Economic Well-being

Nobel prize winner Amartya Sen describes economic well-being as the ‘capabilities’ of persons to lead the kinds of lives they value –and have reason to value,’ (Development of Freedom, 1999). A range of material and non-material factors act either to enhance or to block people’s capabilities, increasing or reducing their chance of experiencing well-being.

A person’s capability to meet their material needs depends on their own resources and the resources of the wider community of which they are a part. The primary resources of an individual or a community are the skills and knowledge (human capital) they can deploy to gain access to secondary resources (income and wealth) which can be exchanged for the goods and services that provide for a person’s economic well-being.

Individuals and communities are actors within an economic ecosystem consisting of raw materials, land and buildings, transport and communications infrastructure and organisations in the public, private and voluntary sector. This economic ecosystem plays a major role in determining opportunities for the individuals and communities within.

Climate and ecological change is the globally defining challenge of our time. It impacts all living things. The rise in global temperature is causing our climate and our planet to change. The impacts of climate change are hotter drier summers, warmer wetter winters, more extreme weather events and sea level rises. The consequences of climate change are far reaching and cause more drought and wildfire, stronger storms, more heat waves, flooding, damaged corals, less snow and ice and the thawing of the permafrost; changes in plant life cycles and changes to animal migration and life cycles. The effects are disproportionately affecting the world’s poorest communities, but here in Conwy and Denbighshire, some of the communities most at risk are also at risk of other factors that negatively affect well-being.

The challenges and opportunities associated with a green economy remain enormous and will require focussed efforts from across industry, agriculture and the public sector. Economic growth has traditionally, and in some cases continues to be, at odds with the health of our planet and all living things.

Both local authority areas also have large public sectors that play a significant role in the local economy. These sectors are starting to address their contribution to carbon emissions and have levers to stimulate a lower carbon more widely, across geographies, for example through procurement, service design and regulatory regimes. In the context of reducing public sector budgets, the size and role of these sectors presents a challenge which could negatively impact on employment levels and demand for goods and services. The Social Care and Health sectors are particularly hard pressed. Increasing recruitment pressures and an aging workforce in the health sector along with concerns about the functioning of social care markets are raised in the assessment. Tourism and Agriculture are also strategically important sectors in both counties.

Demographic trends

Conwy and Denbighshire are likely to continue to experience outmigration of young people away from the area. The reasons for this loss of human capital relate to issues in the economic ecosystem. Chiefly a lack of availability of higher education, job opportunities and affordable housing. At the same time a large retired population also impacts on economic ecosystem. On the one hand increasing numbers of people with complex needs can represent a challenge for the community, but on the other hand the availability of skilled and knowledgeable retirees for participation in community activities and volunteering represents a community asset.

Net out migration of young adults has a knock-on effect on the whole population structure. As well as being the basis of the working age population that drives our economy, they are also the people who will become parents. Fewer babies being born because of an ‘absent’ parental cohort means even fewer young adults in the next generation, which then becomes a compound effect on the age imbalance in the population. If past trends continue, it is predicted that by 2039 those aged 65 and over will make up a third of the local population, whereas those aged under 25 will make up just less than one quarter. This trend has implications for health in particular.

Skills and Qualifications

In common with other parts of Wales and the UK, the skills levels of the working age population in the two counties have been steadily improving in recent years. This can be seen in the rising trend in people with the highest levels of qualification and the falling trend for those with no qualifications. However, it is probably too soon to say how and to what extent these positive trends have been affected by Covid-19 in particular.

We had previously seen improvement across a range of attainment indicators with Conwy and Denbighshire reducing historic gaps in attainment, between themselves and Wales. We noted the need to improve significantly beyond the current Wales levels, of educational performance, in order to compete with the best globally. However, the educational attainment gap is predicted to widen, at least temporarily (although for how long is uncertain), as a result of school closures as part of social distancing measures during the Covid-19 pandemic. At a macro level, those children and young people worst affected are likely to be from poorer backgrounds and are likely to be male. Ethnic minority pupils and children with special educational needs and disabilities have been disproportionately negatively impacted educationally, due to school closures, and have reported a bigger fall in life satisfaction since lockdown. Furthermore, vulnerable children may have lost a place of safety because of school closures. This will result in long-term effects on educational progression, labour market performance and well-being.^[1]

The correlation between skill and qualification levels, employability, income and wealth are well known. Conwy and Denbighshire currently include areas where household income is substantially lower than in other parts of the UK and Wales, and where unemployment levels are substantially higher.

