Welcome to the Lanner Parish Plan.

These pages are an on-going, developing programme showing how our community sees itself evolving over the next ten years or so. It is very much “work in progress”. We invite comment, suggestions and criticism from anyone interested in Lanner, whether or not you live or work here. Please do send us your thoughts which will certainly be taken up in the debate.

Content last amended 17 August 2011.

1. The Background to the Plan.

The need for a Parish Plan had been discussed for some years by Lanner Parish Council but it was never taken forward: primarily because there seemed little enthusiasm for the process in the community overall, and partly because residing in the parish were also three district councillors including a county councillor who were alive to local issues at both those tiers of government.

This situation changed in 2009. First, the creation of Cornwall Council as a unitary authority meant the abolition of the district councils. The loss of the district council, and representation at that level of decision making, generated a concern that decisions could and would be made affecting the community with reduced, or indeed no, local input. Second, a proposal to build 25 new “local needs” homes on a green site without a proper survey of actual need and against local wishes provided a clear example of why a parish plan was required as an expression of local aspirations which could help decision makers avoid conflicts with the community.

2. Introduction

Lanner was effectively created from the nineteenth century copper mining boom. Before then it was a scattering of homesteads of farmers and tinners within the parish of Gwennap, but from around 1800 it mushroomed and in 1844 became a parish in its own right. The skills and technology learnt and developed in the mining industry were already fuelling a migration of labour by the 1830s to the Americas, South Africa and Australia, accentuated by the copper collapse of the 1860s, and in 1929 the industry died in Lanner with the closure of Tresavean Mine.

Periodic poverty at or just below subsistence level was a common feature of life in the parish and it was not until the latter half of the twentieth century that the decline in population was arrested.

New housing, commenced in the 1960s, initiated a recovery in the fortunes of Lanner and it is now one of the largest villages in Cornwall. Both the rural parish and Lanner village are bisected by the A393 Redruth – Falmouth road with high ground to either side, dominated by Carn Marth at 235 metres (771 feet) above sea level: but even more so by the rich industrial heritage.

At present there are 1187 households in the parish housing an estimated 2690 persons. The nature of the parish has changed: whilst retaining a rural environment where farming and open space account for 83% of a total land mass of 1452 acres, Lanner is very much a dormitory village with employment based in Truro, Redruth/Camborne or Falmouth. In addition, village expansion together with that of Redruth has added a suburban feel to parts of the parish. The age distribution of the population in 2008 was as follows:

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Age Range Lanner Cornwall Lanner Deviation 0 – 15 18% 17% +5.88% 16 – 29 14% 15% -6.66% 30 – 44 21% 18% +16.66% 45 – retirement 24% 24% 0% Over retirement 23% 25% -8%

3. The Process

The process for preparing the parish plan was initiated by the Parish Council, which has also been the primary funder of the project. It was a prerequisite that the process should be community driven and as many opportunities as possible provided for input and discussion.

A small Steering Group of members of the community, including some parish councillors, was set up to drive the project aided by advice from our local Cornwall Council Regeneration Officer.

It was agreed at an early stage that a variety of events and media should be employed to offer attractive and convenient ways for community involvement. It was also agreed that comment should be encouraged throughout the process period and also after publication of the plan. For these reasons the Lanner parish website was expanded to show this document as it develops and invite comment and ideas through a forum. Funding for this element of the process was obtained from the local Cornwall Council Community Network. It was thought that this facility might be particularly useful in attracting comment from younger members of the community.

The core of the process was seen as being a detailed questionnaire to be circulated to all households in the parish. Funding towards this has been secured from the Mining Villages Regeneration Group. To develop a relevant questionnaire it was decided to hold a day long event in the village hall to determine what issues the community deemed the most important. This event was publicised by a parish newsletter, direct letters to local businesses and community organisations, posters, and coverage in the local media, and was held on May 13 2010 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Comments were taken at “stations” which focused on specific themes and these were added to and enhanced by stands provided by the police, fire service, waste disposal service, churches and Lanner Band. In addition a photographic display of Lanner past and present helped attract people to the event. Attended by some 150 people (over 6.5% of the adult population) the ideas put forward were then analysed and the questionnaire developed over the summer months, eventually being distributed to all households and businesses on November 2 with pre paid return envelopes. This questionnaire produced a 22% (272) response and, with the 23% response received from the Parish Council’s Local Housing Needs Survey of summer 2010, forms the basis of this report.

