2009 – the year that was
Published Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
Posted by Nick Eyriey
Editorial director Nick Eyriey is an experienced and respected journalist having spent some 20 years in the local and national press working with newspapers such as The Yorkshire Post, Today, The Sun, and the Mail on Sunday.
A new unitary council, a recession, RDA cutbacks, Convergence-funded projects falling into place. It has certainly been a busy old year. Not all of it good, but certainly not all of it bad either. The really worrying thing is that it all flashed by so quickly, a sure-sign of getting old!
January
The New Year is traditionally a time for fresh starts and resolutions. An ideal time to reboot and realign. And this certainly was the case for a number of businesses in Cornwall.
Cornish law firm Coodes began 2009 by appointing a new slimmed-down management board headed up by managing partner Jeremy Harvey. “Previously, we had committees with responsibility for various aspects of the firms such as marketing, finance and human resources, but with a smaller team of partners overseeing the firm’s development it becomes more manageable,” he explained.
Truro-based Skinners Brewery also fine tuned its management team, with finance director Simon Bray stepping up to MD in place of Steve Skinner, who continued to run the company in the capacity of chief executive. And Air Southwest named Peter Davies, the former chief exec of Belgium’s national airline SN Brussels Airlines, as its new MD.
Meanwhile, down at County Hall, it was rather a case of one step forward and two steps back, as the Council announced that it was ditching plans for its controversial new ‘Don King-esque’ logo in favour of the old one. Rearrange the following words, and you pretty much sum up the public feeling. ‘Money, time, and, what, a, public, of, waste’.
The assets of Cornish Crabbers was bought out liquidation by Philip Langsdale, CIO of airport operator BAA.
February
With the help of South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) money, it was announced that Cornish print company Century Litho was moving into new premises on the Treleigh Industrial Estate in Redruth. However, within a matter of months questions were being asked after the company was placed into administration.
Over in Falmouth, frustration was growing over the delay in plans to build a new passenger terminal at the docks, and the dredging of the harbour to allow in the supersize cruise ships. It was hoped that SWRDA would give the green light to funding for the project. However, as the economy continued to contract, bad news was just around the corner.
One RDA-funded project definitely going ahead, however, was the £12 million Pool Innovation Centre, as the foundation stone was laid.
March
Friday the 13th proved to be a lucky day for Falmouth, as the town’s businesses gave the thumbs up forming a Business Improvement District, following on from the neighbours Truro which took a similar path in 2007. Steering group chairman Nigel Carpenter said: “We now have £500k available to us over the next five years which we expect will make a significant impact on Falmouth for visitors, residents and traders alike.”
Air Southwest announced a new air link from Newquay, flying right into the heart of the capital to London City Airport.
Cornish businesswoman Carol Wells was re-elected to national vice chair role of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). Cornwall’s five Lib Dem MPs called for St Piran’s Day to be made a public holiday in the Duchy.
April
Energy company E.ON and partner Ocean Prospect withdrew from the Wave Hub project. The RDA, which is developing the project, insisted that it remains on course and on schedule.
SWRDA unveiled details of a new loans fund worth £5 million to Cornish businesses, to help them through the recession. Later in the year, however, the success of the initiative was called into question by local MPs.
The south west’s first social media cafe, held in Truro, was proclaimed a great success.
China clay company Imerys announced a series of temporary shutdowns at its plants across Devon and Cornwall, in the wake of falling demand.
No jokes please, but the new unitary Cornwall super council got down to work for the first time, on April 1.
May
Worldwide Financial Planning MD Peter McGahan leant his weight to the call for a Stadium for Cornwall. “Cornwall has undergone so many positive developments over the last few years,” he said.
“There has been so much success across all fields that to not have a fantastic sporting venue which can feature the best sports people, as well as inspire young people, is just wrong.”
Saltash company Composite Integration was named Business of the Year at the annual Cornwall Business Awards at St Mellion. The Cornwall Chamber of Commerce and Industry celebrated its 21st birthday, culminating in a business show held on Truro’s Lemon Quay.
June
As the Convergence-funded programmes began to fall into place, specialist economic and development company YTKO was appointed to manage a new business collaboration project.
The recession continued to bite. The administrators were called into Redruth printer Century Litho, with the loss of 60 jobs, while St Columb-based Infoteam International Services shed 80 posts.
