Throughout 2026, the LPIP Hub at City-REDI, University of Birmingham is examining the resilience of the Welsh Marches, the historic and intensely rural places that have long formed the border between England and Wales. The project comprises this first report, examining what published data tell us about the readiness of the Marches – and by extension rural Britain – to face upcoming demographic, economic and environmental challenges. A set of key stakeholder interviews and a consideration of public policy engagement with rurality will inform future reports to be published later in 2026.
“Increasingly since 1999 the actual border between Wales and England – invisible but for the signs and occasionally-seen earthwork – denotes wholly different laws and regulations, education structures, land use planning, environmental management and indeed even societal aspirations. The extent to which this deeply interconnected and inherently open place can respond to intertwined climate, ecological, economic and socio-demographic challenges within governance structures and government policies that are not only different, but changing in different ways and direction must be of interest.“
Calvin Jones
Meet the author
Professor Calvin Jones
Calvin is a specialist in regional development, sustainability and energy economics. Calvin is the founding director of Jones the Numbers Cyf., an Adjunct Professor at Cork University Business School and a Research Associate at City-REDI, University of Birmingham. He is also a board member at Natural Resources Wales. He has written and spoken extensively on sustainable development, regional policy and energy transformations. He is a winner of both the Moss Madden Medal in regional science and the People’s Choice Award at the 1996 Milwaukee International Snow Sculpting Championships, representing Cymru.