This process has been reinforced by members of the Group having direct conversations with certain key stakeholders such as South West Water and Lanner School.

The report was presented to and received by the community at the Annual Parish Meeting on 15 August 2011.

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4. Land Use

,000 Sq M Acres % Cornwall % Total Land 5874 1452 Domestic Buildings 104 26 1.78 0.62 Domestic Gardens 480 118 8.17 2.54 Non Domestic Buildings 22 5 0.38 0.35 Roads 234 68 3.99 1.80 Green space 4923 1216 83.80 91.29

Respondents are generally happy with the distribution of land use within the parish except for housing, where 30% think there is too much, and car parking where 54% think there is not enough.

5. Environment

Lanner provides a pleasant and valued environment in which to live and work, a claim with which 93% of the community agrees.

The parish is particularly fortunate in having some 12 miles of footpaths and bridleways. They are very well used, with 92% of respondents using them – mainly for recreational purposes (85%). The responsibility for maintaining these paths rests with Cornwall Council but the contracts to keep them trimmed back are administered by the parish council who receive a contribution from Cornwall Council of about two thirds the total cost. The exception is the Tresavean Trail which, though owned by the parish council, is directly maintained by Cornwall Council as part of the Mineral Tramways Network and is part of the World Heritage Site. Parishioners were asked whether, if Cornwall Council’s monetary contribution should be cut back along with other budgetary cuts, the parish council should nevertheless continue maintaining the paths to the current standard and 80% wished this to happen. In addition, 83% were keen to see the parish council trim well used paths even where these are not on the Definitive Map. 66% of respondents found existing footpath signage adequate.

Litter is perceived as a problem and 60% would like to see more litter bins, including dog bins, along the footpaths and trails. Extra seating along the Tresavean Trail is seen as desirable by 45% of respondents.

Just over half (51%) would like to see the area of the Tresavean Mine, which is owned by Cornwall Council, improved and with better access.

Within the village itself litter is not regarded as a major problem (37%) although fewer than half knew that the parish council employs someone to pick up litter in various parts of the built up area. It is in the countryside that litter is seen as a bigger problem (53%). Notwithstanding this, 68% would like to see a monthly litter pick in the village and 59% of respondents would directly help.

Only 29% believe fly tipping to be a problem in the parish, and within the village 41% would like to see more litter bins and 49% more dog bins: even on the understanding that this would increase the parish council’s expenditure.

An overwhelming 79% regarded dog fouling as the direct responsibility of dog owners and for all types of littering 90% called for rigorous penalties to be applied. The general impression is that litter is regarded with zero tolerance and measures should be taken to bring the incidence of littering down as low as possible even if the efforts required are disproportionate to the physical size of the problem.

When it comes to the proper disposal of waste, there is no doubt that weekly refuse collection is highly valued with 91% calling for it to be maintained. Further, 72% want to see the continuation of fortnightly recycling collections. 74% would like to see the recycling service 3 expanded to include green waste, and 57% wish for central recycling points in the village. Interestingly, there was little support for propositions calling for weekly recycling collections or for recycling waste and normal waste to be collected on the same day.

With regard to heritage, there was very little challenge to propositions calling for the preservation and promotion of historic structures in the parish, though relatively few saw the need for formally Listing buildings or groups of buildings .

The open land within the parish is considered an asset of the community which needs to be preserved and enhanced (91%). There is also a wish for more planting of woodland (63%).

Existing village amenities are widely appreciated: flower baskets and planted verges (88%) and public seating (55%) – though additional seating would be appreciated (48%). There was an interestingly low response to a proposition that Cornwall Council should take more vigorous action in getting private trees and shrubs cut back where they overhang the footpath and of this only a third were in favour.

Very few (17%) were in favour of more street lighting being provided and there was an equal split regarding whether street lights should be turned off at midnight. However, 65% thought directional street lighting should be introduced to reduce light pollution.