Skills and qualifications are one area in which we see inequalities. At schools age we see gaps between the attainment of boys and girls, and those entitled to free school meals and those not entitled. In the working age population there are disparities in qualification levels by age and between different geographical areas.

Whilst the future looks to be brimming with highly skilled and paid jobs linked to decarbonisation, without targeted efforts, inequalities are likely to persist with people from disadvantaged backgrounds, or women and people from a non-white background being east likely to benefit from the acquisition of green skills leading to jobs in green industries.^[2]

Employment and Worklessness

At a UK level, the estimated employment rate for people aged between 16 and 64 years has generally been increasing since early 2012, largely driven by an increase in the employment rate for women and higher State Pension age.^[3] Again, at a UK level, the share of 18-29 year olds working in relatively lower-paying occupations has risen from below 30% to almost 40% since the early 1990s, while staying flat across the workforce as a whole. The share of 18-29 year olds working part-time or in a temporary job involuntarily has not fallen since 2017, whereas the proportion continues to fall for older age groups. People on a zero-hours contract are more likely to be younger. In 2017, 36% of people on zero-hours contracts were aged 16 to 24 years, compared with 11.4% for all people in employment.^[4] We do not have evidence to suggest this is not the case for the two counties.

While many economists argue that an equilibrium rate of minimal unemployment is desirable in a market system, excess unemployment can clearly be considered an underutilisation of human capital, with negative consequences for the economic ecosystem as a whole. In addition, the concentrated nature of unemployment in those parts of Conwy and Denbighshire experiencing a high-level of multiple deprivation clearly demonstrates the negative consequence for communities and individuals. Welfare benefits provide only low incomes. Higher numbers of benefit claimants, of all kinds, have a negative impact on individual, community and economic ecosystem and reduce peoples’ capability of achieving economic well-being.

Ultimately, we would expect a strong economy, assuming secure work with fair income levels, to result in prosperous households and individuals leading in turn to a reduction in poverty.

Income and occupation (or simply being in employment) has a known relationship with personal well-being, whereby unemployment drives well-being and can lead to long term “scarring” effects.^[5] When combined with health problems or disability, personal well-being is likely to be negatively affected.

Neither Conwy nor Denbighshire are homogenous communities but are rather made up of a diverse range of different communities where income, education, employment opportunities and housing all vary substantially. Within this diverse mix are communities in both local authority areas with high concentrations of multiple-deprivation including some parts of Rhyl and Upper Denbigh within Denbighshire; and some parts of Pensarn, Colwyn Bay, Llandudno and Llysfaen within Conwy. For more information about local deprivation, please see our local area profiles.

Housing

A person’s physical environment, their home – including access to green space – plays a key role; with poor health associated with homelessness, poor quality accommodation and fuel poverty. By the same token poverty, unemployment and personal safety, all affect a person’s physical and mental health.

Income levels are a key factor in the housing market affecting affordability of housing locally as well as demand for new properties. We have recently seen weakness in the owner-occupier market, an increasing reliance on private rented accommodation and increased homelessness. See our ‘cohesive communities’ well-being goal summary or further information).

According to the Committee on Climate Change report of 2019 the UK’s legally-binding climate change targets will not be met without the near-complete elimination of greenhouse gas emissions from buildings. Opportunities for emissions reduction from buildings are primarily energy efficiency, generation of low carbon electricity, and moving to low carbon heating and cooling. Wales has some of the oldest and least thermally efficient housing stock in Europe. The Welsh Government has implemented a number of initiatives to improve the efficiency of the Welsh housing stock and the percentage of dwellings with adequate energy performance. This is a significant improvement but housing stock will need to be made even more efficient and operate at close to zero emissions (Welsh Government, 2019).

The scale of the challenge for householders is great. Rising gas prices, inefficient housing stock, existing fuel poverty and particular challenges in rural areas, leaves some doubt as to the resilience of householders – of all tenures – in the future. Construction and decarbonising housing will be critical and could create many upskilling opportunities.

