Local profiles in the South West

The South West Observatory Environment module is attempting to catalogue all local profiles that have been, or are being created in the South West. 702 local profiles have so far been recorded and mapped.

What's new on this facility...

• Updated local environmental data, including land use and Blue Flag Awards

Profiles added in 2007 include:

• Community Health Profiles (including ecological footprint)
• South West Intelligence Network data facilities now linked to each county
• Local environmental data to download for each local authority / county.
• West of England data tool
• Defra's Carbon Dioxide statistics for the South West

What are local profiles?

Profiles contain a range of information about the people who live in an area, and about the area itself. Profiles may be created for all kinds of sites; urban areas such as towns and cities, political areas such as wards, districts and counties, and other sites of interest such as river catchments, estuaries, National Parks and AONBs. The purpose of the Profiles is to supply information on a wide range of subjects, including:

• Population
• Health
• Employment
• Local crime rates
• Business and industry
• Housing
• Education
• Land use
• Natural environment and natural resources
• Built environment
• Transport
• Recreation and access.

The Profiles are intended to assist local communities with their information needs, whether it be to identify issues of concern, to assist in securing funding for local projects, to compare the area with others, or for general interest.

Local profiles in the South West

Numerous organisations in the South West have produced local profiles that describe a particular village, town or locality.

These profiles cover a range of local aspects detailing for example local crime rates, population, environment, health and land use. The profiles' depth and coverage appears to be driven by whatever purpose the profile was created for.

Profiles have been listed alphabetically and are categorised by their creator (e.g. District Council), geographic resolution (e.g. village, parish, town, estuary), name, county, date of issue and (if known) where the actual profile itself can be viewed on the web.

Also shown is a basic analysis of what aspects of local information each profile attempts to cover. Profiles can and have drawn from a mix including biodoversity, physical, land use, socio-economic, population, history & culture, resource and waste management and finally quality of the local environment material, data and analysis.

Locating a profile

Profiles can be located here in two ways:

1. Firstly, the interactive maps presented below can be used to search geographically for a profile. This is useful if you want to see if any profiles have been created for a particular part of the Region. Click on the images in the right-hand column to access more detailed maps.
2. Secondly, all known profiles are recorded in a spreadsheet which can be viewed in its entirety or on a county-wide basis. This is useful if you want to search for a specific profile that you know the name of.

Broken Links?

All links to profiles on the web were accurate at the time of publishing, however, external organisations may move profiles as websites are updated, ammended, etc. We have provided a 'secondary/back-up' link where possible on the spreadsheet which provides an alternative web address if the primary link fails. If you find that you cannot access the profile using either of the links provided, please report the broken link to bryony.stocking@environment-agency.gov.uk or by calling (01392) 352469.

Let us know what you think

We are conscious this list of profiles from across the region may be of use to others and indeed many of you may know of other profiles that exist that are not on the list......yet. We need your help to ensure that this list is up to date and gives as accurate a picture as possible, let us know:

• Are local profiles recorded for your area?
• Are those profiles that we have already captured accurate?

If you know of any profiles that we have missed (with web links if possible), please contact:

Bryony Stocking
(01392) 352469
bryony.stocking@environment-agency.gov.uk