Air quality is measured by reference to a “normal” score of 1, where a score of below 1 is better than normal. In Lanner, the score for 2007 ranged between 0.80 and 0.87: whilst better than the norm, air quality had fallen significantly in the three preceding years from a range of 0.66 to 0.74 in 2004. This could reflect an increase in traffic volume.

6. Housing

The parish council has carried out a Housing Needs survey to establish the level of demand for affordable local needs housing within the community. The results of this survey will be used in this Plan.

At the same time, the following official statistics are of help in drawing a picture of the parish’s housing pattern.

Household Composition Lanner Cornwall 1 Person Pensioner 13.24% 16.40% 1 Person Other 11.26% 13.64% All Pensioner Family 9.37% 11.49% Married Couple, No Children 17.98% 15.27% Co-habiting, No Children 5.58% 4.23%

Married Couple With Dependent Children 19.30% 16.19% Co-habiting Couple With Dependent Children 5.58% 4.23% Lone Parent With Dependent Children 6.43% 5.45% Other Households With children 1.61% 1.85%

Married Couples With Non Dependent Children 5.49% 5.31% Co-habiting Couples With Non Dependent Children 0.00% 0.32% Lone parent With Non Dependent Children 2.93% 2.60%

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Council Tax Bands Lanner Cornwall Band A 14.89% 23.15% Band B 40.54% 25.37% Band C 31.79% 21.28% Band D 10.01% 16.01% Band E 2.44% 9.27% Band F 0.34% 3.30%

In 2004, nearly 22% of homes in sub-area 4a (the more rural part of the parish – see map in Employment and the Economy below) did not have central heating, and in sub-area 4b this was 12%.

In 2008, only 1% of dwellings were found to be second homes, and 2.4% of homes were vacant .

Our survey has shown that there is strong resistance to large scale development from the community with 75% of respondents against developments providing more than 10 units. This was further reinforced by 38% being against even small clusters of new housing, and 82% believing there should be no new homes unless the infrastructure is first in place to support it.

Greater interest is shown in fully utilising existing assets and enhancing the given environment: thus only 23% are against infil l within the village boundary, 66% are for the conversion of redundant granite farm buildings to homes, and 71% believe derelict houses or those empty for more than 9 months should be compulsorily acquired.

There is strong (75%) support for providing affordable homes for those who are in need and who have lived or worked in the parish for three years. 62% however do not believe affordable homes should be provided to anyone who does not meet that local residency qualification.

There is a lot of support for the idea of sheltered housing for the elderly or disabled, but the Housing Needs Survey indicated very little immediate demand.

22 households anticipate a need for sheltered housing within the next 5 years.

Asked if it would be acceptable if each parish in Cornwall provided a proper site for 5 travellers’ or gypsy caravans, 79% responded “No”.

The responses relating to home improvements revealed a strong desire to retain the established footprint of buildings and the familiar street scene but also a wish to promote energy conservation.

An overwhelming 85% wanted to see home extensions limited in size so that the overall building footprint is in proportion to plot size. Building materials of extensions should be in keeping with those of the original structure (78%) and should not, generally, be permitted beyond the front building line (52%).

Only 39% agreed with the proposition that people should be allowed to do what they like with their own property, indicating the importance the community gives to the planning process and planning control in particular.

The parish would like to see continuing financial encouragement for home insulation, and continuing general encouragement for solar heating.

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7. Essential Services

Water Supply and Sewage Disposal Properties in Lanner are served with mains water supply, save for a few rural homes which elect to have their own private borehole supply. The supply comes from the South West Water covered reservoir towards the top of Lanner Hill opposite Carn Marth Lane. Some properties experience weak or variable water pressure when taking their supply off old shared private water pipes.

Most properties within the village itself are serviced by mains sewage drains with the rural areas primarily connected to private sewage disposal systems. Properties to the north west of the top of Lanner Hill drain towards Redruth, but the vast majority of properties drain to the Gwennap sewage treatment works.

