‘Whitehall policies cast rural business as economic Cinderella’
Government policy is failing to ensure countryside communities prosper, leaving rural business cast as the ‘Cinderella’ of the British economy, MPs are warned in a new report published today.
Realising the true potential of rural business continues to be overlooked, with current government policy effectively stifling economic growth in the countryside, the CLA says in the report.
Key barriers include digital connectivity, the planning system and a shortage of rural housing not being helped by a lack of completed Local Plans drawn up by local authorities; while rural areas risk being ignored as part of Whitehall devolution deals, the landowners’ group say.
Despite the government’s ongoing rollout of superfast broadband, which currently provides download speeds of over 24Mbps to more than 80 per cent of UK homes and businesses, not even half of all premises in rural areas can access speeds higher than 10Mbps.
Likewise, the government’s relaxation of planning rules to allow redundant farm buildings to be converted into much-needed homes is failing, with almost half of all applications rejected so far.
The CLA’s president Ross Murray said: “The countryside is buzzing with economic potential, but too often the 646,000 rural businesses in England and Wales are overlooked. We are the Cinderella of the UK economy.
“Our vision is that a person setting up or growing a rural business should have the same opportunities as anyone seeking to do so in towns and cities.
“Successful rural businesses – from food, farming and forestry to tourism, leisure and retail – are the heartbeat that sustains the countryside.”
The CLA press release and report can be found here