Category Archives: Rural communities

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

4 Jul 2017

Posted under

Austerity cuts, Rural communities

Rural banks gone, now rural cash machines at risk

From AOL Money website:

“The supermarkets are warning that the days of free ATMs could soon be over – especially for those in rural areas. People living in less densely populated places tend to rely on free ATMs in shops, supermarkets or petrol stations – as the last bank in town is long gone. It means that if the retailers lose an appeal against the government, they could lose their fee-free access to cash.

The problem is that shops make money from their cash machines – even when they are free to use – and in 2013, the government decided it wanted a piece of the action. It issued a huge tax bill, and put the future of the network in jeopardy.

Tax

Retailers don’t run these cash machines out of the goodness of their hearts – they actually make money from them. They haven’t gone public with exactly what they make from their machines, but we know that the ATM operator will pay them either by paying rental on the space, paying a flat fee, paying a percentage of each transaction – or a combination of all three.

In 2013, the government noted that the network had grown dramatically and presented them with a new way to make money, so it started to charge business rates on cash machines attached to shops. It sent bills to the supermarkets that were backdated to April 2010. The cost for each machine comes to an estimated £2,800, so the total bill for Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Co-operative group runs to hundreds of millions of pounds.

To make matters worse, the recent revaluation of business rates has pushed the cost of operating ATMs even higher, so they will have to pay £206 million for the next five years.

The supermarkets didn’t take this lying down, and took the government to court in order to claw back the tax they had been forced to pay out on their cash machines. Unfortunately in April the courts decided in favour of the government – so the bills will have to be paid. They have now filed an appeal.

The impact

If this appeal fails, ATMs will become much less lucrative for the supermarkets, and for any petrol station or shop that currently offers a free ATM. It may put them off operating them altogether, and where they decide to continue providing the machines, it could mean they start charging a fee in order to cover their tax bills.

For many people, who have seen the last bank leave town, this could mean that aside from getting cashback in stores, they have no alternative to an ATM that charges a fee.

We will have to see whether the appeal succeeds, or whether for this group of people, the days of free ATMs are over forever.”

https://t.co/Mnrql9OdJC

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

28 Jun 2017

Posted under

Rural communities, Transport (local)

Local public transport: Stagecoach in financial trouble – will there be price hikes?

Owl says: Stagecoach Group plc has announced bad results for the past year and their shares are down 7.5% today. East Devon is heavily reliant on the company for rail services to London on its South West Trains franchise and for bus services throughout the district, where the company has a near monopoly on routes.

Will this be yet more price hikes for rural communities and commuters?

“Stagecoach was forced to take a hefty £84.1mln pre-tax charge on the joint venture with Virgin, as well as an additional £44.8mln write down on the value of the network – one that used to be profitable under public ownership.

The FTSE 250 group said it was in talks with the Department for Transport regarding the terms of the deal and hoped that, with some tweaks, the franchise will return to profitability in 2019. …”

http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/179959/

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

26 Jun 2017

Posted under

Accountability, East Devon Alliance, EDDC, Planning System, Rural communities, Transparency, Woodbury

Greendale Business Park 120% expansion plan – battle for who really controls East Devon planning policy and an EDA councillor excluded from meetings about his own area.

document to support the already approved “East Devon Local Plan.”

The Owners proposal is approx. 120% more development beyond the present developed area. The various coloured outlines show the proposed
development areas.

 

“East Devon District Council recently asked local people about a planning

The Local Authorities proposal for Greendale Business Park. “No further expansion beyond the present permitted developments already permitted”

The Owners version published in a document called the “Greendale Masterplan” which is included in the published consultation documents.

This proposal, known as the “Villages Plan,” will provide planning guidance until 2031 for the larger villages in East Devon and two large industrial sites of Hill Barton and Greendale.

The Villages Plan is not yet approved but the owners FWS Carter and Sons have submitted a “masterplan” proposing a massive 120% expansion to their site. There is considerable local concern that further expansion at Greendale Business Park will now continue.

The company`s agents have submitted a multitude of documents to support their claim for continued expansion and in a bid to overcome possible objections have re-introduced a “liaison group” which they claim is:

“To provide better lines of communication and wider understanding”

A few years ago, following a great many complaints, contentious planning applications and planning appeals the owners of the Business Park were asked by the County Council to invite Planning, Environmental Officers and locally elected representatives to form a liaison group.