Personal well-being

Critically, economic prosperity and well-being are mutually reinforcing and any economic deterioration is likely to affect the most vulnerable more profoundly. As a result of Covid-19 and Brexit, we are expecting to experience exacerbated inequalities for the short, medium and long term. These are likely to include: disparity in education, skills and employment outcomes; an older population in poorer health and poorer health and well-being generally. Increasing or worsening well-being is more likely to affect people facing socio-economic disadvantage or for people with protected characteristics.

Overall, the root cause of well-being inequality appears to be poverty. Specifically, it’s associated relationship with factors such as very poor health, being disabled, workless, having no or only a basic education, being single, separated, widowed or divorced, renting or being middle aged. People living in the most deprived areas not only have a shorter lifespan, but also spend less of it in good health. Despite overall increases in life expectancy, the gap between the proportion of life expected to be spent in good health in the most and least deprive areas has shown no clear sign of reducing in the last 10 years. Whilst the long term resilience of groups with poorer personal well-being and less favourable outcomes is currently unclear, without intervention, some small communities are likely to continue living with factors associated with deep rooted deprivation.

[1] Wales Centre for Public Policy (2021). Briefing on well-being and the impact of Covid-19 and Brexit.

[2] https://www.futuregenerations.wales/resources_posts/skills-through-crisis-upskilling-and-retraining-for-a-green-recovery-in-wales/

[3] Government Office for Science (2021). Trend Deck

[4] Government Office for Science (2021). Trend Deck

[5] Wales Centre for Public Policy (2021). Well-being and equalities briefing.

The combination of Covid-19 and Brexit has brought about significant change and uncertainty for our national and local economic prosperity, community and individual well-being. Economists expect that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a permanent loss in economic output, meaning that the economy will be smaller after the pandemic than it would have been without the pandemic. For Conwy and Denbighshire, longer term impacts could result from the short term shocks to the economy but these are likely to be inconsistent across sectors and areas.^[1]

Though it is currently too soon to know what the long-term impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic may be, we can speculate that there may be changes in some of the societal structures and behaviours resulting from this issue. These include:

possible changes in the way higher education is delivered may influence where young people live
changes in employment opportunities and practices may mean some jobs no longer need to be based in cities (though employment may not be the only pull factor)
increasing housing prices if home-working opportunities encourage relocation from outside the area.

A green economy

Despite a recent brief reduction in carbon dioxide emissions caused by the social distancing measures of the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK Government has said that the 2030 carbon emission reduction pledges – made by 184 countries under the Paris Agreement – aren’t enough to limit global warming to below 2°C and pursue 1.5°C. The world is still heading for a temperature rise in excess of 3°C this century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimated that global carbon emissions would need to reduce to net zero by 2050 at the latest to ensure global temperatures remained under 1.5 ˚C and that the majority of actions required to meet this target would need to be completed by 2030. Achieving 1.5°C would require global emissions to reduce by 7.6% every year. Even the most ambitious national climate action plans are far short of a 7.6% reduction. The world needs a five-fold increase in collective current commitments.^[2]

The most widely used and authoritative green economy definition comes from the United Nations Environment Programme.

“[A] green economy [is] one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities”^[3]

This describes a highly connective, and regenerative economy that achieves growth but not at the expense of the well-being of the planet or the communities it is home to. Skills, technology, energy, construction, a circular (reduce, reuse, recycle) economy, enterprise, community well-being are all critical to a green economy, and these are discussed within this goal summary and across the other six well-being goal summaries.

Analysis of how lifestyles across Europe are driving environmental degradation has concluded that in order to live within environmental limits, profound changes are needed (The European environment – state and outlook 2020). There is a general need to reduce levels of production and consumption in line with United Nations sustainable development goal 12 to ‘ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns’, in pursuit of a regenerative economy. An obvious starting point is to focus on the core systems that are placing the most pressure on ecosystems. These are based around food, energy and transport (European Environmental Agency, 2019).

