Ilfracombe - Economy

Economy

Until the mid-19th century Ilfracombe's economy was based around maritime activities: importing lime and coal from Wales; fishing for herring; and international trade, including to West Africa and the West Indies. In George III and the Regency period the town was home to many navy personnel – four admirals, numerous captains, and other commissioned and non-commissioned sailors.

The town gradually developed into a tourist resort served by ferries along the Bristol Channel. The opening of the railway accelerated this development. The population grew until the First World War, then stabilised at 9,200, now 11,000. The economy suffered throughout the 1960s as UK holiday patterns changed, and suffered further through the closure of the railway line in 1970.

In the last 25 years, major investment by private 'light engineering' companies has added to the economy. These companies include: Pall Europe - a filtration manufacturers with 700 employees on site; and the European headquarters TDK-Lambda, a subsidiary of the TDK Corporation, which manufactures industrial & medical power supplies. A number of light engineering firms provide additional employment and operate within a couple of miles of the town centre at Mullacott Cross. There are 3 deep sea fishing boats which sail from the port and several inshore boats which farm the local lobster, crabs and whelks. In a survey (2011) for EU funded Flag programme it was reported 90% of the local maritime catch is exported to France and Spain. There are many private charter, sea cruise, and coastal tour boat operators sailing from the harbour.

Employment Research conducted by MORI in 2005 for the Transform (UK government neighbourhood management project), and by Roger Tym & Partners for the Ilfracombe Community Alliance showed:-The service sector (includes hotel and catering) at 76% is 2 x higher than the North Devon (40.1%) or Devon average (33.7%). 51% of businesses by number are within the distribution, hotels and restaurants sector.12.8% are within the banking, finance and insurance sector.11.9% are within public administration, health and education.

The High Street continues to thrive, despite the arrival outside the area of supermarket stores by large retailers. High Street businesses in 2010 include the major banks and building societies and small branches of many national or regional shop chains, but it still has traditional hardware stores and local butcher's, baker's, and florist's shops, which to some extent maintain its traditional individual character.

In 2010/2011 North Devon+ hosted a number of public meetings with a view to establishing a forum to represent businesses as there was no active organisation representing the entire business community. As a result, COMBEbusiness, a not-for-private-profit company, was established in April 2011 with the aim of promoting business around Ilfracombe, Woolacombe and Combe Martin. COMBEbusiness holds business events on the first Wednesday of each month and represents the town's businesses in dealings with councils, government and other bodies.