This was a success for a few years, but was disbanded by the management 18 months ago, however they held a liaison meeting on Wednesday June 21st at their offices.

There is local concern over who the owners invited to attend.

There was no invitation for members of the Residents Association, Woodbury Parish Council were restricted by the company who named two Councillors they wished to attend. Most controversially the “Terms of Reference” was changed by removing the word “Local” from “Local Elected Member of the District Council” and the invitation was sent to Conservative Budleigh Town and District Councillor Tom Wright but not the current ward member.

The local ward Councillor Geoff Jung (EDA Independent) who is also the secretary of the Residents Association and a Parish Councillor says:
“This is not the normal practice for a “Liaison Group”, but the company has the right to invite whoever they wish to these meetings.”

“It`s totally “legal” but it`s certainly not democratic, I am unable to represent people as a member of Residents Association, nor as a Parish Councillor, nor as a District Councillor”. “I now have the most bizarre situation that I must direct residents with local concerns to the new Chair of this Liaison Group, Conservative Exmouth Town and recently elected Local County Councillor Mr Richard Scott.”

“It`s standard practice that a District Councillor represents his own ward at Liaison meetings and this requires the approval of the District Council. Cllr Wright has ignored this protocol and attended but, I am very pleased to hear that planning officers from the District Council will not attend the meetings until my inclusion is agreed.”

“There are serious local concerns regarding the recently submitted “Greendale Masterplan” and I suspect that the re-introduction of this Local Liaison Group is to do with these expansionist plans”

The Planning History.

Thirty years ago, the business park was a farm with some agricultural buildings which the owners claimed to be “redundant for farming use” They were given permission to be converted to Industrial units. More agricultural buildings were built and again allowed to become Industrial. Many of planning applications were “retrospective” (Built or converted prior to Planning Permission being submitted.

In 2009 the Business Park was permitted to enlarge to its present size as an “Exception Site to the then Local Plan” This was because the East Devon Business Forum (chaired by disgraced Conservative Councillor Graham Brown who boasted to a daily Telegraph “sting” reporter that he could provide approval for planning for a fee). The Forum claimed there was an acute lack of Industrial land available within the district.

Steadily the owners have built a very large Business Park in the open Countryside which was never the local planning authorities policy.
The residents of the rural village of Woodbury Salterton consider that any further expansion will destroy their beautiful village set in the open countryside, and for the last 10 years have campaigned for better planning protection.

The Local Authority with their recently approved Local Plan decided on the location for housing and commercial land, and agreeing with the village residents that further expansion of Greendale Business Park would not be appropriate or suitable.

The Local Plan is a blueprint for district planning until 2031 and includes policies for commercial and industrial developments to be built close to urban settlements. Substantial commercial opportunities exist at Cranbrook, Exeter Airport and on land known as the West End (on the outskirts of Exeter). This is to follow the Government`s planning policy that people should not be required to commute far from their homes to a place of work.
The village community, through their Residents Association, their Parish, District and County Councillors have strived for a sensible balance of development and the proposals included in the Local Plan and the emerging Village Plan are a direct result of 10 years of hard work of campaigning and lobbying.

Councillor Geoff Jung says:

“The decisions for both the Local Plan and the Villages Plan were decided democratically and agreed by full Council and by a Government Planning Inspector. The owners of Greendale must not be allowed to bulldoze further and further into the countryside.”

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

14 Jun 2017

Posted under

Economy, Post-Brexit Adjustments, Rural communities

Time for pensioners to get off their sofas – your country needs you

“Restricting access to migrant workers once the UK leaves the EU would negatively impact the profitability, efficiency and viability of more than half of rural businesses, according a new survey by the CLA.

Revealing the results on 8 June, the CLA which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses said Brexit had already caused problems for rural employers, with 44% of CLA members surveyed saying they had experienced a reduction in the availability of migrant labour over the past year. Almost 90% of respondents tried to recruit locally but the majority found it difficult to fill positions with British workers. …”

https://www.cla.org.uk/node/10704

Owl says: But surely we have already been given a solution by a former Conservative agriculture minister who said that young, fit migrant workers should be replaced by pensioners:

https://eastdevonwatch.org/2017/05/04/pensioners-should-replace-foreign-fruit-and-veg-pickers-said-former-agriculture-minister/

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

14 Jun 2017

Posted under

Rural communities, Small and Medium businesses

Community Business Fund

The £10 million Community Business Fund is open oJune until 5 July at 12 midday.

