1. References

Caerphilly County is located in South Wales to the north of Cardiff, and is home to 30,388 residents. Caerphilly has created strategies and goals to sustain the local culture, economy and society. The United Nations Brundtland Commission defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” [1]. Sustainability is important in preserving what we have for the future, so when considering new developments it is at the forefront.

Caerphilly celebrates local cultures and heritages such as the Caerphilly Castle and The Big Cheese Festival. It also celebrates a shared culture with the rest of Wales; the Welsh language.

The Welsh language has played an important part in Caerphilly’s everyday life for more than a century, even when the language was declining in the rest of the country. According to Caerphilly Council’s ‘Chronicle’, in 1911 one third of the 10,284 residents of the Caerphilly Urban District could speak Welsh. This commitment to the Welsh language has continued into the 21st Century. In 2001, 12% of Caerphilly’s residents could speak Welsh, compared with Wales’ average of 20% [2]. Caerphilly County Borough Council have produced a Welsh Language Strategy for 2017-2022 following the release of the Welsh Language Measure 2011, which replaced the Welsh Language Act 1993. The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 has also played a part in the design of Caerphilly’s strategy. One of the well-being goals is ‘A wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh Language’. Also, in this goal it mentions a vibrant culture which is important when considering sustainability. The strategy outlines the county’s plans to maintain and increase the number of Welsh speakers in the area. It focuses on 6 main strategic areas; The Family, Children and Young People, Communities, Welsh Language Services, The Workplace, and Infrastructure [3]. In order to achieve the strategy’s aims and objectives, the council are working with many local and country-wide partners, including Menter Iaith, The Urdd, and Coleg y Cymoedd. The aim of these partnerships is to provide opportunities for people of all ages to use and better their Welsh language skills, academically, socially, and in the work place. As well as maintaining and strengthening Welsh culture, this strategy is also supporting social sustainability by creating communities within Caerphilly (See Social Sustainability).

Caerphilly currently has eleven Welsh primary schools and one Welsh secondary school. The current increase in Welsh medium schools in Caerphilly and across Wales will produce future generations with high numbers of Welsh speakers. Of the fifty parents of children attending Welsh schools in Caerphilly that were interviewed, 50% had chosen to send their children to a Welsh medium school for cultural reasons [4]. The parents stressed that Wales has a unique culture and identity that should be celebrated and maintained for future generations. Many of the participants “upheld patriotic tendencies” and felt proud hearing their children conversing in Welsh.

Caerphilly also celebrate local culture, for example Caerphilly Castle and The Big Cheese Festival. Caerphilly Castle is one of 417 listed buildings in Caerphilly. It is a grade I building and is of “exceptional interest” due to its architectural and historic interest. The Castle was designed and built by Gilbert de Clare in the 13th century in order to take control of Glamorgan. In the present, it is deemed a heritage site. The castle attracts tourism, helping the county borough economically as well as culturally, and is also used as a backdrop for TV and film, most notably ‘Merlin’ [5]. The castle is receiving £570k in funding in order to keep up with and increase the demand on the castle as a tourist destination [6]. One of Caerphilly’s most famous festivals is held inside the castle annually; The Big Cheese. The Big Cheese is an opportunity for local and regional Welsh food and drink producers and vendors to sell, promote and celebrate their products. One of the main foods featured is Caerphilly’s famous cheese. It is thought that the cheese was originally made to feed the local coal miners and so is a symbol of Caerphilly’s local history and heritage. Today it is sold in multiple small businesses throughout Caerphilly and is celebrated during The Big Cheese.

The economic development of Caerphilly has been mainly developed by the Caerphilly County Borough Council. The most recent is the ‘Corporate Plan 2018-2023’ [7]. Closely following the ‘Well-being of Future Generations Act (2015)’, Caerphilly C.B.C has set out a number of objectives to achieve reachable goals in the near future. The 6 main objectives target different aspects of the community including education, employability, sustainable homes and transport, healthy lifestyles and improving personal well-being. Many figures and statistics have been published through the Caerphilly County Borough Council’s website, including the figure that “31.4% of the county borough residents have no qualifications” [7].

According to statistics, there was a net out-commute of 20,200 workers from the borough to more economically developed areas such as Newport and Cardiff [7]. Alongside the ‘Cardiff Capital Region City Deal’, the Caerphilly Council is working to improve the connectivity of the borough to surrounding urban areas. In addition to the increased development of regional transportation, the £1.2bn deal offers to provide £4 million in private investment and around 25,000 new employment opportunities [7]. The ‘South East Wales Metro Scheme’ is currently underway, which will connect the City Centre with neighbouring areas, “providing extra seats and faster services for thousands of passengers and a quieter and greener environment for lineside neighbours” [8].

The Council has developed a document named “Town Centres – Unique Places” which outlines a plan on how the local council is preserving town centres across the Caerphilly region. The safeguarding of these local towns is essential to the council, as “Town centres are playing an increasingly important role in shaping the communities they serve” [7]. The plan focuses on the 5 managed towns in the borough, Caerphilly, Blackwood, Bargoed, Risca and Ystrad Mynach. The two central groups within this plan are the ‘Town Centre Management Group (TCMG)’, which consists of town representatives, key stakeholders and local councillors and the ‘Town Centre Improvement Group’ which is an officer based team, aimed at improving the quality of facilities within the local area [7].

The means of achieving social sustainability in Caerphilly has been heavily influenced by the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act [9], in particular the goals ‘a more equal Wales’ and ‘a healthier Wales’. ‘A more equal Wales’ sets out to enable people to fulfil their potential, regardless of the background or circumstances, whilst ‘a healthier Wales’ aims for a society in which people’s physical and mental wellbeing is maximised.

