RURAL ENTREPRENEURS IN AND AROUND THE TYNE VALLEY SHARE ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONCERNS AND HAVE OVERLAPPING VISIONS FOR THEIR FUTURE TOWNS.

These are based on community and kindness, hard work and passion, as well as the value inherent in people’s well-being, restoration of nature and protection and development of the local culture and heritage - founded on a natural friendliness that’s part of a Northumbrian way of life.

Their vision is centred on helping smaller and independent businesses and town councils work together to support thriving town centres that are self-sustaining and inclusive, with space and time for everyone. To achieve this they would like to see more community-owned services and organisations that provide focal points for work, play and learning, connected to green spaces, public transport, walking and micro-mobility networks that reach within and between their towns. They recognise that private vehicles are an important part of rural communities but they don’t need to dominate their towns or the way we plan for the future.

Despite these aspirations, entrepreneurs don’t have all the knowledge or experience to achieve these goals alone. They’d like communities, local and central government agencies to collaborate rather than compete for limited resources and want other organisations - societies, schools, healthcare and heritage to join in.

There’s a lack of trust in developers, landowners and larger businesses, and while they don’t want special interest groups or individuals to dominate decision making about their shared future, not every entrepreneur recognises the urgency for radical change.

The tools that we used in these workshops helped to collect perspectives and stimulate discussion. But they do not provide a quantifiable platform that towns can use to justify a future vision and they aren’t yet suitable for large consensus-building group activities. To take this work forward, we need to partner with planning organisations, digital platforms and democracy experts so that design research can complement other quantitative and deliberative engagement techniques that are available today.