From retirement home… tourist destination… low-paid economy…
To a post-covid work-from-home culture and a new type of tourist industry
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“GOD’S WAITING ROOM”
The Sid Valley is a retirement home for mostly pensioned couples from other parts of the UK.
Sidmouth has, after all, a Yorkshire Society and a Lancastrian Association:
Sidmouth Yorkshire society seeks members | Sidmouth Herald
Lancastrian Association announces new president | Sidmouth Herald
Over 60% of the population are over 60:
Survey of the elderly in Sidmouth – ScienceDirect
And as such, the facilities are mainly provided for and enjoyed by the elderly:
Sidmouth, it is paradise… for the retired or elderly – ilivehere.co.uk
The top 10 places to retire | Money | The Guardian
But it is an increasingly ageing population:
‘Ticking time bomb’ as Sidmouth gets older | Sidmouth Herald
As covered on these news pages:
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HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY
Most of the housing stock is therefore geared to the retired:
Find Retirement Properties For Sale in Sidmouth | Rightmove
And most of the new housing is being built for the same market:
Sidmouth town-centre ‘retirement community’ plans | Sidmouth Herald
Again as covered on these pages, new-builds tend to be exclusive and expensive:
Knowle relocation project: more profit for a retirement development – Vision Group for Sidmouth
Sidford retirement development > new application – Vision Group for Sidmouth
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CARING FOR THE ELDERLY
And as people age, they need to be looked after – in the substantial care home industry:
In a class of their own? The continuing care-home conundrum – Lexology
Which is particularly worrying in these times:
Devon care homes under pressure – Vision Group for Sidmouth
Coronavirus, care homes and Sidmouth – Vision Group for Sidmouth
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THE TOURIST INDUSTRY
Many who retire to Sidmouth first came to East Devon on holiday, making tourism the other substantial industry in the Sid Valley:
And there is a keenness to reopen as soon as possible:
Eat out to help out restaurants in East Devon | Sidmouth Herald
Sidmouth council and chamber of commerce welcome reopening of hospitality trade | Sidmouth Herald
Virtual tourist guide video of Sidmouth recorded by visitor | Sidmouth Herald
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LOW PAY, LOW-STATUS JOBS
The underlying problem is that both the caring and tourist industries are badly paid:
HMRC reveal Devon workers rank among lowest paid in UK | Sidmouth Herald
And minimum wage combined with expensive housing is not a good combination – as covered several times over the years, for example:
Low wage seaside – Vision Group for Sidmouth
Rural Housing Week – and housing rural key workers – Vision Group for Sidmouth
In which case, those employed in these industries cannot afford to live in the Sid Valley.
They are either non-UK citizens, many living in staff accommodation:
Futures Forum: Brexit: and Sidmouth hotels struggling to find staff
Or they commute from much further afield where housing is cheaper:
Futures Forum: Housing numbers in East Devon … and the Local Plan … further reports …
Besides, these jobs are not at all attractive to local young people:
What interesting jobs are needed to keep young people in the Sid Valley? | Sidmouth Herald
And so, the demographic make-up of the Valley is even more imbalanced:
Young people ‘struggle to envisage a future living by the sea’ – Vision Group for Sidmouth
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LOOKING TO THE FUTURE: PLANS AND PROGRESS
BALANCED COMMUNITIES
The Sid Valley Neighbourhood Plan saw the issues around an imbalanced demographic:
And tried to address them:
Including around housing:
Affordable homes to go to Sid Valley young people if neighbourhood plan approved | sidmouth.nub.news
An outline of the housing polices covered by the Sid Valley Neighbourhod Plan | Sidmouth Herald
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A NEW POST-COVID WORK-FROM-HOME CULTURE
These news pages have looked extensively at the new WFH culture:
Working from home becomes the norm – Vision Group for Sidmouth
A permanent shift towards home working… – Vision Group for Sidmouth
Which might attract a younger, still-working demographic:
Decentralization and technology-enabled home working – Vision Group for Sidmouth
And the Neighbourhood Plan had in fact sought to support these new directions:
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A NEW POST-COVID TOURIST INDUSTRY
The future of tourism looks different:
Looking to a new kind of tourism after the corornavirus – Vision Group for Sidmouth
The future of tourism in the West Country: part two – Vision Group for Sidmouth
The future of tourism in the West Country – Vision Group for Sidmouth
To finish, here is a radical piece from Rafia Zakaria who has written about the future of tourism after Covid. International travel overruns small cities, tramples the landscape, and disrupts the lives of local residents. “Tourism should never be resuscitated in the form in which it existed,” Zakaria concludes. “The question is no longer: when can I be a tourist again, but what kind of tourist do I want to be?”