The capacity of the Gwennap works has been severely limited in recent years and South West Water imposed a constraint on development in Lanner and other parishes within its catchment area such that only new single dwellings which are infil within the existing settlements are to be permitted. From late 2010, capacity problems at the Gwennap plant were resolved and the development constraint removed.

Police Lanner is a safe parish and recorded incidents of crime are very low. There continue to be both real and perceived threats to safety and security within the community. By far the greatest cause of concern is the speed at which vehicles travel through the village (78%) and there are strong demands for a reduction in the speed limit through the built environment and a more regular and robust law enforcement against excessive speeds. 68% also see the provision of a footpath along the full length of the village as being a useful contribution to road safety: footpaths should also be of sufficient width to allow for wheelchair use.

Some of the minor roads present particular road safety problems due to frequency of use, speeds, and narrow widths. In particular, against the general wish for no further street lighting, there is a noticeable voice for street lighting along Rough Street up to the cemetery (43%) and between Trevarth and Lanner (37%).

The other main concerns are littering (49%), anti-social behaviour (36%) and vandalism (34%). An increased police presence is seen as a major factor in providing a solution to these problems (65%) but in addition 66% wish to see a stronger Neighbourhood Watch Scheme and also a Farm Watch Scheme.

Highways Lanner Moor is officially recognised as an area where flooding occurs, but other areas have been identified which may be affected in times of heavy rainfall. These include Pennance Road, Sandy Lane by the roundabout, Tresavean Terrace, Tresavean Estate, Bell Lane, Rough Street, Lanner Square, Church Green, and Bell Veor.

Many, if not most, of these flooding risks are seen as a result of poor planned maintenance of drains, ditches and gullies and a lengthy list of these locations has been provided by residents to take forward.

Although many road surfaces are adequate if not good, there are also many where long standing pot holes and surface erosion provide cause for complaint. By far the worst of the road surfaces reported is in Rough Street. Concerns are also raised that where repairs are carried out they do not appear to last for very long.

8. Employment and the Economy For the purpose of deprivation measurement within official statistics, Lanner is divided into two parts: the first (4a) is essentially the more rural part of the parish; the second (4b) is the more urban.

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For sub-area 4a, there was a poverty index of 4994 in 2007, putting it in the bottom 15% nationally. This was a worsening since 2004 by a score of 788. Sub-area 4b remained virtually static over the same period but was within the lower 45% nationally. It therefore appears that the whole parish is economically disadvantaged relative to the national average, but there are particularly acute areas of deprivation within the whole which must not slip under the radar.

Of the 1842 adults in the parish aged from 16 – 74, 1142 are economically active. With 1079 people in employment, this gives a headline unemployment rate of 5.4%. Within the given age range, 65% of males are working and 53% of females. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the average male working week is 41.81 hours and the average female paid working week is 28.92 hours.

Employment By Industry Agriculture & Forestry 43 3.93% Fishing 3 0.27% Mining & Quarrying 3 0.27% Manufacturing 144 13.16% Electricity/Water/Gas 12 1.09% Construction 113 10.32% Wholesale/Retail 208 19.01% Hotel & Catering 36 3.29% Transport, Storage, Communications 62 5.66% Financial 24 2.19% Real Estate/Business 92 8.04% Public Administration, Defence 70 6.39% Education 73 6.67% Health 168 15.35% Other 43 3.93%

A separate questionnaire was sent out to the businesses in the parish and 35 responses were received. Of these 77% were from the self employed, 9% from family businesses (partnerships) and 9% from limited companies. Between them, these businesses employ 64 7 people of whom 67% live in Lanner. 51 of the jobs are full time, 10 part time and 3 seasonal. 24 of the businesses involved just a sole person; 6 businesses - 2 people; 1 - 3 people; 2 - 4 people; 1 - 9 people; and 1 – 10 people.

The majority of these businesses (34%) are in or related to building construction and 22% are rural land based businesses.

The local market is of particular importance to 54% of these businesses and the regional market to 48%.

Only 7 of the responding businesses are planning expansion, particularly by the acquisition or building of workshops, to provide 1 extra full time job and 8 part time jobs but mainly to support and exploit existing business opportunities. Freeing up land to facilitate this expansion is seen as very important.

