PUBLIC MEETING,
WED 22 MAY 2002

Alston Town Hall
 

SWOT

participants worked in groups to look at the pros and cons in more depth, and to chart their own SWOT analyses.

The SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) encouraged participants to think more closely and to focus on aspects and issues that they feel are important.

Strengths and weaknesses are internal aspects to life on Alston Moor (e.g. diverse range of tourist attractions; lack of parking space in Alston). Opportunities and threats are external (e.g. European funding; withdrawal of subsidy for traditional agricultural practice).

Once completed, the results were reported back and combined on to the following master sheet.

POINTS TO CONSIDER
 
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES

Tourism:

  • Brings in money
  • Creates jobs
  • Decreases rural poverty

Tourism:

  • Tourism jobs are low-wage and low-status (+1)
  • Increases litter & pollution
  • Pressure on parking
  • Increases house prices (holiday homes)
  • Increases traffic & makes roads more hazardous
  • Some walkers & cyclists are inconsiderate
  • Some visitors are nosy & invade personal privacy

Services:

  • Fire and ambulance services
  • Well-equipped hospital
  • Good selection of garages & shops
  • Good local bus company
  • 2 banks
  • 3 Post Offices
  • 10+ pubs
  • good old people's home
  • first-class schools (+1)
  • reasonably-sized Co-op

Services:

  • Insufficient bus services (+2)
  • Insufficient local shops in the villages
  • Insufficient policing
  • Expensive goods in shops
  • No post-16 school education
  • Lack of care facilities for old people
  • Not much for young people to do (+2), or for old people (+1)
  • Limited range of cultural opportunities

People:

  • Many creative people
  • Many self-motivated people who help to increase the confidence of others
  • farming community creates countryside events that enrich the social calendar
  • Strong sense of community
  • Friendly town & villages

People:

  • Insularity of thinking and isolation
  • Gossip (+2)

Sparsely populated area:

  • individuals can make a positive contribution

Sparsely populated area:

  • Poor roads in and out of Alston
  • Travelling distance to get a full range of shops
  • Limited employment opportunities
A wired-up community (Alston Cybermoor) (+1) Use of computers for communication keeps people at home (+1)

Landscape:

  • Distinctive character of the built & natural landscape

Landscape:

  • Inappropriate development can have a detrimental effect
Creativity High price of fuel
 
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