Your questions answered about
Tourism and the Exmoor Community
The importance of the contribution of tourism to the local economy must be recognised.
Where appropriate, opportunities for the further development of the industry should be encouraged, provided it is compatible with policies for landscape conservation and recreation provision.
Exmoor National Park Plan 1991-1996
'Living in a place such as this we do have problems. For example visitors cross our land and leave gates open and their dogs chase the sheep and separate ewes and lambs...'
Kathy Stevens, farmer.
Changes on Exmoor
One of the biggest changes that has occurred on Exmoor during the last fifty years has been the decline in the number of people working in agriculture. Before the second world war all save a few farmers were working in traditional ways with horses and full-time specialist farm workers such as carters and shepherds as well as general farm labourers. During the war farmers were encouraged to produce as much food as possible and to plough up moorland to grow corn and potatoes. It was during this period that many farmers, with the aid of government grants and for the first time, invested in tractors and other machinery.
After the war developments in agricultural technology and science led to fewer workers being needed on the land and gradually families began to drift away from Exmoor to find employment elsewhere. Many of those who chose to stay and who needed to find new ways to make a living began to turn their attention to providing for the many visitors to Exmoor which in 1934 became a National Park.
By 1988 3025 jobs were being generated by tourism within Exmoor National Park while between 1980 and 1990 it is estimated that there was a 23% growth in employment linked with tourism in the Park.
Since then, Exmoor villages, like villages in other parts of the country, have had to face up to several other interrelated challenges.
For example:
- as people looking for work have moved away, schools, shops and post offices have closed
- houses have been snapped up by people from elsewhere as second or retirement homes, often at inflated prices denying local people on lower incomes a home in their own villages
- the motor car has brought easier access to nearby towns with better employment prospects and shopping and entertainment facilities
- a decline in public transport has led to greater isolation for the elderly and less well -off who are also deprived of local shops and services.
These and other factors have led to many smaller Exmoor villages becoming relatively more isolated and less economically viable. The larger and more attractive villages are surviving by providing for tourists; the smaller more remote ones, without local jobs, shops, services and entertainment, are in a gentle decline.
Exmoor National Park Authority has a responsibility to support the social and economic well-being of the people who live and work on Exmoor. After all they are the people who, in the main, look after Exmoor itself. The farmers work the land; the villagers in their homes maintain the built environment and it is the people of Exmoor who provide for the tourists who are becoming the life-blood of the region.
Does Exmoor need tourism?
Now that tourist provision has become the largest single source of employment on Exmoor it is clear that the Exmoor community is becoming largely dependent on visitors for its economic survival and prosperity.
In 1981 26.5% of the economically active population of Exmoor were involved in the tourist and catering sector. By 1991 the number had risen to 30.9%. Approximately 3000 jobs were generated by tourism in 1988 and about £9 million was generated in local income in the same year. Unfortunately more up-to-date figures are not available.
The jobs engendered by tourism are very varied and range from providing and servicing accommodation of all sorts, through catering and gift shops to riding stables, safari trails and luring out mountain bikes. There is also a knock-on effect to services such as banking, accountancy, etc. Many people rely on part time and seasonal work while others augment their main income by, for example, providing bed and breakfast accommodation. Estimates suggest that nearly 50% of farmers augment their income by providing accommodation for visitors including bed and breakfast, camp sites and holiday cottages.
More detailed statistics relating to tourist spending in the Park can be found in Questex 2 and Filex 10
Village Shops
Fifty years ago it was possible to obtain practically everything you might need at die village shop. Now supermarkets offering unlimited choice and value for money are within easy reach of most people and village shops are finding it hard to survive. Many customers only visit the local shop for newspapers and things they have forgotten or run out of and with small profit margins shopkeepers are finding it hard to carry as wide a range of goods as they would wish. Yet the village shop has an important role to play in the village; it is often still the post office and in more isolated villages the main shop for those who have no transport and are not able to get to supermarkets more then once a week, particularly the elderly and mothers with young children.
The Park Authority recognises the importance of the village shop within the community and is committed to help keep them going wherever possible.
The National Park Plan (1990) contains a protection policy for village shops which aims to halt their decline:
'in considering proposals for the use of existing village shops for other purposes the Authority will have, inter alia, regard for any adverse effects on community interests and the rural economy caused by the loss of the retail facility.'
As a proactive measure the Park Authority has set up Village Information Points in a number of village shops. These VIPs have the dual aim of providing both visitors and local people with information about the National Park while at the same time helping to increase trade and therefore the viability of the village shops.
Exmoor Producers' Association
There are few large-scale employment opportunities on Exmoor and many people on Exmoor struggle to make a living by the production of individual quality goods for sale to local people and visitors. In March 1995 the Exmoor Producers' Association, initiated by the NPA, was set up to bring these small entrepreneurs and craftspeople together to support each other and share marketing and business expertise. The venture has proved a great success and is helping to underpin and support Exmoor's economy.
By March 1996 the Association boasted 63 members producing goods including furniture, paintings, pottery, preserves and prize-winning wool-lined mattresses for children. Benefits of membership include entry in an alphabetical list of producers and in a directory circulated widely in the area and targeted at retail and tourist outlets. The project has proved so successful that a co-ordinator has been appointed. The project is part funded by the European Community, Exmoor National Park and the Rural Development Commission.