Grants between £50,000 and £300,000 are available to community businesses in England to help them progress towards self sufficiency. The £10 million Community Business Fund from Power to Change opened on 7 June and will close on 5 July 2017.

Community businesses are run by local people for local people. They can revive local assets, protect the services people rely on, and address local needs. There are many types of community business. What they all have in common is that they are inclusive and give decision making power to local people and that the profits they generate flow back into the community to deliver positive local impact.

You can find out more here:

http://www.powertochange.org.uk/funding/grants/community-business-fund/

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

12 Jun 2017

Posted under

Environment (local), Planning System, Rural communities, Tourism

“Rural tourism worth more than farming”

“TOURISM generates more revenue and provides more employment for the rural sector than farming, delegates at a recent seminar were told.

John Hoy, head of rural at consultants Bidwells, was speaking at the firm’s latest event, which was themed around the wealth of diversification opportunities available to the rural sector.

Whether it is glamping, holiday lets, sporting events, filming, wedding venues, concerts or even hosting festivals, the tourism sector offers an array of profitable opportunities, he said.

And tourism is set to play an even more important role in the rural sector in a post-Brexit environment especially if it is incorporated into any replacement scheme for CAP.

Mr Hoy said: “The value of tourism for the rural sector is very poorly understood.

“If we look for example at the numbers around tourism and agriculture there are 365m trips to rural destinations each year, generating £18.6bn for the rural economy and providing 340,000 full-time jobs.

“So tourism actually generates more revenue and provides more employment for the rural sector than farming, which might surprise many who work in this industry.

“It is therefore really important that the linkages between farming, the environment and our unique landscape is recognised in how the CAP is reformed going forward.”

Mr Hoy was the chief executive of Blenheim Palace for 14 years, before he joined Bidwells in January.

During the presentation, he talked through the potential key areas that must be addressed in order to ensure that the tourism industry continues to thrive post-Brexit.

These include reinstating tourism planning guidance, developing a skilled workforce, reducing red tape and improving public transport.
The rural industry must look at innovative new ways to generate income in a post-Brexit environment – and the returns could be very rewarding, said Mr Hoy.

Britain’s events industry alone is worth over £41bn to the economy through direct visitor spend, he told the audience.

Mr Hoy also gave guidance on some of the do’s and don’ts when hosting events and highlighted the additional incomes which they can provide.

“There are huge opportunities in all of these areas and the rural sector needs to look creatively in the post-Brexit market that we are in,” he said.
“It needs to be more entrepreneurial, find other things to do and discover just what opportunities are out there.”

http://www.rsnonline.org.uk/business/rural-tourism-worth-more-than-farming

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

24 May 2017

Posted under

Health and Social Care (local), NHS (local), Rural communications, Rural communities, Transport (local)

“The state of rural services” report

“Changes to rural transport provision affect access to a range of service facilities and outlets, where these are not available locally and where travel is necessary. Recent reductions to bus services are therefore of direct relevance to various topics covered by this report.

Similarly, rural access to a range of services is altering due to the provision of and take-up of online services. This has considerable scope to address long standing concerns about rural access to services, if geographic distance is no longer such a barrier. However, this is not straightforward. Not all groups are online, some rural areas await decent (broadband) connectivity and one consequence may be less used physical outlets e.g. bank branches.

The demography of rural areas and, in particular, the growing number of older people has implications for the future of services covered in this report. On the one hand it places considerable extra pressures on public services such as GP surgeries and adult social care, especially if funding for them is tight, as it has been for some years and seems likely to continue being. On the other hand older age groups are more likely to be users of locally based commercial services in rural areas, such as convenience stores, thus helping them to survive. Retired people who remain in good health are also likely to make up a good proportion of the volunteers engaged with providing community-run services. …”

https://ruralengland.org/the-state-of-rural-services-2016-report/

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

3 Apr 2017

Posted under

EDDC, Phil Twiss, Rural communications, Rural communities

Rural infrastructure- lack of

One for Councillor Twiss, perhaps. And him apparently being a telecomms expert, he might also tell us how he plans to ensure that many rural communities in East Devon can move – not to the new 5G phone service everyone is now anticipating – but just to the much older 3G phone service that some areas of East Devon have never had and which is now considered old-fashioned and out-of-date.

