who have been out of work for
some time, and young people in particular, to access many of the new
opportunities. Support to upskill and retrain will be essential to maintain the
competitive position of the workforce, and to help attract new employers to the
area.
5.10
Assets and opportunities
Upskilling and reskilling for employment
The Opportunities Fife Strategy is responsible for driving forward the
employability and skills agenda across Fife. Opportunities Fife provides
employability support to individuals, helping them to overcome barriers linked
to low motivation, lack of skills, childcare and transport. The focus is on
partnership action to provide targeted support to connect people to learning,
skills and jobs. The target for Opportunities Fife is to see a return to prerecession employment levels. Opportunities Fife aims to engage the hardest
to reach groups, provide intensive support to young people, enhance skills
levels, and provide access to flexible training. It aims to tackle worklessness
by raising awareness of opportunities through volunteering, social enterprise,
business start-up and other routes.
5.11
Data from 2008/9 shows that some 230 clients in the Cowdenbeath
Area access support, with 66 of these progressing into employment, and 39
progressing into training. Local people are engaged onto Opportunities Fife
programmes at Opportunity Centres, and through door-knocking initiatives
and other outreach. People can then be supported through a range of training
and skills programmes (including New Deal, Get Ready for Work,
Skillseekers), as well as holistic support provided by Development Workers.
5.12
The key issue is whether the Cowdenbeath Area communities are
making enough of these opportunities, and whether more can be done to
increase uptake. Training outreach is delivered from a number of centres
across the area. Adam Smith College for example delivers courses from a
range of locations including Bowhill Outreach Centre (Cardenden), BRAG
Enterprises (Lochgelly), Kelty Outreach Centre, and the Lochgelly Miners’
Institute. The Lochgelly Miners’ Institute, which was officially opened in early
2009 and was commended by RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors), now provides a range of training and learning opportunities,
delivered by Adam Smith College and the Fife Women’s Technology Centre,
and is being used by over 100 people per week.
5.13
However, there is also a sense that the Area would benefit from having
a higher outreach presence in some towns, particularly in Cowdenbeath town
which seems to have fewer venues available for engaging local people in
learning, training and employability activities. Brunton House in Cowdenbeath
no longer acts as an Opportunity Centre, and as yet, there are no plans to
identify a replacement Opportunity Centre in Cowdenbeath.
5.14
Summary
The Cowdenbeath Area population of 39,000 is characterised by a
lower skills profile than elsewhere in Fife. A higher proportion of adults have
no skills, and a lower proportion of adults have high level skills. This results in
higher levels of deprivation and poor health, and a higher rate of
worklessness, in the Cowdenbeath Area. The Jobseekers Allowance claimant
count has risen steadily since the recession and now stands at 1,900 people.
At 7% of the working age population, this claimant count rate is higher than in
Fife (4.8%) or nationally (4.5%).
5.15
The critical challenge is to continue efforts to upskill and reskill across
all ages. Maximising uptake of existing opportunities, through awarenessraising and community outreach, will be critical.
5.16
6
Summary
Context
The economic climate during the past two years has been extremely
challenging, and the Scottish economy has contracted by 6% since 2008.
Although there are signs that Scotland’s economy is now poised to move out
of recession, it will probably not be until 2012 before the jobs lost during the
past two years have been completely replaced. The post-recession economy
will look quite different, with a much higher proportion of the workforce
employed in higher skilled occupations, and less reliance on the public sector
as a source of employment.
6.1
Businesses and enterprise
The Cowdenbeath Area economy is characterised by a reliance on the
public sector (which employs almost 50% of the workforce) and relatively lowskilled manufacturing and distribution sectors, as the main sources of
employment. The Area’s economy has been relatively slow to diversify into
higher value service sector. This has an impact on average wages, which are
£100 per week less in the Cowdenbeath Area than in the rest of Fife. On the
positive side, the Cowdenbeath Area has a strongly performing social
enterprise sector, and is witnessing the construction of new, high-quality
business incubator premises at Lochgelly.
