Today (Wednesday 10 March), the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) is publishing the results of a comprehensive survey, which took place during late 2009, on the perceptions and priorities of rural people. The survey provides detailed information on the views of residents across rural England, and comparisons with the views of people who live in urban areas.

 

Nicola Lloyd, Executive Director at the CRC said: "The CRC has a responsibility to act as an advocate on behalf of rural communities - ensuring that the rural voice is heard by decision-makers. To act effectively as an advocate we need to find out what rural people think and one of the ways we do this is through our Rural Insights programme. The survey we are publishing today enables us to make a direct comparison with the results of our 2006 survey. It will help us to better understand people's views on how things are in their communities, on the changes they have experienced recently and the hopes, concerns and aspirations of rural residents.

"The survey involved interviews, during November and December 2009, with more than 2,500 residents aged 16 or more living in rural and urban areas across England. Around 500 people were interviewed in urban areas (outside London) and in each of the different types of rural settlements - in the towns, villages, hamlets and across the sparse and the less sparse areas of rural England.

"I hope that the findings of the survey will provide an essential source of evidence for policy makers across government, and others working  nationally, regionally and locally, to help ensure that their policies take into account the needs of the one-in-five of England's population living in the countryside. I also look forward to seeing this Rural Insights survey taking its place as an important element of our strong, relevant evidence base, alongside our established and well-respected 'State of the countryside' suite of reporting."

The survey was conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the CRC. The results of the 'Rural Insights survey 2009' can be found at: www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk/files/CRC%20Rural%20Insights%20FINAL%20Report%2008.03.10.pdf

Key findings

Rural residents are generally positive about where they live and their quality of life

94% are satisfied with where they live, compared with 89% in urban areas. The proportion 'very' satisfied is 62% in rural areas compared with 46% in urban. 92% rate their quality of life as good compared with 87% in urban areas.
65% are optimistic that their local area as a place to live will get better compared with 57% in urban areas. 61% think that there has been a small amount or no change in their local area in the past 5 years, very similar to the 59% saying this in urban areas.

Disconnection from decision-making persists in all areas

34% of rural residents feel they can influence decisions in their local area although 55% think that there are opportunities for them to have a say in local issues. The corresponding figures for urban areas are 29% and 43%.
48% think that decision-makers rarely or never understand the needs and circumstances of people in their local area compared with 51% in urban areas.


Rural people want to see improvement in public transport in their local area; urban residents are more concerned by the level of crime

Public transport was mentioned by 28% as one of the main things rural people would like to see done to improve the quality of life. Other concerns were shopping facilities (17%), activities for teenagers (15%) and road maintenance (14%).

These figures are very different in urban areas. Only 10% mentioned public transport and 7% shopping facilities, while 20% mentioned the level of crime.

Public transport is the main priority for government action to help rural areas

29% of rural people chose public transport as a priority for government action (an increase from 21% in 2006), and 23% in urban areas recognised it as a concern for rural areas.

'Young people' is the second most important area for action being seen as a priority by 21% in less sparse rural town and village areas. This has declined slightly as a priority from 22% in 2006.

Housing is also a prime concern for 21% in rural areas, and is especially a concern in sparse rural areas and less sparse hamlets.

24% of those in urban areas mention law and order, crime and policing as a priority compared with just 17% of those from rural areas. Rural England is much less likely than urban England to think tackling crime is a priority.

Most in rural areas think the recession affected other areas more, but more felt they were personally affected

Around three in ten, 30%, of rural residents feel they have been affected 'a great deal' or 'a fair amount', slightly higher than the 27% for urban areas. Those in less sparse hamlets feel more affected by the recession than any other rural area (33%).
25% think their area has been more affected by the recession compared with England as a whole compared with 38% in urban areas.
41% in rural areas felt that their area had received no help during the recession from any national, regional or local agency.

There is strong support for renewable energy expansion

88% of residents in rural England support an expansion of renewable energy, slightly higher than the proportion of urban residents (85%). In both cases, half (51%) strongly support increasing the amount of renewable energy generated in England.

Support amongst rural residents for wind power falls from 80% to 75% when asked about the local area rather than for England as a whole, and from 40% to 30% for nuclear power.