Bet the new EDDC HQ will have 5G …

” … Existing discussions on rural infrastructure often focus on broadband, where demand for digital services often outstrips many urban places but the task of connecting residents and businesses up remains great due to lower population densities and geography which combine to make the commercial case for investment more challenging.

There are debates over whether having a broadband internet ‘service’ should be treated as a basic ‘utility’ much like electricity, water or the traditional telephone or seen as a luxury item. And whether rural residents and businesses expect the same or comparable levels of connectivity as their urban counterparts?

Other discussions have focused on transport: rural residents tend to travel longer distances, have higher costs, greater reliance on car use and increasingly limited access to public transport. These issues are incredibly important to rural communities and while they should not be overlooked there is a tendency to consider them individually and in isolation rather than collectively.

Going forward, we need to monitor whether, how and when existing Government infrastructure projects and programmes are benefitting rural areas. We also need to be mindful of a gap opening up between whether we should update / improve existing infrastructure or provide brand new infrastructure. …

http://www.rsnonline.org.uk/analysis/mind-the-rural-infrastructure-gap

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

24 Mar 2017

Posted under

Austerity cuts, Health and Social Care (local), NHS (local), Rural communities

“Looming countryside health crisis as stoic elderly ‘won’t make a fuss’ “

“A crisis in countryside health care could be looming because of the number of older patients who are reluctant to “make a fuss” and seek out help, a new report suggests.

The Public Health England study warns that one in six areas with the worst levels of health and deprivation are in rural areas, with “pockets of real hardship” in areas assumed to be idylls.

Almost half of rural households are at least five miles away from a hospital, when 97 per cent of those living in cities have one close at hand. And 20 per cent were more than 2.5 miles from a GP surgery, compared with 2 per cent of those in urban areas.

“Rural areas have worse access in terms of distance to health, public health and care services,” the report says. “Longer distances to GPs, dentists, hospitals and other health facilities mean that rural residents can experience ‘distance decay’ where service use decreases with increasing distance”.

The report, written jointly with the Local Government Association, says councils are under increasing pressure as they attempt to meet the needs of an ageing rural population.

On average those living in rural areas are five years older than those living in cities.

Councillor Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:

“We often think of rural areas as picture-postcard scenes of rolling green fields and farming land, yet this idyllic image is masking pockets of deprivation and poor health.

The stoic nature of some countryside dwellers could fuel pressures on services, because some were prone to put up with health complaints until they became serious, she suggested.

“The make do attitude and reluctance to make a fuss of some older rural residents means they may not seek out health care or treatment when they need it. This stores up worse problems for later on where they require far more serious and emergency care.”

Duncan Selbie, chief executive of PHE said the report “busts the myth that poverty, deprivation and ill health are confined to urban, inner city areas.”

http://newscdn.newsrep.net/h5/nrshare.html

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

22 Mar 2017

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, Rural communities

Elderly and vulnerable rural people to travel further for prescriptions

“Nearly 300,000 people, many of whom are elderly and live in rural areas, will have to travel five miles more to collect their medicines because of a Government subsidy cut.

The study by the House of Commons library laid bare how much further the ill and sick will have to travel for medicines if pharmacies close because of a cut in a vital subsidy.

The news comes as campaigners will today [tues] start a four day challenge in the High Court against the cuts.

Last Autumn ministers announced that the subsidy for pharmacies in rural and deprived areas will be cut by £208million in the 2017/18 financial year.
Campaigners said that up to 3,000 pharmacies in England are threatened with closure by the cuts.

The Commons library said that overall 1.3million people – one in 43 of the population of England – will have to travel further to get their medicines.
And it said that an extra 70,000 will have to travel more than five miles to get to their nearest pharmacy.

The worst place affected is an extra nine mile journey for people trying to get medicines in Appleby-in-Westmoreland in Cumbria.

It said that 920,419 people will have to walk between one and 2.5 miles farther to a pharmacy if their local outlet shut.” …”

http://newscdn.newsrep.net/h5/nrshare.html?r=3&lan=en_GB&pid=14&id=GLa66740fhm_uk&app_lan=&mcc=234&declared_lan=en_GB&pubaccount=ocms_0&referrer=200620&showall=1&mcc=234

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

20 Mar 2017

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, Health and Social Care (local), NHS (local), Rural communities

Rural health concerns

“The government must improve the way it collates information on the health of people who live in rural areas, according to the Local Government Association and Public Health England.