Caerphilly county borough council has established the ‘Common Housing Register’ [10], which creates a single point of access to waiting lists for social housing. Instead of applying to separate housing associations there is one application to them all that gets assessed through the Common Allocation Policy [11], making a transparent and fair process. This makes the best use of the property available, ensuring houses aren’t left vacant and assists in the creation of sustainable and balanced communities. The Common Housing Register contributes to a more equal Wales, getting those who need it housing, allowing them to fulfil their potential.

The council also aims to help those in need through their Anti-Poverty Strategy and Caerphilly Delivers plan [12]. In forming these the council looked at the publication ‘A UK Without Poverty’ produced by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation [13] which proposed that thought must be given to policies that have an impact now, those that are in investments in the future and those that provide insurance again future events. They concluded that their aims should surround the ‘Four P’s’; prospects, pockets, places and prevention. The first P – prospects – aims to develop employment skills, find work and progress through employment, which Caerphilly is doing by helping working age people on low incomes to develop their skills and attain formal and informal qualifications. ‘Pockets’ focusing on enabling residents to improve their income levels, for example by providing affordable childcare so time can be spent away from the home working and their income isn’t spent on childcare. ‘Places’ centres around wellbeing in safe and sustainable housing and communities, as looked at in the Common Housing Register. The final P – prevention – sees those at risk or affected developing their skills and knowledge to improve their lives and achieve maximum potential, one way they do this is by improving pupil performance across all key stages of education. Through the Caerphilly Delivers plan and Anti-Poverty Strategy residents of Caerphilly are being helped to fulfil their potential now and into the future.

The Public Service Boards that operate in Caerphilly have set up the ‘Happiness Pulse’ [14] as part of their wellbeing plans, as a way to measure residents wellbeing. The Happiness Pulse is a survey that residents can fill out to formulate a personal ‘wellbeing score’, which will then help to advise ways to improve their wellbeing. The survey is designed to get to the heart of how people feel and function in their lives, work and communities [15]. By being aware of residents’ wellbeing the Public Service Boards can effectively help by focusing on areas of poor wellbeing highlighted in the survey, leading to a healthier Wales.

Social sustainability in Caerphilly is integrated into policies and schemes across the county borough, many of these are targeted towards a sustainable Wales and contain a joined-up approach. For example, protecting Welsh culture will be culturally sustainable as well as socially, such as people with proud Welsh heritage will have a better wellbeing knowing that their culture is being maintained.

References

[1] United Nations. Academic Impact [Online]. Available at: https://academicimpact.un.org/content/sustainability (no date) (Accessed: 25 March 2019).

[2] Caerphilly County Borough Council. Chronicle: Language. Available at: https://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/chronicle/english/everydaylife/cultureentertainment/language.htm (no date) (Accessed: 20 March 2019).

[3] Caerphilly County Borough Council (2017) Welsh Language Strategy 2017-2022. Available at: https://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/My-Council/Strategies,-plans-and-policies/Equalities/Welsh-Language-Strategy-(Draft) (Accessed: 20 March 2019).

[4] Hodges, R.S. (2011) ‘Welsh-Medium Education and Parental Incentives at the Start of the Twenty-First Century: The Case of the Rhymni Valley, Caerffili’, Contemporary Wales, 24(1), pp. 1-27.

[5] Visit Caerphilly. Caerphilly Castle: Unearthing a sleeping giant. Available at: https://www.visitcaerphilly.com/posts/caerphilly-castle (no date) (Accessed: 21 March 2019).

[6] ITV News (2018) £9.5m investment to transform Caerphilly Castle into major UK tourist attraction. Available at: https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2018-05-09/9-5m-investment-to-transform-caerphilly-castle-into-major-uk-tourist-attraction/ (Accessed: 21 March 2019).

[7] - Caerphilly County Borough Council (2019). [Online] Available at: https://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/CaerphillyDocs/Business/UniquePlaces.aspx [Accessed 23 Mar. 2019].

[8] - Network Rail. (2019). South Wales electrification. [Online] Available at: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/our-routes/wales/south-wales-electrification/ [Accessed 23 Mar. 2019].

[9] Wales. Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015: Elizabeth II. (2015) [Online] Available at: https://futuregenerations.wales/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/WFGAct-English.pdf (Accessed: 21 March 2019).

[10] Wales. Caerphilly County Borough Council (2014) Apply For Social Housing. [Online] Available at: https://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/Services/Housing/Find-a-home/Apply-for-housing (Accessed: 21 March 2019).

[11] Wales. Caerphilly County Borough Council (2015) Common Allocation Policy for Caerphilly County Borough. [Online] Available at: https://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/CaerphillyDocs/Housing/Common_Allocation_Policy.aspx (Accessed: 21 March 2019).

[12] Wales. Caerphilly County Borough Council (2015) Anti-Poverty Strategy. [Online] Available at: https://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/CaerphillyDocs/News/12100-Anti-Poverty-Strategy.aspx (Accessed: 21 March 2019).

[13] Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2014) A UK Without Poverty: Why Should We Tackle Poverty in the UK – And How? [Online]. Available at: https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/uk-without-poverty (Accessed: 21 March 2019).

[14] Caerphilly Public Service Boards (2018) Happiness Pulse. Available at: https://your.caerphilly.gov.uk/publicservicesboard/content/happiness-pulse (Accessed: 21 March 2019).

[15] Happy City Initiative (2010) About the Happiness Pulse. Available at: https://www.happinesspulse.org/about/ (Accessed: 21 March 2019).

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