There was no great indication of a need for additional training or support but many felt that the local community could engage with them better. For this reason a local business directory would be beneficial. 60% of businesses believe that an improvement to mobile telephone reception would help their business and 40% felt the same about broadband internet connection.

37% of businesses would welcome new businesses in the parish which are complimentary to their own, but very few would like to see new companies in the same line of business.

Most people in the parish seem to use the local shops and the post office on a regular basis but very few use the local pubs for eating out or indeed for drinking: and hardly any respondents used local services such as plumbers or electricians, reinforcing the views of those businesses themselves.

Of those shops and services not represented in the village at present, the most called for were a butcher (7%), pharmacy (6%) and greengrocer (5%). Whilst it is unlikely that this level of potential trade could support new stand-alone businesses, the opportunity for a successful farmers’ market seems apparent. Indeed, 85% of respondents indicated they would support a farmers’ market. 22% favoured a weekly market, 40% a fortnightly market and 38% monthly.

51% would like to see heritage/tourism industries developed, particularly in conjunction with the other Mining Villages. In this respect, getting users of the Mineral Tramways trails to spend money within the community is encouraged. There is also a good level of support from the general public towards the introduction of new start-up business premises perhaps with ancillary accommodation, and also for new light industrial businesses generally .

Perhaps surprisingly, there appears to be a balance between those who would support and those who would not support a reopening of quarrying and mining if economic circumstances were favourable.

37% of respondents would like to see job training courses available in the village, particularly in computer training. 33% would like to see a visiting job centre which would also provide advice on C.V. completion and advice on what training to take up to secure a job.

9. Transport

Significantly, only 14.7% of households have no car or other motorised vehicle (which is well below the county average) and 34% have two or more cars.

Of those people who are in employment, 77% go to work in their own vehicle and only 3.5% use public transport (though this is in line with the county average of 3.42%) - the remainder either work at home or walk/cycle. The average distance travelled to work is 15.54km (9.65 miles).

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The road traffic accident rate in the parish is 0.4 accidents per 1,000 people per year.

The parish plan questionnaire first asked what would encourage people to move about locally without a motor vehicle. In prioritising what respondents thought most important, we’ve compared the difference between positive and negative responses to given ideas bearing in mind that to many of these there were significant “no opinion” responses.

By far the most sought after improvement is the provision of more and better pavements with a 56% positive response. Several particular lengths of roadway have been identified as needing priority attention and these are listed in the Action Plan attached to this document. Safety is the single issue that needs to be addressed if people are to walk or cycle more within the parish. The second issue is that warning signs should be erected where bridleways and cycle paths meet roads (50%) and third that a Walk To School Plan should be devised and developed (45%). Much work has already been done in this respect and with two manned school crossing points in place, and the provision of high visibility jackets to the school by our Cornwall Council member continuing promotion could provide success here.

Other ideas put forward include providing a traffic light controlled crossing to the A393 and public cycle racks in suitable locations. However, the level of support for these ideas measured against negative responses leaves them as relatively low priorities.

With regard to private motorised transport the issues are essentially parking, speed, and properly enforcing existing rules.

Parking is without doubt the most important issue: 80% want to see two on-site parking spaces provided for all new homes, and 76% would like off street parking available for community buildings. These figures can be measured against 7% and 6% negative responses respectively. A proposal for on-street parking controls in residential side roads returned very similar levels of pro and anti views.

72% of respondents call for proper enforcement of existing speed limits and 69% for enforcement of double yellow line parking restrictions.

There was strong (61% versus 23%) support for a reduction in the maximum speed limit on rural roads from 60mph to 40mph, and also for a reduction in speed limits on the A393 as it passes through the parish. It is interesting that 48% want traffic calming on the A393 as it goes through the village but 43% want to see a reduction in car parking on the same stretch of road – parked cars being a form of traffic calming in themselves.

A traffic survey carried out over 8 days in July 2011 on the A393 at Treviskey showed 3182 vehicles per day entering the village in a westbound direction and 3334 leaving the village in an eastbound direction. Of the westbound traffic 595 per day were exceeding the 50mph limit, and 86 per day exceeded 60mph. Notwithstanding this, the Highways Authority will not accede to a request to reduce the speed limit to 40mph.

