A profile of a community of place: Caerphilly County Borough, Wales

The purpose of this essay is to offer a community profile of the Caerphilly County Borough in South Wales. Community profiling is now a common technique by which to assess and describe a particular community, area or group (Hawtin & Percy-Smith, 2007). Above all, the primary benefit derived from profiling a community is the ability to accurately assess levels of need. Thus, community profiling is closely linked with wider social service provision such as health, welfare, education and leisure (Ledwith & Campling, 2005). Offering an effective and comprehensive community profile thus allows for effective community action and policy to be carried out.
The profile of Caerphilly County Borough is formed on the basis of wider discussion on community profiling and the differing approaches and methods that can be adopted. However, before such examination and discussion are undertaken, it is first prudent to briefly define what is meant by the term ‘community’.
The term community is unhelpfully broad, denoting a variety of factors which create a common bond between people and groups. As such, the forces which direct and account for community formation are varied and distinct. Geographical proximity is a common feature of community formation. However, there exist multitudes of other factors such as class, age, ethnicity, religion, employment and politics (Hawtin & Percy-Smith, 2007). Therefore, given the diverse nature of community formation, the process of community profiling must take into account this diversity and form empirical examination on as wide a basis as possible.
The geographical region which now forms Caerphilly Country Borough has undergone significant transformation over recent decades. Above all, this transformation can be seen in terms of industry and employment. Until the 1980s, employment in the area was heavily dominated by heavy industry, most notably coal. As such, community formation during these years could in many ways be accounted for on the basis of work and the working class based consciousness that emerged as a result (Glynn & Booth, 1996). The total removal of the coal industry as a form of employment has therefore meant that using the narrow confines of employment and class as a basis for profiling has become largely impossible.
Community profiling can be done using a variety of methods. These include; individual action research, corporate action research, professional profile, focused profile and church based profile (Hawtin & Percy-Smith, 2007). Each method essentially differs by which group or type of individual undertakes the profiling. The profile offered in this current study will be based on a number of different methods. Moreover, the ultimate purpose of the profile is to assess need in the Caerphilly area and how this assessment should take place.
Forming a community profile of Caerphilly County Borough must therefore be carried out on as wide an analytical basis as possible. Firstly, using information derived from the 2001 census, it is possible to outline a number of statistical indictors on the area. Firstly, the total population amounts to 169,519 people. Of these, 11,730 are over the age of 75, whilst 36,615 are under 15. In terms of ethnicity and religion, the vast majority (167,971) are classed as ‘white’. 111,616 class themselves as Christian with only 990 people classed as from other religions [59,913 consider themselves not part of any religion or have chosen not to state] (Census, 2001). Thus, a profile of Caerphilly clearly highlights the degree to which the region is not heavily multi cultural in nature, whether on the basis of ethnicity or religion.
In terms of health, our profile of Caerphilly clearly indicates that this is a factor of particular concern. 44,604 suffer from “limiting long term illness”, whilst 25,422 class their general health as “not good” (Census, 2001 [online resource]). In terms of work, 65,655 are employed (rank 345 out of 376 regions in England and Wales), 4346 unemployed and 14,680 are permanently sick or disabled. Ill health therefore represents a point of concern in the Caerphilly area along with the number of people economically inactive as a result of sickness. Of those people aged between 16 and 74 (121,174), 48,204 have no qualifications at all, with 14,649 attaining degree level education or higher [rank 20 out of 22 Welsh regions] (Census, 2001). Finally, between April 2008 and March 2009 there were 11,904 recorded incidents of crime, of which 2,628 were acts of violence against the person (Neighbourhood Statistics, 2009).
As stated earlier, one of the primary reasons for undertaking a community prolife is to accurately assess the nature of need within a particular area. The statistical information provided above therefore offers a number of indicators as to the nature of need in the Caerphilly area. Clearly, health, employment and education are of specific concern to the wider community and therefore represent the foundation of significant indicators of need. Indeed, when negative levels persist in such areas, it is generally an indication of high levels of poverty, social alienation and social oppression (Dean, 2006).
As such, is it possible to account for the problems Caerphilly appears to be facing in relation to health, education and employment? With regards to the latter, it may be that the negative effects of the collapse of the coal industry may still be being felt. Indeed, local organisations and groups have often explained social breakdown and alienation in terms of industrial decline. The pivotal community organisations of South Wales society have traditionally been Workingmen’s Clubs, Chapels and Male Voice Choirs. Although all three of these are in decline, members of such community groups maintain the importance of employment based indicators of community.
Furthermore, social policy thinkers have often cited the emergence of ‘welfare dependency’ in areas where heavy industry previously prevailed (Dean, 2006). As such, both statistical analysis and theoretical assumptions indicate that employment and welfare are issues of considerable concern in Caerphilly. In particular, the deterioration of the coal industry coincided with a failure on the part of government to effectively address the work and social issues that arose as a consequence (Glynn & Booth, 1996). Thus, this issue highlights the degree to which community formation occurs on a variety of levels and is directed by a multitude of forces.
However, although indicators such as health and employment act as a useful starting point in highlighting need, the ability to accurately and comprehensively assess needs and requirements is more complex. Above all, who should define what needs is required? The investigation of this question uncovers a number of issues which are paramount in the formulation of community profiles. Ultimately, in order for community need to be adequately measured, a wide variety of actors within the community need to play a part in the process (Hawtin & Percy-Smith, 2007). Whereas in previous decades concepts such as community development and urban regeneration were generally exemplified by a ‘top down’ approach, it is now clear that community development and the profiling on which it is based must be formed on collaboration and partnership between various different actors. As such, national and local government, community groups, charitable and voluntary organisations, concerned individuals and experienced professionals must all play a role in the process. Indeed, it is this concept of collaboration issues such as community development which has personified the approach of the New Labour Government since 1997 (Dean; 2006). Thus, in order for community profiling to be effective, it requires as an essential prerequisite the inclusion of varying different opinions and actors.
The above combination of varying factors and actors in relation to community development in Caerphilly County Borough therefore reflects the degree to which a wide array of forces is at play. Indeed, in order for an effective community profile to be established in relation to Caerphilly is it vital that further development and investigation is carried out at a local level. Thus, the example of Caerphilly provides verification of the fact that community profiling is not a simple as it at first appears.
In conclusion, the above discussion has highlighted in detail the degree to which community development is a complex and diverse subject. Above all, what is clear is that a wide array of factors and actors need to be taken into account in order for effective profiling to be carried out. The willingness on the part of central government to instil an ethos of collaboration and cooperation acts as an exemplification of this theoretical progression.
In relation to our case of Caerphilly County Borough, the real need to combine statistical information with that of opinions and sentiments from within the community has been made clear. Although community profiling is a complex and diverse undertaking, the above discussion exemplifies the degree to which a wide analytical position must be adopted in order for a full and comprehensive examination to be offered. Indeed, in recent years theoretical and practical processes have moved in this direction. This is something which should indeed be celebrated. However, the example of Caerphilly also highlights the extent to which significant levels of alienation and marginalisation have occurred in communities in recent decades. In order for such negative forces to be effectively countered it is essential that community profiling understand recent developments. The only way that such developments can be effectively understood is for empirical studies to be carried out on the basis of direct community involvement.