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Who will lead the renaissance for rural communities? Who will lead the renaissance for rural communities?
(6 months later)
Who cares for the countryside? You might think that the rural statement from the Department for the Environment (Defra) last September settled the issue. You would be wrong. It promised a contract with the countryside so that locals "can hold us to account on the priorities to grow the rural economy".Who cares for the countryside? You might think that the rural statement from the Department for the Environment (Defra) last September settled the issue. You would be wrong. It promised a contract with the countryside so that locals "can hold us to account on the priorities to grow the rural economy".
That is a big ask, from a department commanding minimal clout, with rural house prices, on the last estimate, six times average annual household income when the affordable homes budget has been cut by 60%; when perhaps one in four households are below the poverty line; when rural bus services have been slashed and when, courtesy of education secretary Michael Gove's centralist regime, countless village schools face the axe under a new funding formula. This, though the population of rural England, now at 9.5 million (19.3% of the total), rose faster during the last decade than urban areas.That is a big ask, from a department commanding minimal clout, with rural house prices, on the last estimate, six times average annual household income when the affordable homes budget has been cut by 60%; when perhaps one in four households are below the poverty line; when rural bus services have been slashed and when, courtesy of education secretary Michael Gove's centralist regime, countless village schools face the axe under a new funding formula. This, though the population of rural England, now at 9.5 million (19.3% of the total), rose faster during the last decade than urban areas.
We know these facts from the late Commission for Rural Communities (CRC), scrapped last week – a victim of the coalition's bonfire of the quangos – but earlier whittled down beyond recognition in a destructive act that ministers may regret. The commission traced its roots back to a reformist Lloyd George in 1909 and his unease with the clout of big, paternalistic landowners, still influential today. It acted as an independent watchdog and produced annual analysis. It worked to co-ordinate rural policy across government.We know these facts from the late Commission for Rural Communities (CRC), scrapped last week – a victim of the coalition's bonfire of the quangos – but earlier whittled down beyond recognition in a destructive act that ministers may regret. The commission traced its roots back to a reformist Lloyd George in 1909 and his unease with the clout of big, paternalistic landowners, still influential today. It acted as an independent watchdog and produced annual analysis. It worked to co-ordinate rural policy across government.
Would Gove have ploughed ahead with a national funding formula, removing local council control over financing rural schools – which cost more to run per pupil – if a functioning commission had been around to alert all Whitehall? As it happened, leading rural academic and former commission member, Professor Mark Shucksmith, discovered some schools will lose more than 30% of their funding – to the apparent alarm of Defra. As Shucksmith says, such a strategy undermines a government growth agenda aimed at boosting rural economies. "How many people will choose to establish businesses in places with no schools?" he asks.Would Gove have ploughed ahead with a national funding formula, removing local council control over financing rural schools – which cost more to run per pupil – if a functioning commission had been around to alert all Whitehall? As it happened, leading rural academic and former commission member, Professor Mark Shucksmith, discovered some schools will lose more than 30% of their funding – to the apparent alarm of Defra. As Shucksmith says, such a strategy undermines a government growth agenda aimed at boosting rural economies. "How many people will choose to establish businesses in places with no schools?" he asks.
But there is a wider issue. Who is the countryside for? A vocal lobby, from the chairman of the National Trust to the Campaign to Protect Rural England, are seemingly against any development, presumably preferring soulless villages, set in aspic and largely devoid of life. I suspect a silent majority would take a different view to this unrepresentative lobby if given the facts. Only 10% of England is urban – yet, when questioned by pollsters, most people think a quarter of the country is urbanised. Only 1,005 affordable homes were built in rural England in 2011-12. A commission on rural housing set up by the last government put the need at 11,000 annually. Stuart Burgess, recently departed chairman of the CRC, reckons each village could easily take 10 more homes.But there is a wider issue. Who is the countryside for? A vocal lobby, from the chairman of the National Trust to the Campaign to Protect Rural England, are seemingly against any development, presumably preferring soulless villages, set in aspic and largely devoid of life. I suspect a silent majority would take a different view to this unrepresentative lobby if given the facts. Only 10% of England is urban – yet, when questioned by pollsters, most people think a quarter of the country is urbanised. Only 1,005 affordable homes were built in rural England in 2011-12. A commission on rural housing set up by the last government put the need at 11,000 annually. Stuart Burgess, recently departed chairman of the CRC, reckons each village could easily take 10 more homes.
You can imagine the outcry from the self-appointed "countryside lobby" if such a policy, mercifully, came to pass. Let's address reality instead. The Hastoe housing association, the largest organisation devoted to affordable rural housing, built 173 small pockets of attractive new houses last year. Up to 2014 it plans another 370 in 46 villages. It could do much more.You can imagine the outcry from the self-appointed "countryside lobby" if such a policy, mercifully, came to pass. Let's address reality instead. The Hastoe housing association, the largest organisation devoted to affordable rural housing, built 173 small pockets of attractive new houses last year. Up to 2014 it plans another 370 in 46 villages. It could do much more.
With government grants for affordable housing slashed to about 20% for each home, its programme has been significantly reduced as it borrows more money to keep going. Sue Chalkley, its chief executive, cannot understand the reasoning of those who deny rural people a home in areas where they grew up. "Their line is 'If you can't afford to live there, go and live in the town'," she laments.With government grants for affordable housing slashed to about 20% for each home, its programme has been significantly reduced as it borrows more money to keep going. Sue Chalkley, its chief executive, cannot understand the reasoning of those who deny rural people a home in areas where they grew up. "Their line is 'If you can't afford to live there, go and live in the town'," she laments.
There's one word for this: selfishness. But there's a broader point here. Just as the plight of urban England is seen as an important area to address, perhaps it's time to devote more attention to the multiple issues facing the countryside across government – and, crucially, take on the anti-development lobby.There's one word for this: selfishness. But there's a broader point here. Just as the plight of urban England is seen as an important area to address, perhaps it's time to devote more attention to the multiple issues facing the countryside across government – and, crucially, take on the anti-development lobby.
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