Natural England

NEW ANALYSIS OF DEPRIVATION HIGHLIGHTS RURAL PROBLEMS - 22nd January 2001

Figures point to large areas of rural deprivation in the remoter corners of the English countryside. They also highlight pockets of severe deprivation scattered among the relatively affluent rural areas surrounding large urban areas. 

• 18 rural districts fall within the most deprived 100 in the country 
• 99 per cent of the wards which suffer most from lack of services are in rural areas 

Rural deprivation is just one of the issues tackled in the Countryside Agency's new strategy. Rural advocate and chairman of the Countryside Agency, Ewen Cameron, said 
"We want this new strategy to set off a quiet revolution in villages and market towns up and down the English countryside. It will enable rural people to have more control over their own future - one which recognises the links between the social, economic and environmental health of our countryside. 

"England's countryside is changing rapidly, for better and for worse. The challenges facing the countryside are far wider than the current farming crisis or the future of hunting. It is a complex picture." 

Action identified in the strategy Towards tomorrow's countryside includes: 
• helping 1,000 parishes and 100 market towns shape their own futures; 
• getting money to communities for the better transport links they identify to meet their needs; 
• helping underpin and revitalise important community services with grants and advice, and using better ICT; 
• showing how the environment and landscape can be used to build a profitable business that combines economic vitality with environmental and social sensitivity; 
• championing the countryside at the heart of government through the rural advocate and holding policymakers to account with a rural checklist and annual report. 

A clear focus for the Agency will be to create a countryside which people in towns, cities and rural areas can equally value. The new strategy also outlines how people can benefit from the countryside on their doorstep, on the urban fringes and beyond by: 

• opening up more of the countryside for more people from all backgrounds to enjoy; 
• creating 200 new green spaces in the next five years; 
• establishing two new national parks in the New Forest and South Downs.mf 

New analysis of deprivation.../2 

Mr Cameron said: "During the last year we have been talking to many people and organisations about ensuring a vibrant, living countryside for future generations. We have identified 20 clear issues which cover the social, economic and environmental health of the countryside. We are clear that if we are to achieve that vision, there must be action to reverse the negative trends we have identified. We cannot do it alone, we do not have large funds at our disposal, nor are we a regulator, so working with others will be crucial. The rural agenda has been given new impetus by the rural white paper. We now have to take the debate forward into action. 

-ends- 

Note to editors: Details of the key issues identified and the Countryside Agency's new strategy in Towards tomorrows's countryside enclosed. 
* Source: Index of Multiple Deprivation 2000 

For further information contact the Countryside Agency press office on 020 7340 2906/7/9 or (out of hours) Isobel Coy on mobile no: 07973 94 28 92 

The Countryside Agency was established on 1 April 1999 with a new remit to advise government and take action on issues relating to the social, economic and environmental well-being of the English countryside. The Countryside Agency has a budget for 2000/2001 of £55 million and of more than £70 million for 2001/2, and employs some 500 staff around the country. Countryside Agency web site 

www.countryside.gov.uk