6.2
The challenges for the Cowdenbeath Area economy are to diversify the
economy and in so doing to provide an additional 1,000 jobs for local
residents. The Area has a number of key opportunities which could contribute
towards this goal. In the short-term, the challenge is to stimulate local
entrepreneurship, by maximising take-up of enterprise and business support
activities available, and by continuing to support the Area’s social enterprise
sector.
6.3
In the medium and longer term, the Area has a number of significant
opportunities to build on. These include the potential to develop a cluster of
tourism activity, anchored on Lochore Meadows and the landscape
architecture project at St. Ninians, and incorporating improved facilities for
visitors throughout the Area – including an improved network of paths and
trails, and a wider accommodation and food and drink offer. Longer term, the
opportunity to develop a regionally significant green business park at
Westfield has the potential to create substantial jobs, and to help the
Cowdenbeath Area capitalise on the green energy economy, which is a
priority for Fife and Scotland.
6.4
Places and Environment
The Cowdenbeath Area consists of a number of small and mediumsized towns – Cowdenbeath town, Lochgelly, Kelty, Ballingry, Lochore,
Cardenden and Dundonald. The towns are the lifeblood of the Area, and play
a key role in influencing the perception of the Area held by people elsewhere.
Recently the Area’s town centres have struggled during the recession, but
they benefit from a good range of community facilities. The Area’s housing
offer is broadly good but suffers from a lack of diversity, and a shortage of
provision for families and young people – and this influences the Area’s ability
to attract and retain young people to live.
6.5
Lochgelly has been selected to be part of a high-profile government
initiative to create a sustainable community. As a consequence, plans are
being made that will double the size of the town by 2025, and create new
schools, community facilities and business opportunities. This is a significant
opportunity for the Area as a whole. In other towns, the challenge will be to
ensure that town centres enhance their role as hubs for their local
communities, and improving the physical appearance of town centres will be
an important part of this. In Cowdenbeath town there is a specific opportunity
to develop the Central Park area following the relocation of the football club,
although there remain a number of uncertainties around the timescales and
practicalities of how this will happen.
6.6
The Cowdenbeath Area benefits from a good quality of natural
environment, with particular assets including Lochore Meadows, Blairadam
Forest and Benarty Hill. There is scope to enhance the quality of the visitor
experience at some of these assets, and also to further improve the quality of
local greenspace within each of the Cowdenbeath Area settlements.
6.7
People and skills
The Cowdenbeath Area population of 39,000 is characterised by a
lower skills profile than elsewhere in Fife. A higher proportion of adults have
no skills, and a lower proportion of adults have high level skills. This results in
higher levels of deprivation and poor health, and a higher rate of
worklessness, in the Cowdenbeath Area. The Jobseekers Allowance claimant
count has risen steadily since the recession and now stands at 1,900 people.
At 7% of the working age population, this claimant count rate is higher than in
Fife (4.8%) or nationally (4.5%).
6.8
The critical challenge is to continue efforts to upskill and reskill across
all ages. Maximising uptake of existing opportunities, through awarenessraising and community outreach, will be critical.
6.9
Conclusions
The past 2-3 years have been a difficult time for all local economies.
However, the Cowdenbeath Area has suffered disproportionately because of
a lack of economic diversity, and a continued reliance on sectors of the
economy which are in decline.
6.10
Looking forward however, the Area has some significant opportunities.
These include the potential to diversify to take advantage of the green
economy, and to capitalise on existing opportunities to stimulate the visitor
economy. Ongoing activity to develop Lochgelly into a sustainable community
will help to raise the profile and image of the Area and provide job
opportunities locally.
6.11
If these opportunities are combined with ongoing efforts to improve
skills, enhance the local housing offer, and stimulate entrepreneurship and
aspirations amongst the local population, then the future for the Cowdenbeath
Area could be very positive. However, none of these opportunities will be
realised on their own, and there is a critical need for targeted and proactive
intervention to ensure that they are realised.
6.12