The parish is served by two bus routes. The first is Route 41 operated by First. It runs from Camborne to Falmouth with one bus every half hour. The first bus leaves Lanner at 0636 and the last arrives at Lanner at 2327. The second service is route 540 operated by Western Greyhound. This service runs from Camborne to Truro the first bus leaving at 0615 and returning from Truro 1708. The service has recently been cut from hourly to two hourly which severely restricts its usefulness to Lanner. The time taken for a bus journey to Truro is approximately 45 minutes and to Falmouth 30 minutes.

First also provide service 18A which runs from Penzance to Truro during college terms. The Penzance – Truro bus stops in Lanner 0817, 1847, 2047 and 2247 with the reverse route at 1648, 1920, 2020 and 2220.

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44% of respondents claim to use public transport regularly or whenever they can. However, it is clear from a breakdown of information on specific types of journey that use of public transport actually accounts for less than 14% of journeys.

People say that they would make more use of public transport if it was more reliable (62%), frequent (61%), cheaper (56%), better advertised (52%), faster (51%), had better interchanges (48%) and had more extended services (36%). There is, perhaps, a sense of “chicken and egg” about this quandary. It should be noted that these responses were given before the take over of route 540 (previously 40) from First by Greyhound and the cutting of the service.

The car is used for 82% of respondents’ journeys to work, 45% of school journeys, 52% of local shopping trips, 76% of town shopping journeys, 68% of leisure trips and 80% of journeys to hospital. If journeys by car are to be reduced then the number of trips to the local shops and to school and college need to be tackled first.

61% of respondents have used the Truro park and ride service. 41% had very positive views towards it and less than 11% had any critical comment to make.

10. Education

Lanner school is very well thought of and is classified as “Good” in its last Ofsted report (November 2010). There is only one higher classification.

The school covers ages 3 – 11 and currently has a “full time equivalent” of 255 children including the nursery. The class size ranges from 31 – 33 and in line with national trends this is beginning to dip. The headmaster anticipates that the school population will range from 240 – 250 children over the Plan period, but considers that there is an ability to raise the number of children attending without affecting educational standards. 60% of respondents to the Plan questionnaire felt that population growth in the parish should be restrained until school facilities are extended, with 9% disagreeing with that point of view.

Physically, the school is coming to the end of a stressful period of building works which should leave it adequately served for the Plan period though some additional work is required to improve the efficiency of the buildings and their setting in the environment. There are deep cuts in the school’s forward budget.

The school is the largest employer in the parish with 35 staff of which 15 are teaching staff. Two members of teaching staff live in the parish.

Car parking around the school grounds by parents is regarded as an issue by residents particularly in Bell Lane. It is anticipated that completion of building works will facilitate more on site space for vehicles and ease this situation.

85% of the children attending the school come from within the parish. Because of the dangers involved in crossing the main road through the village the headmaster does not feel it right to press too hard for children to walk to school. If there was a bridge over the road or if vehicles travelled much slower he would take a different view. 64% of respondents to the Plan questionnaire wanted positive action to be taken to discourage car journeys to and from school if current schemes to get parents to walk their children to school do not produce greater success. 13% expressed disagreement with that viewpoint.

Outside of school hours there is a breakfast club at 08:00 and an after-school club from 15:15 to 18:00 during term time. Although there are various other out of school activities, there is insufficient demand to run these clubs during the holiday periods though parents are regularly consulted on this.

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It is the policy of Cornwall Council to seek a financial contribution towards the school’s costs from developers of new homes. However, in the case of developers of 100% affordable homes this requirement is not made. This seems to be placing an inequitable burden on other developers, other households in the parish, their children and the school itself.

With regard to adult education there appears to be a healthy level of demand for local provision – some is already provided through the various local clubs and groups and through classes operating at locations such as the school and the village hall. From the Plan survey, the top five requests for adult education are: crafts, art and design 37; fitness, yoga, Pilates and tai chi 35; computer skills, digital photography 33; languages 16; dancing 10.

