Rural life in crisis as young people forced out

THE long-term future of Britain’s countryside is in doubt as high numbers of young people are forced out by lack of jobs and affordable housing, Gordon Brown has been warned.

The Government’s rural advocate Dr Stuart Burgess will tell the Prime Minister that the fabric of rural communities is being damaged by the exodus of people in their 20s and that there is a significant gap between the opportunities for young people in rural and urban areas.

Communities in Yorkshire find themselves among the areas most acutely affected by the exodus as young people abandon the countryside to find work and homes. As many as seven out of 10 are leaving Harrogate aged 18, most never returning.

North Yorkshire County Council says it is treating the exodus as a key economic issue while Harrogate Borough Council lists the loss of 18- to 29-year-olds as one of the principal threats to the region’s prosperity over the next five years.

Dr Burgess, head of rural watchdog the Commission for Rural Communities, will present his findings directly to Gordon Brown in a report based on evidence gathered in communities across rural England, where he asked young people about the fears, aspirations, challenges and needs they faced. In it he states that many young people see no future in the countryside and says the fabric of rural communities is being damaged by the fact that so many young people were being forced out.

A total of 374,000 people between 16 and 24 living in rural areas are economically inactive, some 40 per cent of the total figures Less than a fifth of the country’s JobCentre Plus outlets are based outside towns and cities.

Lack of affordable housing meant young people had to head for the towns and cities, affecting the futures of traditional farm businesses and reducing the potential for the creation of new businesses to sustain the rural economy.

Some 13 per cent of housing stock in the countryside is set aside for social housing as compared with 22 per cent in towns and cities, and demand for housing in villages and hamlets is expected to rise at a far faster rate than elsewhere.

Poor broadband access was also causing “frustration and exclusion”.

Dr Burgess says: “Wherever I go, I hear deep concerns – that challenges with housing, work, transport, training and social exclusion are preventing young people from living in the countryside. Without young people to provide a workforce, rural economies are unable to fulfil their full potential and communities can go into decline.”

Coun John Blackie, of Richmondshire District Council, which last year initiated a 2.6m scheme to attract young people to the area, said: “It is a real key problem, whole villages are suffering.

“We have done our best to try and attract new employers here but it is to no use. The landscapes here are beautiful and the quality of life is second to none, but you can’t eat the view.”

The Country Land and Business Association has been campaigning for some time on the issues of affordable housing and internet access.

Its president, William Worsley, a Yorkshire landowner, said: “A lack of economic infrastructure leads to a scarcity of jobs, which in turn drives people out of the countryside in a spiral of decline for rural areas, their communities and businesses.”

A Downing Street spokesman said the report would be looked at closely.

Brain drain threatens spa town’s future: Page 7; Comment: Page 14.