The global energy system is one of the main drivers of the climate emergency. Wales’s current energy production and consumption creates many pressures for ecosystems and public health here and across the planet. Wales needs to increase its use of renewable and sustainable energy sources, reducing the current dependence on harmful fossil fuels. Resilient communities are those able to successfully adapt to change. The two areas have inescapable responsibilities for meeting carbon reduction and recycling targets for the protection of the local environment and the wider world (see our summary on the ‘resilient’ well-being goal for further information).

Skills and qualifications

In term of skills for employment, different sectors face different opportunities and challenges. Most benefit lies in a truly green economy.

Employment, worklessness and the ‘well-being gap’

The impact of Brexit on the rural economy has the potential to be very significant. The agricultural sector of both counties used to receive tens of millions of pounds each year in direct payments as part of the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy, and rural areas benefited from various other EU funding programmes and initiatives. Welsh farm subsidy changes have recently been delayed again to 2025.^[6]

The claimant count as a percentage of the working age population is the headline indicator we’re using for unemployment.^[7] In 2020, the claimant rate rose very rapidly as the Covid-19 pandemic struck – although it is worth noting that it had already been on the rise and stood above 3% in both counties in January 2020. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic meant that in the spring of 2021, we had a claimant rate at around 6% in the two local authority areas (levels that had not been seen since the 1990s). In August 2021, the claimant rate fell to around 5%. We also continue to see substantial inequality between areas with the most deprived areas of each county having double digit claimant count rates in key neighbourhoods; with a rate of 19% seen in the most deprived area of West Rhyl. The Conwy sub areas “North”, “Central” and “East”, have higher claimant rates and higher than average levels of deprivation several domains of the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation. There are also local variations whereby, currently, people aged 50+ make up a larger proportion of unemployed claimants than average in the “East” area of Conwy County Borough.

Denbighshire has the third highest youth unemployment rate of all Welsh Local Authorities, a rate which is significantly above the Wales and Great Britain levels (10.1% as at July 2021). Conwy’s rate stood at 9.1% in the same period.^[8] West Rhyl is the ward most affected and accounts for a 5^th of the Denbighshire total. Although some recovery has begun, these levels of youth unemployment are at the same level of severity experienced in the aftermath of the credit crunch and subsequent down-turn (all age unemployment rates are actually worse than experienced in the credit crunch and are at levels not seen since the early 1990s).

Research currently underway by Working Denbighshire indicates that as for other age groups, disabled young people are more likely to be unemployed than non-disabled people.^[9]

There is clearly a significant issue with youth unemployment in the county and as expected particularly high-levels in the more deprived areas (and there is an association with homelessness). We are at a point of transition in terms of the funding for services to support this cohort and unemployed people of all ages.

The speed of the impact of Covid-19 may suggest that an equally swift recovery may be possible, but the fact that we were already seeing a rising rate suggests more fundamental issues, including Brexit, may also be having an impact. It is predicted that the unemployment rate will remain above the levels seen in 2019 at least into 2024. Transforming our economy to a green economy, that is fairer and greener is likely to be a UK and global priority for years to come.

Ongoing changes to businesses and employment will have a knock on effect on well-being – at a community and individual level. In the short term, what the Wales Centre for Public Policy calls “the well-being gap”, has increased during 2020 between the employed and unemployed. This could be due to the low well-being of people becoming newly unemployed (or furloughed) during this time, or a deterioration in the well-being of people who have remained unemployed.^[10]

Transport

This continues to be a big issue for people living or working in the two counties.

Road capacity will continue to be a concern: including traffic flows, constraints on expansion, and increases in traffic volumes following road improvements. The impact of lack of integrated public transport provision particularly for peripheral and rural communities remains challenging. There may be important associations with sustainable tourism. Promoting active travel (safe walking and cycling routes) and safe school transport routes are regarded as important solutions. The environmental impacts of transport, including air quality, impact of flooding events on transport infrastructure and carbon emissions will continue to feature in the short, medium and longer term. While electric vehicle charging infrastructure (for residents, visitors, tourists and users of public sector fleet vehicles) and hydrogen-powered vehicles offer potential benefits, there are challenges associated with these developments. Reducing private car use via active travel infrastructure, public transport and car share provision will be crucial, but with an understanding that a higher than UK average private car ownership will remain due to the counties’ geographies and integrated public transport issues.

