RESEARCH carried out by a Lawhitton based charity shows that deprivation and rural isolation are the two biggest issues facing Cornwall.

Cornwall Community Foundation’s research also found in-work poverty, personal debt and homelessness are also of significant concern.

The new Vital Signs report highlights community need. Community members expressed a range of issues that they feel are challenging the well-being of their area. The report focuses attention on what needs to be done and how it can be achieved.

Vital Signs, one of 18 reports from participating community foundations across the UK launched on October 3, provides a health check for the community across ten social themes and a range of subjects. While there are significant areas of concern, it does also offer more encouraging news. Environment, safety and arts, culture and heritage were identified by community members and independent research as areas of considerable success where Cornwall is leading the way.

l Seventeen of Cornwall’s neighbourhoods are in the 10 % most deprived in England, an increase of nine neighbourhoods in five years;

l Forty four per cent of children in Newquay Central, 43% of children in Falmouth Penwerris and 40% of children in Liskeard North live in poverty (after housing costs);

l Forty-two per cent of employees in North Cornwall and 39% of employees in South East Cornwall earned below the living wage in 2016;

l The average house price is approximately 12 times the average Cornish salary;

l Cornwall has the third highest rough sleeping count in the country.

Encouragingly, the report recognises and celebrates the groups and activities already in operation that are responding to the local need. However, Cornwall Community Foundation says greater funding is required to continue this valuable work and to support the wide range of community organisations in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Tamas Haydu, CEO Cornwall Community Foundation, said: “The Cornwall Community Foundation commissioned this research to improve our understanding of the changing social needs in Cornwall. The Vital Signs report shines a light on the concerns and issues that require attention and provides an impetus for action. While wonderful work by a host of community organisations is underway, there is a tremendous need in our area, which has grown significantly in recent years. Therefore, we want to engage the wider community — individuals and businesses — to work with us and be a part of the solution that answers the call in today’s Vital Signs report. Community philanthropy is important and can change our communities for the better.”

Vital Signs has been successfully run by the Community Foundations of Canada nationally since 2006 and has now been adapted for UK communities. It identifies the key challenges that community led organisations, with the support of motivated philanthropists, can help redress.

The report is based on the realities and demands of the local area and draws on research, national data and first person accounts to identify, across a range of subject areas, the needs, concerns and aspirations of our community. The report also looks at how Cornwall compares to other authorities and highlights how urgently action needs to be taken in relation to a specific aspect of community life. The consultations with residents from local communities passionately demonstrated that despite the challenges that Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are facing, communities are determined that the place in which they live will truly be a place ‘for one and all’.

To find out more about the Vital Signs report, visit www.cornwallfoundation.com