What are rural areas? What do we What are rural areas? What do we mean by rural development?mean by rural development?

Michael Winter

Centre for Rural Research

University of Exeter

Rurality is land

The UK landscapeThe UK landscape

Crops and bare fallow

Grasses and rough grazing

Woodland

Other agricultural

Urban

Approximately three quarters of UK land is dedicated to agriculture.

Rurality is people tooRurality is people too

SW Region Population ‘000s

Cumulative change from 2002 ‘000s

1996 4841.5

2002 5001.8

2005 5074.2 97.6

2010 5189.6 213.0

2020 5428.7 452.1

Characteristics of rural Characteristics of rural economieseconomies

• Firms located in rural districts represent nearly a third of all registered businesses in England, with 8% more per head of population than urban areas.

• Microbusinesses, employing under ten people, are predominant in the countryside.

• Business start-ups and turnover are slightly higher in rural areas than urban.

• Rural areas have a higher proportion of self-employed (9% of people of working age) compared to 6.5% in urban areas.

• Rural wages are 88% of urban wages and rising more slowly (5.2% compared with 7.3%).

• Declining levels of certain services, e.g. village shops and post offices.

• Since 1997, declining agricultural incomes.

• Lowe 1999: residents in remote rural areas found between 80-90% of jobs in rural areas, those in accessible rural areas only 40-60%.

• The 3 remote rural zones studied were found to ‘have rather self-contained labour markets with limited inflows and outflows’ which was even true of over 70 % of managers and professionals.

Rural development is about Rural development is about changechange

A Framework for A Framework for Rural DevelopmentRural Development

Sustainable Rural Development – • Equity –inter and intra generational. • Policy Integration - economic, social and

environmental. • Environmental Integrity – limits, the

precautionary principle, the polluter pays principle, maintaining natural diversity.

• Subsidiarity

How is Rural Development How is Rural Development being achieved?being achieved?

• From Agricultural to Rural Policy

• From Government to Governance

• Regionalism

The Rural Strategy 2004

a major change to rural policy .....

….. although not obvious at first sight

Objectives of rural Objectives of rural policypolicy

• economic & social regeneration

• social justice for all

• enhancing the value of the countryside

• targeting resources at areas of greatest need

Regional rural delivery Regional rural delivery frameworksframeworks

• simplify service delivery to customers

• agree regional rural priorities, and ensure action is being taken to address them

• ensure rural issues properly integrated into other regional strategies

• link regional and local level rural policy and delivery, especially with Local Authorities and voluntary sector

Stakeholder and Stakeholder and customer engagementcustomer engagement

At local level through Community Planning and

Market & Coastal Town Initiative.

Regionally, to be reinforced through Rural

Affairs Forums to …– ensure effective customer input to regional and national rural policy making– say how well services are being delivered– have regular discussions with Ministers about how well policies are working