Concerted efforts are underway to decarbonise our transport infrastructure, but challenges remain for those without access to their own personal car, which in turn can affect their personal economic and subjective well-being and ability to get to work, education or leisure opportunities. For those without access to a private car, transport challenges will persist over the long term. Developments in the provision of electric vehicles and charging provision are likely to come to fruition sooner in more urban and coastal areas. Access to affordable electric vehicles will be a barrier for those on low incomes (see our ‘More equal’ well-being goal summary for more information); whilst solutions such as electric vehicle car clubs could assist here; it is likely that those most at risk of socio-economic disadvantage will only have access to older electric vehicles or more polluting petrol/diesel vehicles which become more expensive to run. Sustainable development thinking here will be critical to preventing problems from occurring.

Digital infrastructure

There continue to be geographical ‘not-spots’ throughout the area and improvements to infrastructure in these areas is likely to be slow to come to fruition. There are also many low income families who are unable to afford subscriptions to broadband services. Mobile data can be expensive; unaffordable even for those in poverty or at risk of socio-economic exclusion.

There continues to be poor 4G coverage on A and B roads across the area. Conwy is among the top ten local authorities with the lowest coverage by all operators for 4G outdoor geographic coverage across the UK.^[11] Lack of coverage undermines economic objectives and is unhelpful in relation to tourism.

Legacy of social distancing measures

It is almost certain that life will not return to how it was pre-Covid-19. Some of the behaviour changes resulting from social-distancing measures – for example, working from home – could remove the need to travel and indeed some people may choose to relocate completely, which could impact house prices (increases have already been observed) and potentially the vitality of the Welsh language in some communities.

Working from home, for example, is likely to continue for some or all of some people’s working lives. This has been a welcome adjustment to some, and has enabled people to balance their home and working lives more easily. For others though, the adjustment has brought about feelings of isolation and loneliness. There is the potential for women in certain roles becoming less visible should they continue to work from home (see our ‘Equality, diversity and community cohesion’ topic for more information).

There are opportunities for responding to new behaviours and ways of working, including reinforcing local towns and villages as not only community hubs, with community shops, but also destinations for visitors, including seeking ways to boost feeling of connectedness to compensate for the isolation that some experience as hybrid working (home working with some office time) is set to become the norm for nine out of ten businesses.^[12] Employers may also need to consider though, a potential loss of connectivity and innovation through reduced face to face contact.^[13] There will potentially be a greater expectation of the provision of services more locally to where people live as well as a greater awareness of the quantity and quality of the natural environment and access to spaces of nature close to home.

On the other hand, there are opportunities for sectors in Conwy and Denbighshire to attract a wider pool of talent given that people are able to work from anywhere, with the appropriate infrastructure being in place.

[1] The labour market is currently unpredictable. With high levels of vacancies in certain sectors yet continuing high numbers of people in some areas claiming Universal Credit. “Changes to the business environment, such as the fall in business travel and the rise in online commerce, increased the need for skills, from IT specialists to hauliers, while at the same time caused an unusually high level of mismatch in the UK’s labour market.” https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8898/CBP-8898.pdf#page11

[2] Government Office for Science (2021). Trend Deck

[3] UNEP (2011), ‘ Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication’ (advance copy available from http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy).

[4] https://www.futuregenerations.wales/resources_posts/skills-through-crisis-upskilling-and-retraining-for-a-green-recovery-in-wales/

[5] https://northwaleseab.co.uk/blog/four-businesses-leading-towards-north-wales-first-net-zero-farm

[6] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-58638544

[7] [7] This paper sets out our reasoning for using the claimant count as a measure of unemployment: https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/statistics-and-research/2019-01/differences-between-unemployment-and-the-claimant-count.pdf

[8] Claimant count by age – not seasonally adjusted (June 2021)- ONS Crown Copyright Reserved [from Nomis on 16 July 2021]

[9] Denbighshire County Council (2021). Working Denbighshire Strategic Review: TOWARDS A SUSTANABLE DELIVERY PLAN. Unpublished.

[10] Wales Centre for Public Policy (2021). Briefing on well-being and the impact of Covid-19 and Brexit.

