News • Sustainable Farming Campaign
Countryside needs buses, internet and jobs to be sustainable
The Prince’s Countryside Fund finding show that for the countryside to be viable, it needs better job prospects and more digital connectivity.
Recharging Rural, a new report from the Prince’s Countryside Fund, finds that the need for affordable housing is fundamental to everything else in making rural areas viable for the future. Their research came from a public survey of more than 3,000 people.
Respondents repeatedly said they wanted improved infrastructure in the countryside. They feel that this will help encourage young people and businesses to stay in, or move to, rural areas. Investment in digital connectivity is also a key concern.
The survey also highlighted many projects which are making a positive impact on rural communities. Claire Saunders, director of The Prince’s Countryside Fund said that “it is encouraging to hear how communities are taking action to address the challenges they face – respondents told us of more than 500 community led projects happening across the UK. These projects address feelings of isolation in rural areas and foster a sense of community spirit and pride. Many of these projects typically deliver multiple outcomes, such as arts activities contributing to increasing personal confidence, or food projects linking people with the land and with each other.”
The survey also found that ‘rural remoteness’ - the feeling that those living in the countryside are removed from the rest of the country - has increased in the past 10 years dues to house prices, decline in rural jobs and the outmigration of young people. The centralisation of schools, libraries, health services and leisure facilities are also seen as contributing to community breakdown.
Professor Sarah Skerratt, director of policy engagement from Scotland’s Rural College said that “an overwhelming majority of respondents told us that the biggest barriers faced by people living in a remote rural area is a forced reliance on private transport to access anything; limited or poor infrastructure in rural areas, including a lack of access to shops and services; and the ongoing issue of poor digital connectivity.”
Sustain campaigns for a food and farming policy which benefits the environment, health, animals, farmers and community.
Published Sunday 12 August 2018
Sustainable Farming Campaign: Sustain encourages integration of sustainable food and farming into local, regional and national government policies.