11. Health Care

19% of the population (484) have a limiting long-term illness .11% (285) provid e unpaid care.

People living in the “urban” area of Lanner – sub area 4b shown on the plan in the Employment section – have a life expectancy of 79 years, whilst those in sub area 4a – the more “rural” area – have a life expectancy of 82. This contrasts with the deprivation index.

44% of respondents to the Plan questionnaire are registered with the local practice. 92% of these would value extended opening hours of the practice.

Of possible options for new or extended health related services, 73% consider a local general dispensing chemist important (54% would use it). 60% would like to see a local dental practice (40% would use it), 44% would like to see a blood donor service (19% using it), and 40% a chiropodist (use rate 20%). 39% rate a health assessment service important (17% to use it), 38% a child clinic (11% using it), 33% dietary advice (10% to use it) and 31% a luncheon club (9% using it).

There also appears a need for meals on wheels, in -home care, respite care, carer’s support and private nursing and there is confusion on how to get information.

12. Leisure

Much has been said already elsewhere in this Plan about leisure and recreation in the parish: for example, under Environment and Education.

Our survey indicates that awareness of particular groups and activities does not necessarily mean they are of equally perceived importance to the social fabric. To illustrate the point, the top five social organisations ranked by awareness are: The Silver Band; Methodist Church; Scouts; Carn Marth Trust; Football Club. Yet the top five ranked by their importance are: Scouts; Silver Band; Christchurch; Methodist Church; Football Club.

A constant theme in responses has been the need for more effective and properly targeted promotion and advertising by local groups not only of their activities but also how to join them. 68% of respondents said they would like to become more involved in one or more activity but had insufficient information to take things further.

There are a wide range of interests, not necessarily catered for at present, which people would like to see established. The most popular appear to be keep fit, brownies/guides, dog training and gardening club.

Carn Marth is an iconic part of the parish and the old quarry, used for occasional events during the summer , is seen as having potential for greater use. With calls for greater use though come calls for improvement to the facilities available: such as additional vehicular access/parking spaces; improved seating; toilets; and wider advertising. There is a point at

11 which further development or refinement could damage the environmental value and importance of the site, the conservation of which is of primary importance.

Although 68% of respondents had never seen a production in the quarry, 73% had visited it at one time or another. 72% of those expressing an opinion thought the quarry well maintained and 76% thought it was not used to its full potential. The most popular ideas for future productions were musicals, school events, rock concerts, theatrical productions, and children friendly events such as storytelling.

On the sporting front there seemed to be a general level of satisfaction with the range of facilities available although there also appeared to be a high proportion of respondents with no opinion here. Publicity of events and how to join in were again subject to noticeable levels of dissatisfaction.

The main interest in new sporting activities was with keep fit (13) and yoga (11). The next in ranking were cricket (5), badminton (4) and cycle club (4).

There are several areas for recreational use in Lanner. By far the most popular are the footpaths and bridleways which 85% of respondents use. These are discussed under Environment above.

There is a playing field at Lanner Moor which has a range of play equipment provided and public toilets. The land is owned by The National Playing Fields Association which leased it to Cornwall Council, the lease being taken over by the parish council in 2010. 41% of respondents and their families used this playing field at some time. Of those commenting on this facility, 65% rated the maintenance of the playing field as “good to excellent”, 59% similarly rated the security, and 56% cleanliness. Only 49% found the amount of public seating provided satisfactory and 72% were not satisfied with the number of litter bins provided. 58% found pre-school play equipment “good to excellent” but this level of satisfaction decreased as the youngsters’ ages increased, so that for 16+ the level of satisfaction was only 30%.

There appears to be a marked need to increase facilities for teenagers in the parish.

The parish council also leases and maintains Church Green for the benefit of the general public. 28% of respondents use this area from time to time. There was no indication of dissatisfaction with Church Green.

At Strawberry Fields there are two play areas. Only 8% of respondents indicated any use of these areas and the general feedback is that they have very little use either practically or socially and children prefer to play or socialise in the streets.

