living villages 2 - rural isolation
DESCRIPTION
A talk from Prof Nigel Curry of Gloucester University on Rural Isolation, what it means, how we measure it, and how we solve it.TRANSCRIPT
Rural Isolation
Prof Nigel Curry
Farm
ing prac
tices
Landsca
pe threa
ts
Too m
uch new
housing
Not enough
local
housing
Closure
of local
servi
ces
Loss
of Jobs
Devel.
of touris
m
Devel.
of quarr
ies
Devel.
of wind fa
rms
Devel.
of golf c
ourses
People
moving i
nto area
Building o
f new
road
s
Poor quali
ty public
transp
ort
Traffic c
ongesti
on
Hunting
Trave
llers
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35% very concerned
Figure 1 – things about which all people are most concerned generally in their rural area (all case study areas together)
Cinema Museums/galleries Bus stop Police Station Hostpital0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Cornwall Llanarth Dorset Rhayader Painswick Raglan All
Figure 2 – Difficulties getting to particular facilities and services – percentage finding it very difficult (each area separately, top 5)
Lack of time Lack of access to transport
Health limitations Lack of money Lack of confidence Feeling unsafe Don't get on with those involed
Not interested. 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
% who feel they are unable to get invoved
Figure 3 – things that strongly limit, or prevent, people getting involved in community activities (all areas together)
Having good neighbours Having family nearby Having good access to social services and other support agencies
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Cornwall Llanarth Dorset Rhayader Painswick Raglan All
Figure 4 - In terms of social support: those thinking that access to neighbours, family and official services are ‘very important’ (each case study area separately)
Figure 5 – Issues of concern: a review of Parish Plans (80) and Market Town Plans (40) – the 10 most important
Parish Plans Market Town PlansTraffic issues Traffic issues Housing issues Poor town environmentPoor facilities for young people Public transport Law and order Poor facilities for young peoplePublic transport Local leisure and recreation facilitiesMinor environmental nuisance Limited range of local shops Inadequate village services Neglect of tourism potential Parking issues Facilities to support businessesMore environmental protection Poor quality employmentVillage hall matters Affordable housing
BLUE – potentially related to remoteness.
1. How do we recognise it in Herefordshire? We tend to think of rural isolation as being geographical. But research suggests that in the main social or community isolation is higher in people’s minds than remoteness. Both, though, can lead to isolation.
2. How do we measure it? 2a. Older People in Rural Areas Project: this examined individuals over 60 in two remote rural areas in England (North Cornwall) and Wales (Llanarth, Dyfed), two areas close to urban areas (Painswick in England and Raglan in Wales) and two areas in between (West Dorset and Rhayader, Powys), so the data is good for looking at geographical remoteness. 150 doorstep interviews were conducted in each case study area, 900 in total. Some results from the surveys can help us understand the relative importance of community on the one hand and remoteness on the other, in understanding rural isolation amongst the over 60s. In terms of the issues that worried people most – figure 1 – poor quality public transport and the closure of local services were the most common, in that order, but interestingly these did not vary by geographical remoteness. When we look at the difficulty of getting to particular facilities and services, too – figure 2 – there is no particular association with remoteness and these difficulties are really quite small. Interestingly, when we look at what it is that causes difficulties in getting involved in particular activities– figure 3 – geographical remoteness is again not strong (and this is the same for all types of area again). Finally for this project, we can look at social isolation – or the opposite – a sense of community – figure 4. Here, good neighbours are more important than the availability of public services for older people in all types of rural areas and in most cases, good neighbours are more important than family, too.
2b. Rural Social Surveys: turning now to all rural people, Malcolm Moseley’s surveys of rural England tell us a lot about the social state of our villages. I’ve just picked out one comparison here – figure 5 – which outlines the ten most important issues of concern in a survey of parish plans on the one hand and market towns on the other. This tells us two things about isolation: it doesn’t seem to be very important in villages or market towns relative to other matters and; if anything it is more important in larger settlements.
3. How do we overcome (or reduce) it? 3a Policy: the Localism Act (passed in November 2011, into force in April 2012) provides many opportunities for community empowerment in support of the Big Society: neighbourhood planning (Much Wenlock, Shropshire, is a national leader here); community right to buy. But make sure that the plans are representative, that we have the knowledge and skills to do them properly and that not only the most articulate communities benefit.
3b Finance: the Office for Civil Society and the ‘Giving’ White Paper: £16.8 million support for free advice services for Community Development; £10 million for Big Society Innovators; £34 million for those whose ‘giving’ is innovative; £24 million Social Action Fund (to persuade people to be more actively involved in their communities); the £30 million Community First fund (for matched-funding neighbourhood initiatives).
