Case Study: Transition Town Totnes

Nestled effortlessly within the rolling Devon hills, sits the town of Totnes. I've visited twice, once on a fieldwork trip, and once on a holiday, and every time you visit, the town reveals a new layer. Totnes can look extremely unremarkable from the outside, however the way Totnes sustains it's high street is nothing less than fascinating. In this post, I would love to share some background information of Totnes before your visit!

Physical Geography

Physically, Totnes is in the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town lies on the banks of the River Dart, which flows between Dartmoor and Dartmouth. The Dart is tidal up until Totnes! It's rich history dates back to the Bronze Age, where the mild temperate climate attracted settlements to Devon and Cornwall, where there were typically mud hut circles. Much of Totnes' architecture, including St. Mary's Church, is built from Devonian red sandstone, a characteristic of Devon's physical geography, made red by the iron oxide content.

Brief History

Totnes was originally thought to be a Saxon settlement, and it's name derives from the Saxon for fort or lookout, and it was originally built to prevent Viking invasions. Then in 1066, Totnes castle was erected, following the Norman conquest. During medieval and Tudor times, Totnes was one of the wealthiest towns in the UK, making prophets from wool and tin. It's location definitely helped in it's prosperity, allowing ships in and out of the tidal River Dart. Now, the Elizabethan architecture from the original merchants homes remains, and have been converted into museums and shops.

Transition Town Totnes

Totnes became the UK's first transition town in 2006 and Transition Town Totnes (TTT) is entirely community led. This means that the community recognise the amounts of pollution emitted from the global north, and work to reduce emissions from Totnes. After the financial crash of 2008, they found that economies that are run locally, like Totnes, are more likely to flourish, which proved the movement successful. TTT focus on three things: resilience against Totnes receiving shock from external sources, increasing the sense of local community through relocalisation and reduce reliance of finite energy sources through regenerative development. They create events to celebrate local businesses and goods, as well as begin initiatives to help households reduce their CO₂ emissions. For information on their recent work, visit https://www.transitiontowntotnes.org/news/

The Fight Against Homogenisation

One example of Totnes sustaining it's local business and fighting against homogenisation was in 2012, when Costa Coffee set out plans to move into Totnes and dilute Totnes' homely charm. In fact, Totnes' former mayor, Pruw Boswell, accurately stated 'you don't mess with Totnes'. At the time, there were 42 places to get coffee nestled within Totnes' high street, with excellent range, and the residents and business owners that live and work there made sure that Costa and it's generic coffee was definitely not welcome. So much so, 6,000 people signed a petition against Costa Coffee setting up shop, with 300 writing to the council South Hams, to complain about these plans. The truth is that the high streets of Totnes has a very unique and unspoiled ambience, which is rare nowadays. The citizens won the war against Costa (and ultimately capitalism) by the end of 2012, proving it has no place on the UK's ever-growing list of clown towns.

The Totnes Pound

Totnes also began printing it's own currency (with 75% recycled paper) in 2007, called the Totnes pound. This was said to encourage money to circulate within Totnes without leaking out, allow local businesses to flourish, which can reduce food miles and to encourage tourists to use local business. Over the course of it's 12 year existence, 30,000 Totnes pounds had circulated throughout the local economy. However, due to an increasingly cashless economy, with credit/debit cards and contactless being the preferred method of payment, the project was put to an end in March of 2019.

Effects of Covid-19

After the death of the Totnes pound, Totnes (and the rest of the world) hit tragedy. In March of 2020, the UK was plunged into the first (of many) Covid-19 lockdowns, and many small and local business were hit hard. However, by July 2020, Totnes was teeming with tourism, with Totnes market being stocked full of the eclectic range of goods it's used to. Business seemed to be thriving, especially with the 'eat out to help out' government scheme. But as we continue into 2021, back into another lockdown, fragile high streets like Totnes could be permanently damaged.

Survival of Totnes - Visiting Totnes

High streets like Totnes tend to rely of tourism to survive. However, the ongoing struggle of the pandemic is making tourism impossible, and many businesses can't even remain open for their own locals! This means that the high streets of Totnes, and many other similar towns in the UK, desperately need help from the general public. If you are planning on visiting the town post-lockdown, there are a few small villages between Totnes and Dartmouth with holiday cottages, which are available. Cornworthy, in particular, has a lovely local pub (with excellent food), and a small amount of cottages to let for a week away! Totnes also homes a market, which takes place every Friday and Saturday on Market Square, which is full of locally produced foods, and unique products, like clothing and jewellery (check out their instagram)! Totnes also has hundreds of small independent shops which are definitely worth the visit! My favourites include Firefly, which is full to the brim of unusual gifts, and is excellent for spiritual needs! The Timehouse is also an excellent little museum/shop, full of records and antiques!

Totnes is a definitely a place that needs to be experienced. It is a stark contrast from Britain's typically highstreets, full of chains. Totnes is bustling with variety and life, and it's own world of business and trade. If you're looking for a UK holiday post pandemic - Totnes is one to add to the list!