Liskeard is the administrative centre of Caradon District Council and the geographical centre of the area. The District, which is mainly rural in nature, covers an area of 164,069 acres containing some of the most beautiful scenery in the South West.
Caradon District Council serves a resident population of 82,100 (2006 estimate). The District contains five towns - Callington, Liskeard, Looe, Saltash and Torpoint, and over 80 villages and hamlets within 41 parishes.
The District of Penwith comprises the most westerly part of mainland Britain. This compact area (30,356 hectares, 117 square miles) has a unique atmosphere, and a diverse character. It offers a variety of landscapes from European 'Blue Flag' beaches to moorland, quaint villages and picturesque harbour villages.
The District has a population of 63,000 (Census 2001), of which 28% are over 60 years of age. It consists of 19 parishes and 18 electoral wards, and has about 27,500 occupied households.
The town of Penzance is the largest population centre in the District and features the only promenade in Cornwall. It is also reputed to be the sunniest place in Britain. St. Ives is home to the Tate Gallery which is surrounded by cobbled streets and granite cottages huddled around the harbour and beaches. Hayle has over three miles of dunes and beaches with an estuary much visited by bird watchers. Penzance, St. Ives and Hayle account for 40% of the resident population of Penwith.
The peninsula's prehistoric and Celtic culture is much in evidence with an abundance of archaeological sites, as is the County's mining heritage, along with internationally recognized places such as Land's End, St. Michael's Mount and Cape Cornwall.
Other historic towns and villages of note in the District include Lamorna, Sennen, St. Just, St. Buryan, Mousehole, Newlyn and Zennor.
Industry in the District was once dominated by agriculture, fishing and mining, but the decline of these industries was a factor in Objective 1 area status being granted to Cornwall. The top three employment industries today are:
wholesale and retail (18%)
health and social work (12%)
hotels and catering (11%)
The population of North Cornwall continues to increase due to in-migration, and is currently estimated to have reached just over 84,000. The district has, and will continue to have, significantly higher proportions of older aged people, and by 2029 almost a third of the population will be aged over 65. Median age in North Cornwall in 2001 was 43 compared to 37 across England. Less than 1% of the population comes from Black & Minority Ethnic groups. Although a higher proportion of people are affected by limiting long term illnesses than on average across England, life expectancy is better at 77.6 years for men and 82 years for women -healthy life expectancy is also better than the national average.
Important employment industries in North Cornwall are agriculture, manufacturing, the wholesale and retail trades, and tourism - the majority of which are of lower value in terms of ‘gross value added’ - one of the main reasons why the area receives EU support. Tourism is said to support almost a third of all employment, and the area attracts just over 1 million staying visitors and about 5 million day visitors per year. In terms of how people work, a lack of employment opportunity has meant that a significant proportion of the workforce is self employed, and people generally work longer hours than the national average. A higher proportion of working age people have no qualifications than across England, and a lower proportion have higher level qualifications than on average. Unemployment levels change throughout the year, mainly due to the tourism related seasonality of employment, and currently fluctuates between 1.5% and 2.1% of the working age population. Income levels are amongst the lowest in the Country, and the median annual income for a full time worker is estimated to be about £18,600 compared to £24,000 across England - and full time workers in North Cornwall earn about 25% less per week than on average nationally.
About one in ten houses in North Cornwall is a second home, and the attractiveness of the area to second home purchasers has contributed to the dramatic increase in house prices. The average price of a home in North Cornwall is about £234,500, making it the second least affordable area in England behind Kensington & Chelsea, with prospective local purchasers requiring almost seven times their income to be able to afford to buy. Over 3,000 persons are registered on the Council’s housing waiting list, and the latest housing needs study indicates an additional 760 affordable dwellings are required to be built each year to meet demand. Just over 410 new dwellings in total, of which about 18% are affordable, have been built per year over the last few years.
Each of the six market towns act as service centres to their rural hinterland, and all contain key facilities such as supermarkets, banks & building societies, post offices, primary schools (and secondary schools in 5 of the 6), libraries, and doctors surgeries. Transport is an issue in the area, with more people than on average owning cars (many of which are elderly) as public transport is limited or simply not available in the more rural areas. Just over £130 is spent per head of population in North Cornwall by the District Council, which has been judged as an ‘excellent‘ authority in terms of its comprehensive performance assessment from the Audit Commission. In terms of the English Indices of Deprivation 2004, the District contains 2 areas that appear in the most deprived 20% in England, and 47 of the 52 areas in the District appear in the most deprived 50% in England.
Up until the middle 1500's, the Cornish spoke their own language and at that time most were bi-lingual in Cornish and English. By the early 1800's very few people used Cornish as their first language, in fact the last known person to speak only Cornish as their native tongue died in 1777. The Cornish language is now actively being revived with many Cornish people learning to speak it again.
Little is known about the very early Stone Age settlers, indeed few traces have ever been found. Cornwall was an empty land. Some remains have been found dating from around 4,500 B.C. as the ancient people buried their dead in barrows. Cornish barrows are circular unlike the barrows of England where they are long-barrows. All over Restormel and Cornwall there are ancient Celtic megalithic standing stones. According to legend, these stones, such as the 'Nine Maidens' near St. Wenn in Restormel, were young girls wickedly dancing on a Sunday and turned to stone. Outside Restormel on Bodmin Moor, there is a large group of three circles of stones known as 'The Hurlers'. Legend tells us that a group of people were playing the game of Hurling the Ball on a Sunday and turned into stone.
Later settlers to Cornwall brought with them many skills, the most important of which was the knowledge of metal working with copper and tin. Both of these ores are found all over Cornwall and made the County well-known and prosperous.
Kerrier has a resident population of approximately 96,200, with three principal towns 'Camborne, Redruth and Helston' and a total of fifty miles of coastline on both the north and south coasts, including the picturesque Lizard Peninsula and the spectacular North Cliffs.
A large part of Kerrier has been designated as either an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or Heritage Coast. Areas on the Lizard Peninsula have also been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest due to their unique flora and fauna. We are pleased to annouce the declaration of the first Local Nature Reserve in the district at the Red River Valley, near Camborne. The area was once the centre of mining and engineering in Cornwall and after a successful bid, these areas are now within a World Heritage Site for Cornish Mining.
The District is rich in scenery, history and culture and is a popular year-round holiday destination. We are also 'home' to a wide range of businesses, many of national and international standing. The area's largest employer, RNAS Culdrose, is located on the outskirts of Helston, the base is currently the largest Naval air station and helicopter base in the British Isles.
Kerrier District Council has its main offices in Camborne and a satellite office in Helston. The District has 20 wards served by 44 elected Councillors.
