
BEST PRACTICE SPONSOR 2020
THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW
Highlighting best practice
36 | THE COALFIELDS REGENERATION TRUST
Chief Executive Gary Ellis
Property development at
Ollerton, Centric
Dedicated to supporting former mining towns and villages
throughout the UK, the Coalfields Regeneration Trust
was founded in 1999. These communities cover a
population of approximately 5.7 million people, and CEO Gary
Ellis says that many of them have struggled to recover since
the closure of the deep coal mining industry in the UK. Gary
explains that many of these communities are among the top 30
per cent of deprived areas in the UK, and without support they
will struggle to return to their former economic prosperity.
The establishment of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust in 1999 was a direct
response from the then deputy prime minister who recognised the need for an
independent organisation that would be solely dedicated to the regeneration of
former mining communities. We are based in the Dearne Valley in the heart of the
South Yorkshire coalfields and operate across England, Scotland and Wales.
Persistent disadvantage
A generation on from the loss of a quarter of a million jobs in the UK coal industry,
statistics for the former mining communities of England, Scotland and Wales
expose ongoing weaknesses in the local economy, extensive social and economic
disadvantage and widespread ill health extending far beyond those who worked in
the industry.
The UK’s coalfields have a combined population of 5.7 million – roughly the same
as a typical English region and more than the whole of either Scotland or Wales.
FACTS ABOUT
THE COALFIELDS REGENERATION
TRUST
»Chief Executive: Gary Ellis
»Established in 1999
»Based in Barnsley
»Services: Support and
development of coalfield areas
across the UK
»No. of employees: 40
»@CoalfieldsRegen
The Coalfields
Regeneration Trust
37THE COALFIELDS REGENERATION TRUST |
If all the coalfields had been a region
in their own right, they would almost
certainly be the most deprived in
theUK.
Just as London, major conurbations
and niche communities have
appropriate policies and investment
to support their social and economic
growth, with effective interventions,
coalfield communities can also play a
key role in contributing to economic
growth and prosperity.
To realise this ambition, government
support is required.
A compelling evidence base
The State of the Coalfields 2014,
commissioned from the Centre for
Regional Economic and Social Research
at Sheffield Hallam University, made
for uncomfortable reading: 43 per cent
of our communities sat in the top 30
per cent most deprived communities
inBritain.
The State of the Coalfields 2019 report
revealed similar statistics: 42 per cent
of our communities sat in the top 30
per cent most deprived communities
in Britain – an improvement of just
one per cent in five years. This rate of
change is far too slow and is primarily
due to the scale of the challenges
thatprevail.
Among the key headlines, the report
revealed that in order to raise the
employment rate of these areas to
the level of southeast England, an
additional 170,000 residents would
have to gain employment. While the
level of jobs has increased over recent
years, the rate of this increase is only
half of what has been seen in the
main regional cities, and only a third
of the rate in London. Similarly, while
unemployment is no longer at peak
levels, coalfield communities still have
a significantly higher number of people
on out-of-work benefits as compared
to other communities.
This lack of employment, and the
low earnings made by the majority
of residents, have led to widespread
entitlement to tax credits. Beyond this,
one in 12 of the entire population of
the coalfields claim Disability Living
Allowance or its replacement, the
Personal Independence Payment.
Upcoming welfare cuts are therefore
expected to have a significant impact,
with a predicted £2.4 billion being
taken away from coalfield residents.
Before the regeneration
of the Ollerton site
If all the
coalfields had
been a region
in their own
right, they
would almost
certainly be
the most
deprived in
the UK
“
“