One sixth of areas with the worst health and deprivation levels are located in the countryside, says the organisations said in a joint study released over the weekend.

Izzi Seccombe, chair of the LGA’s community wellbeing board, said: “We often think of rural areas as picture-postcard scenes of rolling green fields and farming land, yet this idyllic image is masking pockets of deprivation and poor health.

“Although many rural areas are affluent, this is not the case for everywhere.”

The report points out 55% of rural households compared to 97% of urban ones are within 8km of a hospital. Eighty per cent of rural residents live within 4km of a GP surgery compared to 98% of the urban population, Health in rural areas highlights.

Rural areas have on average 23.5% of their population over 65 compared with 16.3% of urban areas aged over 65.

“Rural communities are increasingly older, and older people often experience worse health and have greater need of health and care services,” said Seccombe.

“We are also concerned that the make do attitude and reluctance to make a fuss of some older rural residents means they may not seek out health care or treatment when they need it.”

This stores up worse problems later on, she explained, when they will need more serious and emergency care.

Councils could better plan how to provide services and meet the needs of people in rural areas if the government collated better information on health of people in these areas, the LGA and Public Health England believe.

Duncan Selbie, chief executive of Public Health England, said: “Local authorities are already finding new and imaginative ways of reaching out to people in remote communities who so often go unnoticed.

“This report offers a number of great examples that other areas can use to ensure they do not miss out on the opportunity for better health and wellbeing.”

http://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2017/03/lga-and-public-health-england-highlight-rural-health-concerns

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

18 Mar 2017

Posted under

Inequality, Phil Twiss, Rural communications, Rural communities

Inequality in rural communities

Councillor Phil Twiss is in charge of rolling out broadband to areas in East Devon that have low or no broadband speeds. EDDC opted out of a Devon-wide project, preferring to choose its own way of doing things. Contact Councillor Twiss if you are unhappy about broadband provision in your area:

Email: ptwiss@eastdevon.gov.uk
Telephone: 01404 891327
Address: Swallowcliff, Beacon, Honiton, EX14 4TT

“Almost 10 million people in the UK live in areas of England defined as rural. They are – on average – 5.3 years older than their counterparts in urban areas, with settlements in sparse areas tending to have the highest proportion of their populations amongst the older age groups, the report said.

The outward migration of young people and inward migration of older people, who tend to have greater health and social care needs, as well as poorer public transport links, are having a “significant impact” on people’s daily lives and access to services, it concluded.

Eighty per cent of rural residents live within four kilometres of a GP surgery, compared with 98 per cent of the urban population, while only 55 per cent of rural households compared to 97 per cent of urban households are within eight kilometres of a hospital, the study found.

Crucially, a combination of the older demographic and the unavailability of high-speed broadband has led to a growing digital gap between urban and rural areas, which is enhancing loneliness among the elderly and preventing people from benefiting from important developments and innovations in access to health-related services, the report went on.

There is a growing social and economic gap between those who are connected and those who are not – the ‘digitally excluded’ — with 13 per cent of the adult UK population (6.4 million) never having used the Internet, and 18 per cent saying that they do not have Internet access at home.

“Rural social networks are breaking down with a consequent increase in social isolation and loneliness, especially among older people,” the report states.

“The fact that social isolation influences health outcomes in its own right suggests that this and the emotional and mental wellbeing of people in rural areas is an important and hitherto neglected area in the promotion of public health.” …

… We need to be more observant of how dependent that older population in rural areas is, and the pockets of isolation and deprivation that you get are there, and they’re very often hidden because it all looks like a nice rural ideal.”

The report also states that the level of poverty in certain rural areas was also a serious problem that was frequently overlooked, with almost one in seven (15 per cent) rural households living in relative poverty after housing costs are taken into account.”

A lack of affordable housing in some areas is now extending to those on average incomes, not just people on lower incomes, leading to people — generally of the younger generation — moving out to urban areas and increasing concerns about the sustainability of rural communities.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/rural-communities-countryside-public-health-england-local-government-association-neglected-digital-a7636521.html

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

16 Mar 2017

Posted under

Art and Culture, Rural communications, Rural communities

Now rural toddlers are penalised!