13. Community and Communication

Community identity is very much enhanced and focused by the framework of physical facilities which serve it. In Lanner, the greatest importance is placed equally on the Village Hall and on the School (95%). 58% of respondents had actually used the village hall and more indicated they would if there was wider publicity of events and also the ability for alcohol consumption.

Alongside these centres of community activity, much importance is placed on the cemetery facilities in the parish. The cemetery is effectively in two parts. The church cemetery is now effectively closed except for some continuing family plots, although it cannot be officially closed without a specific Act of Parliament. It is the responsibility of the parochial church council although grass cutting is carried out by the parish council. At the end of the church cemetery is the “lawn cemetery” which is owned and administered by the parish council and in which most new burials and remembrances take place. There is also a further, overgrown,

12 field owned by the parish council for further expansion. It is not clear whether the general community fully recognises this difference though as 81% rated the church cemetery important and 77% the lawn cemetery.

Other community facilities of importance are the public toilets (83%) which are run by the parish council; the Scout Hut (82%); the Band Room (81%); mobile library (79%); and parish office (67%).

Of the places of worship in the parish, both Christchurch (Anglican) and the Methodist church each ranked 68% and the Methodist church hall 65%.

Most people prefer to receive information about community news and events through traditional media: namely, a parish newsletter (76%) and parish notice boards (63%). There is a noticeable interest in receiving an annual booklet of local contacts and events (70%). 58% would also find useful community meetings on specific issues as they arise. Modern technological methods of communicating do not receive such a high level of preference: emails 47% and website 46%. New residents to the parish are provided with a “Welcome” booklet produced by the churches and which gives much information on community life and local contacts.

Further afield, 23% of respondents had used Cornwall Council’s One-Stop Shop in Redruth and of those 87% found it both useful and convenient.

14. Youth

A special questionnaire was devised to obtain the views of those between the ages of 11 and 18 as it was considered that not only did they constitute the immediate future of the community but paradoxically there was probably least provided for them within the community. The exact number of people in the parish within that age group is difficult to calculate, but has been estimated at 239. Some questionnaires contained the views of more than one person (that is, some households had siblings within the same age group) and the total responses were 60. This produces a response rate of 25%, which is slightly greater than the overall response rate.

47% of respondents are at school, 28% at college (8% of whom have a part time job). 13% are in full time employment, 7% in part time employment, and 5% are unemployed.

For general transportation 51% use a motor vehicle (most being conveyed by a parent), 32% public transport, 14% walk and 3% bicycle.

54% socialise outside Lanner - Redruth (26%) and Truro (23%) - being the most popular destinations. For social transport 72% use a motor vehicle, 19% public transport, 9% walk and none cycle.

Within Lanner chatting with friends in the playing field is the most popular recreation (25%) followed by cycling (20%). Church, skateboarding and football all receive 9%.

The greatest demands for new activities within Lanner are Cinema (23%), Drama and Dance (20%). Athletics, Rugby and Adventure Trail appealed to 16% each, cricket to 15% and (non silver band) music 13%. Tennis, youth club and youth shelter were very low on the list.

The key things liked about Lanner were the green, undeveloped spaces and the access to them and also the people.

The key things not liked are speeding traffic, litter, and the bus service.

There was an overwhelming desire for an organised bonfire night.

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60% thought they would get a job in Cornwall, but only 30% thought they'd live in Lanner after leaving full time education.

15. Acknowledgements

Members of the Steering Group (Carole Allen, Shirley Barnes, Lee Rouse, Nick Smith, John Thomas, Pat Wilmore, and Ashley Wood) would particularly like to thank: Keith Allen Steve Brady, Lanner School Peter Fellowes, Anglican Church Richard Haycock, Cornwall Council Waste Awareness Officer. Marcus Healan, Cornwall Council Planning Office Mark James, Cornwall Council Community Network Manager. Lanner Band. Lanner Village Hall Trustees. Adrian Miles, South West Water Mining Villages Regeneration Group. Vanessa Luckwell, Cornwall Council Community Regeneration Officer. Tim Nolan. Danny Reed, Methodist Church Darren Rowe and Simon Rutter of Redruth Fire Station.

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