•9th Century
Fishing hamlet
•18th Century
Main industries quarrying, fishing and smuggling.
Transport links poor so most by sea to pier (opened 1859)
•Victorian era
John Mowlem and George Burt secured a more
prosperous future for the town.
•May 1885
Steam Railway opened
•1896
Second pier for pleasure steamers opened
•1890s
More popular with “seaside trippers” so accommodation
increased
•1926
Car ferry opened
•50s – 70s
Tourism on increase as a result of more families taking
holidays by the sea
•70s-90s
Decline due to package holidays and 90s recession
•Present
Visitor numbers on the increase
• Dorset’s predominant industry is tourism, and the coast is the most important
tourism asset
•The Dorset coast attracts 16.5 million visitors a year (1 million from overseas)
• Dorset’s natural attractions are very important to tourism but the county also has
120 built visitor attractions covering a range of interests.
•30% of visitors to Dorset are families and 51% are adult couples.
•The Purbeck Heritage Committee was established in 1990s to make sure tourism,
conservation and heritage were co-ordinated in a way that was best for the area.
Steam Railway
Cafes
Country Park
Hospital
Lighthouse
Schools
Beach
Banks
Lifeboat
Post Office
Amusements
Hotels
Shops
Public Houses
Festivals
Bus
Sea
Cinema
Pier
Toilets
Population:
Swanage has a population of just over 10,000 and has experienced steady population growth
over recent decades.
The distribution of male and female inhabitants in Swanage’s population is roughly 47% male
and 53% female.
The age group with the highest proportion of people is the 60-84 age group (29%),
Economy:
47.7% of Swanage’s economically active inhabitants are in fulltime employment, 22.5% are in
part-time employment, and 3.9% are unemployed. A further 22.7% are self-employed, and
3.1% are full-time students that are in employment.
The industry that employs the largest percentage of people in Swanage is the wholesale and
retail trade, which employs 15.25 of the working population; followed by to hotels and catering
which employs 12.4%.
Property:
There are 5,300 dwellings in Swanage of which 83.7% have permanent residents. 3.9% are
vacant, and 12.3% are second homes or holiday homes;
The average price of a house in Swanage in 2005 was £220,000
House prices in Swanage have risen by 118% since 1999
MONEY: Tourism in all of Dorset generates £800 million a year.
1988 survey showed income from tourists in Swanage was £12.5 million.
JOBS:
In Dorset 37,000 people are employed directly and indirectly in tourism
sector, 65% of these in coastal areas.
OTHER: Development of facilities essentially for tourists can be of benefit for locals.
CONGESTION: 85% of Swanage visitors come in a car, 60% stay in Swanage, 40% explore
the area.
CAR PARKING: Restrictions on on-street parking, high cost of car parks.
OVERCROWDING: Resentment from locals
WEAR & TEAR: unintentional damage e.g. footpath erosion
INAPPROPRIATE DEVELOPMENT: New attractions may be out of keeping with setting.
POLLUTION: 35% of litter on county’s beaches is from tourists
ENVIRONMENT: Wildlife disturbance, landscape damage.
•HOLIDAYS ABROAD
•SECOND HOLIDAYS
•DAY TRIPS
•SEASONALITY
•GLOBAL WARMING
•HEALTH
•SHIFT IN ACCOMODATION TYPE
•Lengthen holiday season
•Improve accommodation standards
•Develop inland attractions
•Provide more information
•Enhancement of environment and historic character
•Improvement of all weather facilities
•Provision of adequate facilities for traffic movement and car parking
•Widen image to attract specialist groups and not just “seaside” families
Evaluation of the 2007 Swanage Community
Action Plan –balancing the needs of the
tourist industry with the needs of the local
community.
It focused on the long-term concerns and challenges that affect
local culture, economy, environment, and social issues now and in
the future.
The plan aims to address social,
economic and environmental
issues to improve the social
structure of our communities,
strengthen the local economy and
enhance the environment. In doing
so it should improve the quality of
life and better meet the needs of
the people of Purbeck, whilst
maintaining the Districts
environment for future
generations.
The objective of the Swanage
Community Strategic Plan is simply
to help provide long-term
improvement in the quality of life of
everyone living and visiting Swanage
and the surrounding rural areas.
To create a “sustainable community”, a place where people want to live and
work, now and in the future. To meet the diverse needs of existing and future
residents, to be sensitive to the environment and contribute to a high quality of
life. To create a community that is safe and inclusive, well planned, built and
run, and offers equality of opportunity and good services to all.
Key Priorities:
The plan aims to focus resources on three key actions under each one of the
five priority themes.
1. Crime Reduction
2. Affordable Housing
4. Healthy Lifestyle
5. Young People
3. Transport
CULTURE
“An environment where everyone has the opportunity to take part in a varied
range of cultural, leisure and educational activities.”
ECONOMY
“An environment for encouraging a diverse, thriving and prosperous local
economy”
ENVIRONMENT
“A healthy and safe environment; maintaining and enhancing the character of
the area”
SOCIAL
“A welcoming town to visit with a strong community spirit; offering everyone a
safe, friendly and affordable place to live and work”
TRANSECT – mapping of the town, industrial and housing location
POINT SAMPLING - Pedestrian flow / traffic flow at points along the
transect. This is a timed count.
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY SURVEY - Bi-polar survey using typical
environmental quality measures.
QUESTIONNAIRE
ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL INDICATORS
SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION