New Rural Insights

While Britain has experienced rapid change in economic conditions since 2006, resident opinion in rural areas has, for the large part, remained static. In 2006 we found a contended and optimistic tone among rural residents but some genuine and widespread fears too. This was the case at the end of 2009 too.

The basic needs of those living in urban and rural areas of England might be broadly the same but on the evidence of the Ipsos/Commission for Rural Communities `Rural Insights' survey, there are important differences in perspectives and priorities between rural and urban areas (our survey involved interviewing 2,000 adults across rural areas and 500 in urban areas to allow comparison).

Our analysis also shows that rurality matters even after allowing for the different socio-demographic profiles of populations between, and within, rural and urban areas.160 At the same time, our research in 2006 established that there is no one single rural perspective and this has been confirmed again by the 2009 survey. For example, those living in `rural sparse' areas are significantly less optimistic than those in `less sparse' ones.

The majority of residents, whether they live in rural or urban areas, feel that the people who make the big national or regional decisions which affect their local area `rarely' or `never' understand the needs and circumstances of those that live in their areas (48% rural, 51% urban). Around a third in rural and urban areas think that decision-makers `sometimes' understand and only 12% are of the view that those making decisions `always' or `usually' understand.

The perception among those living in rural areas is that, generally, the area they live in has been less affected by the economic recession than the rest of England. A quarter (26%) say their area has been more affected while three in five (59%) say they have been less affected.

Public transport is seen as the highest priority for improving the quality of life of people by those in rural areas. Over a quarter of rural-based residents (28%) mention this as a priority and it is prioritised by residents across all types of rural areas. Shopping facilities (17%), activities for teenagers (15%) and road/pavement maintenance (14%) are among the other top mentioned priorities across the rural community.