How wireless working is reviving Britain’s coastal beauty spots
The transformation of some of Britain’s most picturesque coastal towns and villages through the rise of “wireless working” is revealed in an official study pinpointing the areas where it is now the norm to work from home.
New analysis of census findings for England and Wales has highlighted a clutch of once isolated beauty spots where between a quarter and a third of the working population run businesses or work remotely from their own homes.
It shows how a handful of seaside communities, particularly in Devon and Cornwall, have managed to buck the trend of towards economic decline seen in other coastal towns, benefiting from a rise of home-working, boosted by Internet connections.
The study by the Office for National statistics shows that coastal communities overall have higher levels of unemployment and long-term ill health as well as a higher average age and lower inward migration than average British towns.
But a handful of small coastal communities, led by the town of Lynton in Devon, now enjoy some of the highest employment rates in the country boosted by the increasing ability of people to work from home.
In Tintagel, on the rugged coast of north Cornwall, 33 per cent work from home while in Porlock, Somerset and Hugh Town in the Isles of Scilly the proportion is 30 per cent.
Across England and Wales as a whole just over 10 per cent of the population work from home and in coastal towns as a whole, the proportion doing so is slightly lower than average.
But the study shows that within small seaside resorts and towns the proportion rises dramatically.
Tony Meakin, the mayor of Lynton, and his wife Linda, were drawn to the area when they moved back to the UK five years ago, after living in South Africa, because of the scenery and close community spirit.
He said the higher-than-average number of Bed and Breakfast establishments in the town boosted the number of people working from home but that the trend is reviving the fortunes of a range of other businesses.
The process likely to intensify after the arrival high-speed fibre optic broadband connections.
He said the Internet is undoubtedly boosting both traditional businesses such as builders or gardeners and enabling people to set up new ventures.
Although the area around Ilfracombe, just over 20 miles away, suffered economically from railway line closures in the Beeching cuts and the rise of package holidays, Lynton now has almost 80 per cent employment, well above the national average and one of the highest anywhere on the British coastline.
“If people were having to travel to get a job instead of being able to work from home I think we would have half the population here, in bad weather the journey is horrendous,” he said.
“So the Internet is having a huge impact.”
But as well as enabling existing residents to stay, the ability to work from home has also drawn new residents.
“I would guess that the majority of people who have moved here have come on holiday and just love the area,” he said.
“It is still traditional English village life with incredible community spirit.
“There are a lot of arty businesses here, pottery and people making silver jewellery, the old Methodist church has been turned into a craft centre, there are some beautiful things – those are all people working from home.”
Small coastal communities with highest proportions of home-workers:
Lynton, Devon (35 per cent)
Tintagel, Cornwall (33 per cent)
Porlock, Somerset (30 per cent)
Hugh Town, Isles of Scilly (30 per cent)
Southwold, Suffolk (29 per cent)
Overstrand, Norfolk (28 per cent)
Salcombe, Devon (28 per cent)
Charmouth, Dorset (27 per cent)
Rock, Cornwall (26 per cent)
Polperro, Cornwall (26 per cent)
Six police officers arrested over stolen road materials
Six police officers were among the 15 people arrested on allegations of stealing building materials for the Entebbe Express Highway.
The six officers were among a security team that had been deployed to protect the contractor’s stores from thieves.
Police spokesperson Fred Enanga confirmed the arrest of the 15 people and said they were being held on a range of offences, including theft and conspiracy.
“We suspect that there was connivance of our officers with the thieves. Investigations are ongoing to get more suspects because it appears that more people were involved. We expect to arrest more after the interrogations,” Mr Enanga said.
Police also impounded a truck which was found carrying the stolen materials and also recovered Shs1.2m from the suspects.
Entebbe Express Highway is a Shs1.19 trillion project funded by a loan from a Chinese bank. During the launch of the project in 2012, President Museveni asked security agencies to ensure safety of the construction materials on the site.
This week’s operation, which led to the arrest of the police and civilians suspects, followed several complaints by the contractor that their materials were being stolen.
The chairman of Nsangi Sub-county, Mr Abdu Kiyimba, tipped police which assembled a team to spy on the workers and the guards on the site.
At around 10pm on Thursday night, according to Mr Enanga, an empty truck entered the Entebbe Express Highway store with a group of men hired to load the materials. The truck was loaded with steel bars. The police surveillance team was monitoring every move by the thieves.
“At 1am, when the truck exited the site, our officers swung in action and intercepted it at Busega roundabout where a businessman and a driver were arrested,” Mr Enanga said.
He added that the suspects confessed they had bought the materials from workers at the Entebbe Express Highway.
Police detectives drove to the site where they arrested the police guards.
Source: Daily Monitor
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