Rural Enterprise Exmoor Research Report
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Rural Enterprise Exmoor The Rural Enterprise Exmoor initiative has been set up by Exmoor National Park Authority, in conjunction with relevant partners. It aims to build a better understanding of the rural economy of Exmoor, in order to support sustainable economic development in harmony with Exmoor’s designation as a National Park. Tel: 01398 323665 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @RuralEntExmoor Facebook: www.facebook.com/RuralEntExmoor More information: www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/living-and-working/business-and-economy/rural-enterprise- exmoor Wavehill: social and economic research Report authors: Declan Turner Oliver Allies Eddie Knight Sarah Usher Tel: 01545 571711 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @wavehilltweets More information: www.wavehill.com Rural Enterprise Exmoor Research Report Acknowledgements The Rural Enterprise Exmoor Steering Group and Exmoor National Park Authority would like to thank all those who contributed to this work. This report has been compiled by Wavehill – an independent economic and social research company. Special thanks are extended to the many individuals from the Exmoor business community who gave their time to assist in this research, especially those that participated in the survey, workshops and focus groups. The research was funded with contributions from Exmoor National Park Authority, the West Somerset Opportunity Area, the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership, Somerset West and Taunton Council and North Devon Council. Rural Enterprise Exmoor Steering Group Dan James (Sustainable Economy Manager, Exmoor National Park Authority) Dean Kinsella (Head of Planning and Sustainable Development, Exmoor National Park Authority) Ruth McArthur (Policy and Community Manager, Exmoor National Park Authority) Dominie Dunbrook (Senior Economic Development Officer, North Devon Council) Dr. James Gilgrist (Senior Economist – Economic Policy, Somerset County Council) Mark Wathen (Lead Specialist Prosperity and Economic Development, Somerset West and Taunton Council). i Rural Enterprise Exmoor Research Report Contents Contents ..................................................................................................................................... ii Table of figures ..................................................................................................................... iii Executive summary .................................................................................................................... v The Research .......................................................................................................................... v The Exmoor Economy ........................................................................................................... vi Key Findings ......................................................................................................................... vii SWOT Analysis....................................................................................................................... ix 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 2 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 2 2.1 Focus Groups ............................................................................................................... 3 3 Audit Results ...................................................................................................................... 4 4 Workshop Results .............................................................................................................. 5 5 The Exmoor Economy ........................................................................................................ 6 6 Survey Results .................................................................................................................. 13 6.1 Firmographics ............................................................................................................ 13 6.2 Business type ............................................................................................................. 20 6.3 Business premises ..................................................................................................... 21 6.4 Distance travelled to work ........................................................................................ 23 6.5 Recruitment & Skills .................................................................................................. 25 6.6 Customers ................................................................................................................. 28 6.7 Suppliers .................................................................................................................... 30 6.8 Business Support ....................................................................................................... 30 6.9 Challenges of operating from Exmoor National Park ............................................... 34 6.10 Benefits of operating from Exmoor National Park ................................................ 40 6.11 Future expectations ............................................................................................... 47 7 Conclusions ...................................................................................................................... 48 Appendix 1 ............................................................................................................................... 51 ii Rural Enterprise Exmoor Research Report Table of figures Figure 3.1: Map of Exmoor businesses by size .......................................................................... 4 Figure 5.1: The Exmoor Economy by Business Count ................................................................ 6 Figure 5.2: Estimated Employment in Exmoor by Sector .......................................................... 7 Figure 5.3: Employment by Sector in Exmoor compared to Devon and Somerset ................... 8 Figure 5.4: Estimated GVA in Exmoor by Sector ...................................................................... 10 Figure 5.5: GVA by Sector Exmoor compared to Devon and Somerset .................................. 11 Figure 6.1: Sector of respondent businesses by Broad Industrial Category (BIG) ................... 14 Figure 6.2: Sector of respondent businesses by 2 Digit SIC ..................................................... 15 Figure 6.3: Sector of respondent businesses by Broad Industrial Group and employment size .................................................................................................................................................. 16 Figure 6.4: Proportion of Employment by Sector .................................................................... 17 Figure 6.5: Size of respondent businesses ............................................................................... 18 Figure 6.6: Average turnover among Exmoor businesses ....................................................... 18 Figure 6.7: What proportion of agricultural business’s turnover comes from diversification? .................................................................................................................................................. 19 Figure 6.8: What type of businesses exist on Exmoor? ........................................................... 20 Figure 6.9: Business premises in Exmoor National Park .......................................................... 21 Figure 6.10: Home based business premises in Exmoor National Park .................................. 21 Figure 6.11: What restrictions in premises do Exmoor businesses face? ............................... 22 Figure 6.12: How far do people travel to their place of work? ............................................... 23 Figure 6.13: Employees who commute into Exmoor National Park from outside for work ... 24 Figure 6.14: How do managers come to be involved in their business? ................................. 25 Figure 6.15: How do Exmoor businesses recruit? ................................................................... 26 Figure 6.16: What difficulties do Exmoor businesses face in recruitment? ............................ 27 Figure 6.17: Where are business customers based? (Tourism Sector) ................................... 29 Figure 6.18: Where are business customers based? (Excluding tourism sector) .................... 29 Figure 6.19: Where businesses turn to for business advice .................................................... 30 Figure 6.20: Coded ‘Other’ sources of advice for Exmoor businesses .................................... 31 Figure 6.21: Are Exmoor National Park Authority supportive of business? ............................ 32 Figure 6.22: What barriers does your company face in doing business within Exmoor NP? .. 34 Figure 6.23: Most important rated barriers of doing business within Exmoor NP ................. 35 Figure 6.24: Barriers to doing business within Exmoor NP by size of business ....................... 36 Figure 6.25: Barriers to doing business within Exmoor NP split by tourism and non-tourism37 iii Rural Enterprise Exmoor Research Report Figure 6.26: Those who stated the National Park designation is a barrier to their business were asked; how does the designation restrict your company? ...................................................... 38 Figure