Rural Realities: Forgotten Communities

New National Research Reveals “Rural Reality” Gap as Communities Face Mounting Pressure

The Rural Services Network has today launched major new research revealing the lived realities of rural life across England, highlighting a growing disconnect between national policy ambition and the day-to-day experiences of rural residents.

Delivering for All: Rural Realities draws on over 2,400 responses from rural residents, alongside in-depth focus groups, making it one of the most comprehensive insights into rural life in recent years.

The findings present a clear and consistent picture:
Rural communities are under pressure and feel forgotten in rural policy, but remain full of untapped potential.

A Web of Interconnected Challenges

The research reveals that the challenges facing rural communities are not isolated, but deeply interconnected, spanning housing, transport, connectivity, health and care, the rural economy, planning, and the transition to Net Zero.

Key findings include:

• Housing: Homes are increasingly unaffordable for local people, with second homes and external demand pricing families and young people out of their communities.
• Transport: Declining public transport leaves many reliant on private cars, increasing costs and isolation for those without access.
• Connectivity: Patchy mobile signal and inconsistent broadband limit access to work, services, and opportunities.
• Health and Social Care: Long distances, workforce shortages, and limited provision mean care is often delayed or difficult to access.
• Rural Economy: Local economies face structural challenges, with limited opportunities and barriers to business growth.
• Planning: The system is widely seen as a barrier, restricting development and failing to meet local need.
• Net Zero: Rural communities face unique challenges in the transition, from off-grid homes to infrastructure constraints.

These issues are experienced daily by millions of people living in rural England.

Voices Behind the Data

What sets this research apart is its focus on lived experience, bringing forward the voices of rural residents to illustrate the reality behind the statistics.

Participants described long journeys to healthcare, unreliable connectivity affecting work and daily life, and the growing difficulty of securing affordable housing.

As one resident put it, rural areas risk becoming places where people can live, but not build a future.

A Clear Message for Policymakers

At a time when Government is focused on growth, housing delivery, and public service reform, the research warns that rural areas risk being overlooked by policies designed around urban assumptions.

The Rural Services Network is calling for:

• Fairer funding that reflects the real cost of delivering services in rural areas
• Joined-up policymaking that recognises the interconnection between issues
• Targeted investment in infrastructure, housing, and essential services
• A stronger rural lens in national decision-making

Without change, the gap between rural and urban communities will continue to widen.

RSN Response

Kerry Booth, Chief Executive of the Rural Services Network, said:

“Delivering for All: Rural Realities is more than a report, it is a foundation for change.

It strengthens the evidence base, amplifies rural voices, and sets out a clear case for action. Policymakers must understand not just the scale of the challenge, but the urgency.

Because every person, in every place, deserves the chance to thrive and that must include those living in rural, coastal and small-town communities.”