9 September 2010
For immediate release
Rural network welcomes
'agenda for change
England's biggest rural partnership has called on policy-makers to implement recommendations to help the countryside realise its economic potential.
The Rural Services Network[1] made the call in response to the launch of an Agenda for Change, published by the Commission for Rural Communities[2].
Graham Biggs, Chief Executive of the Rural Services Network, said the agenda recognised the countryside's vital role in Britain's economic recovery.
But more must be done by all levels of government if the countryside was to realise its full potential, he warned.
Mr Biggs said: "The countryside is a living and working part of the British economy and we welcome the publication of this timely document."
The agenda's overriding recommendation for policy-makers to pay more attention to meeting rural needs was particularly welcome, said Mr Biggs.
"This document must not be read and then placed on a shelf to gather dust. Its recommendations must be implemented in full and as soon as possible."
Mr Biggs praised the recommendation for the planning system to support rather than frustrate sustainable economic growth in rural areas.
He said: "Planners are too often driven by urban orientated guiding principles and a system which discriminates against rural communities.
"These all mean that most rural centres - including many market towns - are denied the opportunity to respond to changing circumstances.
"As a result their functionality is compromised, they become unbalanced and unsustainable."
Mr Biggs also welcomed calls for local authorities and other public bodies to responding positively to community-led plans.
"We have long supported the concept of community led planning and in the current policy context consider it to be the very cornerstone of the 'big society'," said Mr Biggs.
He added: "It is of fundamental importance that government, at all levels, responds positively to the communities' aspirations as expressed through a properly conducted, fully inclusive, community led planning exercise, particularly when preparing their own strategic plans."
Mr Biggs said he was pleased the document echoed a call in the network's own manifesto, A New Agenda for Rural Britain[3], for better rural broadband.
"The roll-out of an adequately future-proofed digital infrastructure is vital to the future of the rural economy and must not bypass the countryside," he said.
"Without it, rural areas risk being left in the slow lane when they could be contributing even more to the national recovery."
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
[1]. The Rural Services Network is a group of more than 200 organisations working together to improve the delivery of rural services across England. The network has representation across the complete range of rural services, including local authorities, public bodies, businesses, charities and voluntary groups. Further information and a full list of members are available at http://www.rsnonline.org.uk/members.html.
[2]. The Agenda for Change was published by the Commission for Rural Communities on 7 September. For further details, see: http://ruralcommunities.gov.uk/2010/09/07/agenda-for-change/
[3]. The network's manifesto, A New Agenda for Rural Britain, was published on 4 January 2010. For further details, see http://www.rsnonline.org.uk/press-releases/a-new-agenda-for-rural-britain.html
[4]. The Rural Services Network exists to ensure services delivered to the communities of predominantly rural England are as strong and as effective as possible. The term 'predominately rural' refers to counties and Local Authority districts with at least 50 percent of their population living in rural settlements (ie. rural towns, villages, hamlets and dispersed dwellings) as identified in the Office for National Statistics' rural definition, and including larger market towns as identified in the Defra classification of local authority districts. The rural definition and classification were devised by the Rural Evidence Research Centre (RERC) at Birkbeck College. Further information on these can be found at http://www.rerc.ac.uk.
MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Graham Biggs
Rural Services Network
Tel: 01588 674922 (landline) 07966 790197 (mobile)