There’s paper money and an electronic version (you can set up an account here, transfer money into it and pay via text) and a huge array of independent stores you can use it in, from Riverford Farm Shop to the Totnes bookshop. The Totnes pound was pioneered by a group of local environmentalists led by Rob Hopkins and Naresh Giangrande. John Elford, of the Totnes Pound Steering Group, said: "Over time we have seen a decline in the use of the Totnes Pound, partly due to an increasingly cashless economy. 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The Totnes Pound also inspired people to take our basic idea and give it … [2] The group argued that "Economic localisation is considered to be a key aspect of the transition process, and local currency systems provide the opportunity to strengthen the local economy whilst preventing money from leaking out". Dear Totnes trader, We are delighted to be able to let you know that the new paper Totnes Pounds (t£1, t£5, t£10 and t£21) will be officially launched in the Civic Hall on the evening of 20th May. Totnes Pound. Just got this great email… “I am treasurer of a church in Cumbria and we have received a Totnes Pound note in our collection box. According to the Transition Town Totnes website, this meant that Totnes was "a community in a process of imagining and creating a future that addresses the twin challenges of diminishing oil and gas supplies and climate change, and creates the kind of community that we would all want to be part of".[4]. It is about 22 mi south southwest of Exeter and is the administrative centre of the South Hams District Council. In all, the country is home to five local currency schemes: Totnes, Lewes, Stroud, Brixton and Bristol. VideoThe policeman in a MAGA hat. I mentioned already its own Totnes pound currency and the origins of Vire Island. Curious about the details, we learn it works more like a voucher-scheme than official money, but still, it keeps money … As fears for financial stability took hold during the recession, complementary currencies grew in popularity. It follows his dramatic return to Russia, five months after a nerve agent attack almost killed him. They set up a system in which … Find all the transport options for your trip from Totnes (Station) to Dartmouth right here. Devon singer Ben Howard also became the face of the £10 note in May 2014. .css-1xgx53b-Link{font-family:ReithSans,Helvetica,Arial,freesans,sans-serif;font-weight:700;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:#FFFFFF;}.css-1xgx53b-Link:hover,.css-1xgx53b-Link:focus{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}Read about our approach to external linking. It was designed to keep money circulating in the local Brixton economy, to support the people. Its latest set of notes come … No new Bristol Pound accounts will be opened on the old digital platform. Totnes pounds were introduced in March 2007 as part of a month-long experiment to encourage local spending in the Devon town. Since 2010, the pressure on local authority budgets across England has been intense, with a 50% decline in central funding support. we had adecade of Austerity. The Totnes Pound was re-launched in June 2014 in denominations of t£1, t£5, t£10 and t£21. The journalist seized upon Totnes’ well-documented low take up of the MMR vaccine among five-year-olds and used this as a hook to focus on some of … "However, if we measure the project's success in terms of the degree to which it provoked reflection on the importance of the local economy, then we have to say the Totnes Pound has been a real success.". Its objective is to encourage people to spend their money with local, independent businesses in Bristol and the former County of Avon. (See How Electromagnets Work for complete details.) The final designs featured author Mary Wesley, 'father of the computer' Charles Babbage, musician Ben Howard and social activist and philanthropist Dorothy Elmhirst. In some shops, the Totnes Pound is legal tender, an initiative designed to keep money bouncing around inside the local economy. What might seem like criminal activity was actually perfectly legal, with the notes being copies of a local pound note last in circulation in 1810. What’s the real story? Totnes Pound - UK – The Totnes Pound first appeared in the small town of Totnes in southwestern England in 2007. The Totnes Pound has been in place since 2014. [6], As of July 2014, more than 120 businesses in Totnes were accepting the Totnes Pound,[7] and more than £12,000 worth of the currency had been issued. Great local artists produce an astonishing array of high quality work in a range of media. Say that you created a simple electromagnet by wrapping 100 loops of wire around a nail and connecting it to a battery. This doctor saw Covid hospital empty after fake death text, Five ways to sharpen your critical thinking, The road back to Wuhan. The notes were first printed at a local printing plant using 75% recycled paper. There is even a local currency: the Totnes Pound. The Totnes pound. Man found 'living in airport for three months', Capitol security scare ahead of Biden inauguration, Nóra's body 'placed in the jungle', mother says, Trapped miners send plea on handwritten note, Fishing firms protest over post-Brexit disruption, Github sorry for firing worker over 'Nazi' warning, Chip-shortage 'crisis' halts car production. What’s the real story? Maps for a trail around Totnes are posted on the South Devon AONB site and the … ... KFC, or Primark, and certainly no pound shops. A Totnes Pound was equal to one pound sterling and was backed by sterling held in a bank account. The policeman in a MAGA hat. The anticipated benefits of the Totnes Pound were: On 30 June 2019 the Totnes Pound was closed, due its declining usage caused partly by the rise of the cashless society.[5]. Transition Town Totnes (TTT) is a community-led and run local charity that exists to strengthen the local economy, reduce our environmental impact, and build our resilience for a future with less cheap energy and a changing climate.. TTT is a collection of local volunteers with a small staff team, who come together to work on projects. © 2021 BBC. As of September 2012, it is the largest alternative in the UK to official sterling currency, though it is backed by Sterling. The Totnes pound is just one example of the kind of outside the box thinking that has kept this local community resilient in the face of austerity. The Totnes pound (t£) was a complementary local currency,[1] intended to support the local economy of Totnes, a town in Devon, England. Is it worth anything or do we just throw it away?” How on earth did a Totnes Pound find itself in Cumbria, and why would someone think to put it in the church collection box? providing food to over 50 families • over 70 businesses now accept the Totnes Pound • organised over 140 public events • more than 1,000 students at King Edward VI Community College have now participated in our ‘Transition Tales’ programme • over 75% of people in Totnes and Dartington are aware of TTT’s work • more than 600 Totnes is a quaint and interesting little town,with many things going on to learn about-attractive town with lovely walks along the river both directions and not far away lovely coast,beaches and the Moors,the higher reaches of the river Dart to explore.plenty of locally grown and made delicious food-interesting shops,local arts and crafts,and any amount of therapies available. 