•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

Country Park

Lighthouse

Beach

Lifeboat

Amusements

Shops

Festivals

Sea

Pier

Cafes

Hospital

Schools

Banks

Post Office

Hotels

Public Houses

Bus

Cinema

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

It focused on the long-term concerns and challenges that affect local culture, economy, environment, and social issues now and in the future.

Evaluation of the 2007 Swanage Community Action Plan –balancing the needs of the

tourist industry with the needs of the local community.

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 3. Transport

4. Healthy Lifestyle 5. Young People

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