[11] OfCom. (2019). Connected Nations Wales. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/186410/connected-nations-2019-wales-report.pdf. Accessed 26 July 2021.

[12] https://www.hrreview.co.uk/hr-news/strategy-news/almost-nine-in-10-businesses-expect-hybrid-working-to-be-adopted-permanently/131866

[13] Wales Centre for Public Policy (2021). Briefing on well-being and the impact of Covid-19 and Brexit.

People have told us their concerns about the implications of climate change and have expressed their desire to be more supported and empowered to tackle climate change. Communities want to be more involved in protecting and respecting the environment.

Throughout our engagement with the public is was clear that they want to see innovative changes to decarbonise houses, transport and other infrastructure to tackle climate change. In particular, people want new planning applications for housing and schools to require renewable environmental infrastructure as mandatory, namely, heat pumps and solar panels. In order to work towards decarbonising our transport infrastructure, people have told us they want to see electric vehicle charging points and car parking spaces throughout the counties to encourage people to make the switch to electric.

In addition to this, many wanted to see changes to public transport to ensure it was more environmentally friendly. As well as aspiring to have electric buses, people want to see a change to the traditional bus schedules we are all accustomed to by offering a ‘Flexi’ bus service. This would allow people to book slots online as and when they needed to use public transport, rather than having set timetables, which could reduce pollution and make the service more efficient. Other transport issues arose as people raised concerns that they felt little or no incentive to use public transport due to the high cost, inconvenient times and the lack of local routes and national links. This was a particular concern for young people who said they have no concession rates and people who described themselves as ‘working class’.

People have told us they want to see more action taken to support communities to commit to and maintain healthy lifestyles. Active travel has been high on the agenda for the public as they want to see increased walking paths and cycling routes to neighbouring villages and towns. As well as increased maintenance of these routes, other improvements were mentioned, such as increased bike locks/storage, benches, water taps, toilets and better signage. Some of these improvements are thought to encourage ‘reluctant walkers’ and enable people to shop locally and cycle to work, in turn supporting the economy, environment and well-being.

The need to attract more ‘green’ employers into our communities was evident. Green employers were identified as those that can further enhance sustainable and resilient low-carbon environmental markets and offer secure long-term job opportunities. Some examples include those that can recycle local resources, green business consultancies and research and development companies for innovative green technologies. People also told us of the importance of having access to locally produced foods sources, specifically for rural communities.

People have concerns around the local economy and they want to ensure there is support for small businesses and the tourism sector to ensure the local economy can thrive in these difficult times. Similarly, the need for sufficient education, training and employability support for people of all economic activity levels has been evident throughout our engagement with the public. Although, in particular, people have told us that this kind of support for young people needs to be seen as a priority.

Similarly, the need for sufficient education, training and employability support for people of all economic activity levels has been evident throughout our engagement with the public. Although, in particular, people have told us that this kind of support for young people needs to be seen as a priority. Throughout our engagement with young people and in schools, young people told us that having available work experience opportunities was a key priority for them, and they find them difficult to find at the moment. They envision a future where there is one accessible platform where opportunities are advertised as they often don’t know where to look.

There are many concerns around the local economy and people are passionate about encouraging people to shop local. Free parking was a popular suggestion, as well as offering affordable fresh locally grown food. People felt local high street shops and small businesses need more support to help them survive and become more attractive. There was concerns of high turnover of high-street shops with many being left empty. They told us they wanted to see better maintenance of high-streets including good quality shops on offer.

Due to the seasonal nature of the labour market in some of coastal and tourist towns and villages, people have told us they are concerned about the lack of sustainable employment available to them. It is felt that there is a need to attract different types of private employers to increase jobs and support the local economy. In contrast, people recognise the recruitment issues some sectors are currently facing as they have become increasingly undesirable e.g. social care and hospitality, and they wish to see more support to address these problems.

People are concerned about child poverty, and the extent to which the public sector is working to improve the quality of life for people and children in poverty. Child hunger is a particular concern for people and they want to understand the root causes for hunger. People also want to ensure we ask those living in deprived areas to find out what they feel would improve their lives. Homelessness is seen as a factor in deprivation and so too housing quality. Poor housing has been highlighted by people as having a causal relationship with lower life expectancy.