10th July 2020: Last date for automatic top up of Bristol Pound accounts on the old platform with BCU. 4th July 2020: Payments for business rates, council tax, energy bills etc will no longer be available. This currency is as valuable as the pound sterling and is accepted by the participating stores in town. Additionally, Hopkins also wrote that the movement does have an understanding of global economics and is critical of its systemic problems such as being "growth-based". Rome2rio makes travelling from Totnes (Station) to Dartmouth easy. Shoppers will be able to spend or redeem the pounds up until 30 June. Totnes Town Trail. Organisers Transition Town Totnes said "an increasingly cashless economy" had contributed to the currency's decline. The Totnes Pound was introduced in … The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The Totnes Pound also appeared in the CGSE Geography syllabus, meaning many young people have grown up with Transition and the Totnes Pound as part of their education, something that gives me a lot of satisfaction. Launched in 2012, the Bristol Pound is the United Kingdom's first city-wide local currency. [9], "The town already has its own currency, the Totnes pound" in, List of community currencies in the United Kingdom, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/they-dont-just-shop-local-in-totnes--they-have-their-very-own-currency-818586.html, "Totnes pound: Currency killed by 'cashless economy, "Banknotes, local currencies and central bank objectives", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Totnes_pound&oldid=997355153, Articles with dead external links from July 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, To build resilience in the local economy by keeping money circulating in the community and building new relationships, To get people thinking and talking about how they spend their money, To encourage more local trade and thus reduce food and trade miles, To encourage tourists to use local businesses, This page was last edited on 31 December 2020, at 03:22. The policeman in a MAGA hat. Totnes Totnes is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. [3], The initiative was part of the Transition Towns concept, of which Totnes was a pioneer. The Steering Group said the project "attracted interest from all over the world", including from the Bank of England, which had "recently purchased a set of numbered Totnes Pound notes for posterity". ... Totnes doesn’t do big chains. Following a trial period where 300 notes were distributed into circulation, 10,000 one pound notes have now been printed and are accepted by more than seventy businesses throughout the town. Their most famous innovation is the Totnes Pound, a home-grown currency that is accepted by more than 70 local businesses. It was in circulation from March 2007 to June 2019, when it was discontinued due partly to an increasingly cashless economy. But the gradual shift to a cashless society and a lack of uptake by local government agencies have ultimately led to the Totnes pound’s demise. [2] Developed by Rob Hopkins and Naresh Giangrande the scheme was partly modelled on BerkShares. The city of Exeter also started a similar scheme in 2015 which stopped last year. As such it conceptualises currencies as a form of technology and uses the empirical case of the Totnes Pound currency as an example of a technology that has emerged from civil society. The Bristol Pound (£B) is a form of local, complementary, and/or community currency launched in Bristol, UK on 19 September 2012. John Elford, of the Totnes Pound Steering Group, said: "Over time we have seen a decline in the use of the Totnes Pound, partly due to an increasingly cashless economy. Things to do in Totnes. When the banks gambled all our money, lost it, we gave it back to them again, and to pay for it. An electromagnet is the basis of an electric motor. But the Brixton Pound and other recent schemes follow the example ten years ago of the Totnes Pound, a 'complementary currency': that is, one supplementing the national currency. Totnes Pound. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. You remember that? Anyone can get involved. Read about our approach to external linking. The scheme saw more than 30,000 Totnes pounds circulated among local businesses over the years. The Totnes Pound was launched as an initiative of Transition Town Totnes Economics and Livelihoods group in March 2007. Some transition towns have been involved in launching local currencies including the Totnes pound, the Lewes pound, the Stroud pound and the Brixton pound. .css-1snjdh1-IconContainer{display:none;height:0.875em;width:0.875em;vertical-align:-0.0625em;margin-right:0.25em;}The policeman in a MAGA hat. The first town in England to have its own currency has scrapped it - saying it was killed off by a cashless economy. What’s the real story? US-bound migrant caravan beaten back in Guatemala, Fortified US statehouses see scattered protests, One in, one out: How the White House changes hands. You can understand how things work in the motor by imagining the following scenario. What’s the real story? The Telegraph in 2018 wrote, "This place has earned a reputation for a level of eccentricity beyond the usual cream tea and antiques shop fare that characterises a day trip in this part of the world." [8], The paper Totnes Pounds were printed on plasticised paper and had a number of security features including: watermarks, a hologram, engraved silver foil and iridescent ink. Totnes is reputed to be the most eccentric town in Britain. Order a zero miles pint at the Totnes Brewing Company Rome2rio is a door-to-door travel information and booking engine, helping you get to and from any location in the world. .css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link{color:inherit;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited{color:#696969;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link:hover,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited:hover,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link:focus,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited:focus{color:#B80000;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link::after,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited::after{content:'';position:absolute;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;left:0;z-index:2;}Town poised for its own currency, Wife shares heartbreak over Covid death of husband, Exmouth's 'Mr Snuggles', Tell us about your doorstep heroes that have gone above and beyond during the pandemic, China Fleet Country Club to become Covid vaccination centre, Parts of Devon suffer some of highest Covid case rate spikes in the country, The positive vibe from volunteering is truly uplifting Marc Jobson, Budleigh Hub manager, Northam murder suspect remanded in custody Court reporter, Information about BBC links to other news sites, Putin critic Alexei Navalny to be kept in custody. 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