In the past the NPA has also assisted with small grants to small tourist initiatives. For example a grant of £250 was made to holiday accommodation providers in Winsford to help them produce a publicity brochure. This form of support has now been overtaken by the emergence of new European funding to support rural communities and this has been welcomed by the NPA for whom the social and economic well-being of communities within the Park is of paramount importance.
European Funding
LEADER (Liaisons Entre Actions de Developpement de l'Economie Rurale) is one of these European Union Initiatives set up to help the economic development of remote rural regions such as Exmoor by providing finance, information and training to local people and organisations. The first phase of the LEADER II Project for Greater Exmoor was formally approved in January 1996 and a project office has been established in Dulverton staffed by a project manager.
The early months of the Exmoor project have focused on making contacts with the local community and publicising the four year scheme. The project officer has been working with local people and groups to identify the needs and opportunities of the area and to help set up new projects and ideas using European funding which might not otherwise take place.
Looking good
If a village is to attract visitors it is important that it looks as attractive as possible. The NPA helps by funding small enhancement schemes which improve the look of a place. These include the removal of overhead wires at Porlock, the provision of trees, a grassy area and seating near the Tithe Barn at Dunster and a pedestrian precinct in the narrow shopping area at Lynmouth.
Locals versus visitors
Relationships between local residents and visitors are generally good. Exmoor families who have lived in the area for generations are well used to visitors for they have been coming to Exmoor for more than 200 years. Many people earn their living by providing for visitors and so naturally wish to appear welcoming even if by the end of the season they are feeling that they never want to see another visitor. In fact many of those who cater for visitors do so because they enjoy meeting fresh people and find pleasure in helping them to have the best possible holiday.
Those who have recently moved to Exmoor sometimes find it harder to accept crowds of people monopolising quiet beauty spots but they soon learn, like the local people, to develop strategies which avoid the busiest roads and footpaths at peak periods and learn to look forward to October!
One matter that can be irritating is the number of cars on the roads in the summer, often being driven slowly while visitors admire the views. This can hinder people going about their everyday work but then, so do tractors! Its unlikely to lead to 'road rage'!
There are sometimes objections to large scale projects for tourist development, usually by people who live nearby and who are afraid that increased traffic and noise may affect their way of life. An example is the planned development of the old railway station at Woody Bay to which there were many objections. Since the Park planners are equally concerned with potential noise and disturbance from inappropriate development, there is usually little to fear.
Farmers occasionally have problems with people wandering over their land and sometimes leaving gates open. The Park Authority have negotiated many routes over farmer's land and by signing and the production of walk guides, do their best to encourage and teach visitors to keep to the paths. It is the job of the Rangers to deal with particular problems that arise. For example, if a farmer regularly has problems from people and dogs using a footpath which crossed his fields, then the Ranger will negotiate a new route to avoid the spot. Displays at the National Park Centres, information leaflets and the Exmoor Visitor all try to encourage visitors to follow the Country Code and be aware that the countryside is the farmers' workplace and needs to be treated accordingly.
Just occasionally the problems are the other way round. Sometimes it is the farmer's dogs that chase the visitors!
Another potential source of conflict is between people using the moor for different recreational purposes though this isn't necessarily between local people and visitors. Walkers, for example, may feel threatened by numbers of horse-riders or speeding mountain bikers appearing from nowhere. Courtesy from all concerned is essential and on occasion, the provision of separate routes for walkers and riders has helped to alleviate problems.
It is very rare that there is any incident that could be described as conflict and this is largely due to the careful management of the NPA.
Some suggestions for study
- Does the Producers' Group need a shop? While some people think it would be a good idea to have an attractive sales centre, there are others against who cite overheads and running costs; staffing; competition for other local shops.
- How can the local village shop survive?
This is an urgent problem in many villages. Surveys to find how the shop is valued in the village and by visitors and investigation of initiatives designed to increase trade would be useful. - The attitudes of local people to tourist developments, small and large.
- Ways of managing recreational use of the moor.
Resources available from Exmoor House
Please address requests in the first instance to:
The Education Officer:
Exmoor National Park Department, Exmoor House, Dulverton, Somerset. TA22 9HL
- Exmoor National Park Plan 1991-1996 and Exmoor National Park Local Plan 1994 set out the Park policies concerning support for the community. Photocopies of appropriate pages are available on request.
- Details of up-to-date statistics relating to tourism on Exmoor can be found in Questex 2.
- Material relating to the setting up and organisation of the Exmoor Producers' Association. and directory.
- Copies of committee papers relating to specific tourism developments e.g. Woody Bay, Whitechapel Moor, Croscombe Barton golf course.
Resources available from elsewhere
- Tourism in National Parks a guide to good practice includes a chapter on integration with local communities. Available from the Countryside Commission, John Dewer House, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL5O 3RA
- The National Trust, Holnicote Estate, Selworthy, Minehead, Somerset. TA24 STJ
Can provide information relevant to tourism and he villages on the Holnicote Estate. - West Country Tourist Board, Trinity Court, 27 Southernhay East, Exeter, Devon EXl 1QS hold statistics relating to tourism in the West of England and a publication list of research and other topics.