Communities without Frontiers BESST

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Communities without Frontiers!BESST

• Alison Foster
• BESST Project Officer
• Peak District National Park

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B E S S T

• Business and the
• Environment linked through
• Small
• Scale
• Tourism
• BESST by name, best by nature

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A North Sea Region perspective

• BESST Partners are
• Fyresdal Kommune, Norway
• Hylte Kommun, Sweden
• Peak District National Park Authority, UK (lead
  partner)
• BESST is 50 funded by the European Unions
• Interreg IIIB Programme for the North Sea Region
• Total budget 1.5 million over 5 years between
  the partners
• from 2003 to 31 March 2008

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Fyresdal most beautiful part of Telemark
(Norway)
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Hylte - Swedens most southerly wilderness
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Englands first National Park
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Why BESST?

• All 3 areas are different with some similarities
• Naturally beautiful landscapes
• High quality rural environments
• Strong local culture, legends traditions
• Small family-based businesses
• Traditional industries eg farming in decline
• Regenerating through tourism

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Fyresdal is a deep valley with a village by a
huge lake and great beaches!
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Hylte is an area of vast forest, many lakes and
scattered farms and villages
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The Peaks lived in landscape of farms, woods,
moors and villages
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BESST philosophy

• The environment is a great business asset
• Linking public sector with local businesses
• A virtuous spiral not a vicious circle
• It grows.
• Higher and wider, bigger and better!
• Its GREEN

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Who BESST has engaged with

• 101 Small family-based businesses
• Traditional tourism businesses
• Local food producers suppliers
• Craftspeople
• 32 Organisations
• Local authorities national park, county,
  district parish councils. Landowners private
  water companies. SUSTRANS, Red Cross.
• Contractors design printers, construction
• Media local, national international

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The BESST way with businesses

• Excite community innovators
• Nurture new ideas and early wins
• Grow get more people involved
• Arrange opportunities
• Gear Steer, go with the flow
• Expect the unexpected, encourage ownership

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International business exchanges
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New business networks collaborations
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Support, confidence building to try new things
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Push the boundaries, cross sectorsseas and
rivers!
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Inspire, innovate, interest others
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Reap what you sow help people to help
themselves
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Engage hearts minds, enthuse, expand!
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BESST tricks of the trade

• International business exchanges
• New business networks collaborations
• Support, confidence building to try new things
• Push the boundaries, cross sectors and seas!
• Inspire, imagine, innovate, interest others
• Reap what you sow help people to help
  themselves
• Engage hearts minds, enthuse, expand!

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What the businesses have said

• I learned that some of my ideas should stay
  ideas, but others I should work hard on making
  happen.
• Fyresdal business
• It was inspiring to see a combination of small
  scale activities can be profitable, back home few
  people believe in these approaches.
• Hylte business
• It is rare to be able to talk to other
  businesses about setting up and running a
  business knowing they have absolutely no vested
  interest.
• Peak District business
• Inspirational! nearly everyone!

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BESST Tales

• Campfire culture inspires Peak firepit
• Hot-tubs make a big splash
• Swedish co-operative inspires Norwegian craft
  design business
• Peaks Meet the Bees thanks to a Swede
• Peak artist revives Swedish art

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Campfire culture
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Swedish hot tubs make a big splash
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Swedish co-operative inspires Norwegian craft
design business
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Peaks Meet the Bees thanks to a Swede!
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Peak artist revives Swedish art
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• Magic Ingredients!
• Special people
• Special places
• x
• BESST meetings
• Amazing results!

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The best of BESST
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alison.foster_at_peakdistrict.gov.uk
BESST inspires 100 commitment it gets under
your skin! Peak District BESST Project Officer

• www.besst.org