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Rural areas ­ Decline OverviewRemote rural villages in the UK once dominated by primary activities are declining as a result of economic restructuring and resultant rural flight of young people. Rural regeneration is therefore needed in such areas not only to attract investment and retain young people to combat the skills shortages in these areas but also to cater for the ageing populations left behind.

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Rural flight cycle of decline

Rural Flight ­ a factor intensifying rural decline

Economic restructuring has triggered a spiral of decline in rural areas once dominated by primary activities. This causes many young people to migrate to urban areas in search of work and a better quality of life. This can lead to an ageing population struggle to care for itself. Here the priorities for regeneration are two fold. Firstly to implement services for those left behind and secondly to try and retain the young.

rural flight ‐ movement of younger people ( but usually of economically active age ) from rural areas to urban areas.

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3.8 Leisure Facilities. Poor availability and choice in the

leisure and recreation facilities aimed at young people, and

poor accessibility to those facilities that are available.

3.9 Shops and services. A lack of local shops, along with

the recent closure of others

3.10 Transport. Insufficient public transport, adding to

feelings of social and economic isolation

`Rural Flight in Scotland

rural population

urban population

Cornwall ­ Case study of an unsuccessful rural area 

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Counterurbanisation and Commuter Villagesthe movement of people from urban areas to rural areas. 

CounterurbanisationThis is the trend of people moving from towns and cities in to smaller villages in the countryside in search of the perceived rural idyllic lifestyle. Most commonly it is young families in search of more green space and a safer environment to raise children in. Other draws are larger houses with bigger gardens and less congestion and pollution. The process has been enabled by increased car ownership and better road networks meaning the barrier of distance has been eliminated. With high speed broadband now having such wide coverage over the Uk, many small work from home 'businesses' are now also 'footloose' so the trend of counterurbanisation is one that looks set to continue. The process of counterurbanisation has had a number of consequences and in particular has resulted in the changing character of many villages which have seen an increase in population and become more suburbanised in character. These suburbanised villages (villages growing in size and taking on more urban characteristics) have seen various changes as people have moved in from the city. Many have lost some of their rural characteristics as new housing developments have been built on the edge or over what used to be gardens or orchards (infill) and in some instances business units have developed. It is also common to see extensions going on and improvements being made to existing houses. Village shops and local services often suffer as these settlements often become "dormitory villages", where a large proportion of the population commute to work leaving a small daytime population. Mon‐Fri, people really just sleep there.A good fieldwork technique is to do a 'driveway count' in the day and then repeat in the evening with the difference illustrating the nature of the village being a 'dormitory' village. The impact on village shops and services is made worse as many commuters use large supermarkets on the edge of towns. There are also social impacts, as once tight‐knit communities begin to lose community spirit as more and more people move in. The character of the villages also change due to the visible appearance of more cars. Many of these villages and the houses therein were built before car ownership became common so did not have driveways. This leads to more on street car parking.

Accessible rural­urban fringe areas have become successful and are expanding as a result of counterurbanisation and conversion of traditional rural settlements to commuter villages. Inward migration (due to the desire of urban workers to live in the countryside) in such successful areas has led to high rates of employment, an increase in some services to cater for the new influx of middle class residents and on average low levels of IMD. However it has also led to high property prices and a shortage of certain traditional, existing services. such as local shops and bus routes. This means that even such successful rural areas require regeneration as local people become priced out of the area and the most vulnerable become isolated. This creates the need for regeneration for those local people left out of the process in the form of new employment and training opportunities (for the young), new, affordable housing (for the young) and improved local services and transport  (for the elderly).

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Traditionally people lived and worked in rural villages. This led to a tight knit community. Today, thanks to counterurbanisation, people live there but work elsewhere. This alters the character of these places. This is the 'change' we are interested in.

Those involved in or benefiting from  counterurbanisation or rural diversification will perceive the rural areas involved as successful. Where inequality exists, however, those yet to benefit and for some who have been negatively effected by these changes, their perception of the success of rural areas will be very different. 

Some rural areas have also diversified in what is known as a post production rural economy. Those involved in this are doing well, however sometimes it is too seasonal to benefit everyone in a sustainable manner. And for those not involved at all, But those not involved at all, it is hard to identify with such success.

in rural settlements due to counterurbanisation/growth of commuter villages

In addition to some rural areas growing due to proximity to large urban centers (as commuter villages), some have also grown and become successful due to diversification and a shift towards a 'post production' or 'multifunctional' rural economy.

Other Successul Areas

Diversification can take many forms: Animals parks, petting farms, cider farms and visitor centres, farm shops, go karts, quad bikes, theme parks, ice cream factories, tin mine attractions, quarry water parks, camp sites etc. Areas that fail to diversify and attract new functions and visitors inevitably go in to decline as a lack of opportunities and jobs push young people away.

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