The economic crisis also took its toll at SWRDA, which announced a series of budget cutbacks throughout the south west and Cornwall. It also revealed that it would be unable to offer its support for the deep water channel-dredging and new cruise terminal at Falmouth docks.
Falmouth Harbour Commissioners and A&P Falmouth adopted a stiff upper lip, and while expressing their disappointment at the news, stressed their continued commitment to the project and intentions to pursue funding elsewhere.
The local elections proved disastrous for the Lib Dems, as they lost control of the Council. Economy portfolio holder, Andrew Mitchell, was one of the causalities to lose his seat.
July
The Wave Hub project was given the official go-ahead, after securing a further £30 million of funding. The Bailey Group took control over ship repair business A&P, and insisted that it was business as usual. Peter Child remained as MD of A&P Falmouth and said: “The new management team creates huge opportunities for the well-being of the A&P Group as well as the town of Falmouth and surrounding area.”
The British Chambers of Commerce proclaimed the worst of the recession to be over, but said claims of a recovery were premature. The first bottles rolled off St Austell Brewery’s new £750k bottling plant.
August
It was revealed that the number of people in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly drawing jobseekers allowance had more than doubled over the last year.
Bodmin-based Orecon signs an agreement with a Portuguese shipyard for the construction of the first of three wave to energy devices.
There was widespread approval at the Government’s announcement that it was to spend £3.8 million on junction improvements at Chiverton Cross.
Truro and Falmouth-based engineering and environmental consultancy Wardell Armstrong opened its first office in Beijing, China.
September
The developers behind the long running saga that is the proposed Carlyon Bay redevelopment, announced details of alternative options for the £250 million luxury resort project. But maybe it’s best not to hold our breath!
Perhaps the same could be said regarding the identity of the chief executive of the new Cornwall Development Company (CDC).
The composition of the board is announced in early September, together with the immortal words “we expect to shortly announce the appointment of a full-time chief executive as well”. At time of writing (late November) we are still waiting.
No doubts, however, who will be heading up the Council’s tourist arm VisitCornwall. South West Tourism chief executive Malcolm Bell will take up the post in January, it is revealed. Cornish law firm Follett Stock announced that it had opened an office across the border, in Exeter.
October
The first shops in White River Place, St Austell’s £75 million town centre redevelopment were officially opened.
Pendennis Shipyard won the contract to complete work on the world’s largest catamaran.
Deloitte is appointed administrator of St Austell-based building supplies company, Bodmin Blocks, which employs 80 people.
Trials are announced in Saltash for Cornwall’s first superfast broadband, with speeds of up to 50Mbps.
South Crofty tin mine named a new chief operations office – John Webster – and reasserted its intentions to return tin mining to Cornwall within the next two years – a saga almost as long running as Carlyon Bay!
November
Geothermal Engineering’s plans to establish the UK’s first commercial ‘hot rocks’ power plant at United Downs, near Redruth, received broad support from the local community. Meanwhile, construction work got underway on another sustainable energy scheme – Wave Hub, off the Hayle coast.
Local Liberal Democrat MP Julia Goldsworthy questioned the effect of SWRDA’s small business loan scheme and called for such responsibilities to be transferred “to a more local level”. Cornwall won “Best UK Holiday Destination” at the British Travel Awards.
And 2010..?
2009 has been an undeniably tough year for businesses in the south west. But as we emerge from recession, what does the future hold?
SWRDA’s chief economist, Nigel Jump, warns us that recovery will be slow and further job losses remain on the cards. And he says that there is going to have to be a fundamental shift in an economy that has traditionally thrived on a diet of inward migration, high employment and a housing boom.
“The south west economy will have to adjust its previous development model,” he says. “The public sector (including defence) and financial and business services (including housing/property) the drivers of south west activity on which we have relied in the last fifteen years, will have to be replaced by something else – probably new technologies in manufacturing, construction and business services that favour a shift to a lower carbon economy.
“This serves to re-emphasise the areas of regional development we have been highlighting for some time – investment in human and physical capital and the infrastructure of access to markets. Thereby, the region can envisage growth in the high value added companies that can employ more people in a socially and environmentally sustainable fashion.”
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