The freeview channel Tiny Pop, which features programmes including Postman Pat and Miffy’s Adventures, was re-tuned yesterday and is now only available in cities. …

… An announcement earlier this month stated that, from yesterday, Tiny Pop will only be available on Freeview in and around the following locations:
Basingstoke, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Grimsby and Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham, Norwich, Oxford, Preston, Reading, parts of the Solent area, Sheffield, Swansea, Teesside, Tyne and Wear. Coverage will soon come to Aberdeen, Ayr and Dundee.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4320000/Children-s-meltdowns-Tiny-Pop-channel-tuned.html

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

16 Mar 2017

Posted under

Developers/ Development, Environment (local), Rural communities, Sustainability

Lecture: Natural Capital and Sustainable Growth

Natural Devon’s 2017 Lecture

Professor Dieter Helm CBE – Natural Capital and Sustainable Growth

Thursday 6th April 2017, 6pm
Newman Blue Lecture Theatre, Exeter University, Streatham Campus, EX4 4ST

Professor Dieter Helm is an economist specialising in utilities, infrastructure, regulation and the environment. He is a Professor of Energy policy at the University of Oxford, a member of the Economics Advisory Group to the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and Chairman of Defra’s Natural Capital Committee, as well as being Honorary Vice President of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.

In the face of growing environmental pressures Professor Dieter Helm is looking to offer a set of strategies for establishing natural capital policy that is balanced, economically sustainable, and politically viable. He believes that the commonly held view that environmental protection poses obstacles to economic progress is false, and that the environment must be at the very core of economic planning.

Professor Helm’s lecture is particularly relevant this year given opportunities presented by Brexit, the development of Devon Local Plans and the development of the Heart of the South West Productivity Plan.

In partnership with The University of Exeter

Directions: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/visit/directions/streatham/
The Newman Blue Lecture Theatre is number 18 on this link – htttp://www.exeter.ac.uk/visit/directions/streathammap/

If you would like to book a place please email – tom.whitlock@devon.gov.uk

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

8 Mar 2017

Posted under

Health and Social Care (local), NHS (local), Rural communities

Rural? Depending on rural care? Probably best to forget it

Are Ottery, Honiton, Axminster and Seaton now classed as “rural communities” now they have no hospital beds, along with villages?

http://www.rsnonline.org.uk/press-releases/shortage-of-rural-doctors-puts-patients-health-at-risk

http://www.rsnonline.org.uk/services/rural-social-care-is-underfunded-–-network

http://www.rsnonline.org.uk/services/communities-blighted-by-patchy-rural-services

http://www.rsnonline.org.uk/analysis/are-rural-carers-overwhelmed-by-need

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

20 Jan 2017

Posted under

Education (local), Rural communications, Rural communities

Poor broadband connections disadvantage rural children

Poor broadband connection in remote areas hinders children’s learning because they cannot do their homework properly, a report has found.

Brian Wilson, Director at Rural England, said that pupils who grow up in rural communities are at a disadvantage compared with their urban residents, as they less are able to access online learning resources and carry out research based projects. A report by the campaign group, titled State of Rural Services 2016, written by Mr Wilson, said that rural communities are suffering due to poor transport
links to vital public services.

Click to access the-knowledge-20-january-2017-issue-34.pdf

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

20 Jan 2017

Posted under

Cranbrook, EDDC, Flooding, Fords of Sidmouth, Rural communities, Sidmouth/ Sidford/ Sidbury, Sustainability

(Greater) Exeter area rainfall expected to increase by 73% say researchers

“The trend of paving over gardens is putting Exeter homes at risk of flooding as the city is set to see a 73 per cent increase in rain, and paved gardens could see the city’s drains overwhelmed. …”

http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/exeter-rainfall-to-increase-by-73-per-cent-and-your-paved-garden-will-make-the-city-flood/story-30073383-detail/story.html

One can presume that this includes the East Devon area. Cranbrook is already a concrete jungle and those close to rivers or on flood plains will be particularly hard hit.

And just imagine the effect on properties around it of building on and paving over the proposed Sidford Industrial estate, not to mention its effect on the River Sid!