People have told us of the importance of having access to good broadband, particularly full fibre, due to the shift in learning and working from home throughout the pandemic. Others wanted to ensure that, going forward, it is not only digital methods that are used to reach people as there is still a proportion of people who don’t use certain platforms and they may miss out on information.

From our engagement with seldom heard groups they told us that digital exclusion exists for communities where language, culture or social disadvantage is a common concern. There are also concerns that some may feel intimidated by attending engagement sessions online due to social or language barriers.

Housing support for young people was discussed at length by people; some of whom feel that rental accommodation is becoming unaffordable. They want to see improved access to good quality affordable housing, including social housing. Redevelopment of empty properties, including repurposing spaces that are no longer used (e.g. office space, dwellings above shops), in place of building new homes could be an opportunity. This could also mitigate people’s concerns that the space between towns and villages is reducing as new housing developments are built, as well as taking a cautious approach to building on green spaces by looking at other alternatives.

In addition to this, people wanted to see new planning applications for housing and schools requiring renewable environmental infrastructure as a mandatory requirement to ensure our housing stock is efficient as possible e.g. heat pumps and solar panels. People have a good appetite to make their homes more efficient, however they would like support to make changes and some noted that they feel forgotten about as grants and support are often aimed at particular groups. Homelessness is seen as a factor in deprivation and so too housing quality. Poor housing has been highlighted by people as having a causal relationship with lower life expectancy.

People also told us the importance of utilising and promoting our cultural sites to increase tourism within the counties. One message that was quite memorable from the engagement was a resident who felt that “St Peter’s Square in Ruthin is one of Denbighshire’s most precious yet wasted assets”. Tourism is seen as a key link to support the local economy to remain resilient to challenges faced by Covid-19 and Brexit. Many ideas were proposed to increase tourism within areas such as local paddling pools, free parking in town centres and tourism offices established namely in Prestatyn and online to promote towns and villages as a desirable place to visit.

A well-being economy,^[1] that is circular and regenerative, fair and just for people and the planet. For more information, doughnut economics describes a situation where we improve economic, environmental, cultural and social well-being within ecological limits^[2] .

Contribute to achieving the North Wales Energy Strategy.

Employment, and decent employment, is critical to securing well-being and reducing inequality and the well-being gap. There are opportunities to increase skills and opportunities in sustainable construction techniques to deliver housing and decarbonising existing homes.

As discussed in more detail above, culture/nature-led regeneration linked to our unique and historic heritage and natural landscape, holds many promising opportunities. It will be important to view tourism within the context of the area’s Welsh culture and heritage, not only our landscape but also our strong agricultural culture. Culture and creative industries are likely to be at the heart of town centre regeneration; developing capacity of both counties’ cultural, creative and tourism industries.

A North Wales approach to maximising opportunities from tourism and regeneration could ensure benefits are targeted on areas and groups whose well-being tends to be poorer. It is also important to note the potential impact of growing tourism on infrastructure, including housing, and tourism should be sustainable and not impact negatively on our communities and our natural resources.

There are opportunities for people living in Conwy and Denbighshire to access jobs from across Wales, UK, even globally. How can this be exploited to ensure everyone can benefit from greater opportunities? There may be opportunities to target support for those without a job, or at risk of unemployment, whose well-being tends to be worse than those in employment (see our summary on the ‘More equal’ well-being goal for more information).

The 20 minute neighbourhood concept is about designing an urban society in such a way that residents can meet most of their daily needs within a short walk from home. Safe cycling and local transport options are key to this, as well as high quality public spaces, community services and housing densities that make the provision of local services and transport viable. The 20 minute neighbourhood was pioneered in Melbourne, Australia as a way of guiding the city’s development and transformation to 2050. In order to achieve long term sustainable changes to travel habits – to secure a green economy – the culture change needed to achieve modal shift (a shift to active travel for short journeys and public transport for longer journeys), might be best focussed on children and young people.

[1] https://weall.org/faq#what-would-a-wellbeing-economy-do

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkbk8HLx63M&t=129s

Conwy & Denbighshire Public Services Board

Economic Well-being

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