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

16 Jan 2017

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, Health and Social Care (local), NHS (local), Rural communities

Radio 4 wants to hear about government cuts to rural services

You & Yours, Radio4 are asking people to email them today for tomorrow’s show about ‘services in rural areas’. Discussing reports that services in the countryside are patchy.

Contact them here:

https://ssl.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qps9/contact

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

16 Jan 2017

Posted under

Austerity cuts, Rural communities, Transport (local)

“Government’s double whammy for rural communities”

“RURAL communities face a double whammy of higher council tax bills and fewer public services, the Rural Services Network has warned.

The warning is contained in the network’s response to the government’s 2017-2018 provisional funding settlement for local authorities.

The proposed settlement risks “crippling public services in rural areas” and forcing local authorities to raise council tax to a significantly higher level than urban areas, said the network.

It added: “The government’s plans are likely to make life for people across rural England extremely difficult, hitting hardest those most in need of public services.”

Grant cuts had been difficult for all local councils over the last five years, said the network. But until now, the axe had fallen reasonably equitably across both rural and urban areas.

Under the recent four year final local government settlement, however, rural areas would lose over 31% of their central government funding, while urban areas would lose about 22%.

The network said: “The provisional settlement just announced seeks to implement the second year of the four year settlement and, in addition, makes it even worse.”

The situation followed the chronic underfunding of rural areas by successive governments, said the network.

Rural areas were getting a raw deal – despite acknowledgement of the higher cost of providing services to remote communities and the lower than average incomes of rural people.

The network also criticised the government’s core spending power figures.
It said the figures took for granted that rural residents would have to pay even more in council tax than their urban counterparts.

“That is a cynical miscalculation which, has undoubtedly contributed to the present disaffection between rural residents and Westminster,” it said.
The network said it “fundamentally disagreed” with changes to the methodology for calculating the government’s revenue support grant, which was introduced in the 2016/17 settlement.

The inclusion of council tax in the calculation of RSG reductions had resulted in significantly higher reductions for rural areas than for urban areas.

It appeared that the government was content for rural people to pay more council tax from lower incomes and to receive fewer services than their urban counterparts.

“This is manifestly unreasonable and grossly unfair,” it warned. “The Rural Services Network cannot accept this position.”

The network’s full response can be downloaded here:

Click to access Response2017-18ProvisionalSettlement.pdf

Source: http://www.rsnonline.org.uk/services/double-whammy-for-rural-communities

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

4 Jan 2017

Posted under

Environment (local), Post-Brexit Adjustments, Rural communities

“Brexit ‘zombie legislation’ could damage wildlife and farming, MPs warn”

“Brexit could harm the UK’s wildlife and farming, according to a cross-party committee of MPs, with key protections left as ineffective “zombie legislation” and farmers facing a “triple jeopardy” of lost subsidies, export tariffs and increased competition.

A new report from the environmental audit select committee warns that many of the rules governing food production and the environment in the UK come from EU law and that weakening of these rules would damage the countryside and reduce the viability of farms, food security and safety.

The MPs said that for the government to meet its manifesto commitment to “be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than it found it”, ministers must commit to passing a new Environmental Protection Act before it triggers article 50 and starts the formal process of leaving the EU.

The MPs said it was concerning that the environment secretary, Andrea Leadsom, gave no reassurance that farmers would receive subsidies after 2020. But the report also recommended that if a new subsidy regime was put in place, it should focus less on direct income support to farmers and more on delivering public goods, such as preventing flooding, tackling climate change and boosting wildlife.

Attenborough urges UK to use Brexit to improve wildlife protections
“Changes from Brexit could put our countryside, farming and wildlife at risk,” said Mary Creagh, chair of the environmental audit committee (EAC). “Protections for Britain’s wildlife and special places currently guaranteed under European law could end up as ‘zombie legislation’, even with the great repeal bill.”

Creagh said food, animal welfare and environmental standards had to be maintained as the UK seeks new trade deals with other countries. “The government must not trade away these key protections [and] it should also give clarity over any future farm subsidies.”

There are about 800 pieces of EU environmental legislation, covering wildlife and habitats, water quality, farming, food and fisheries. The government’s great repeal bill intends to transpose all those rules into UK law, but Leadsom told the EAC that about a third would be difficult to transpose.

The EAC said that, without pre-emptive action, these rules would end up as “zombie legislation”, with no body to enforce them, no updates and easily eroded by ministers via parliamentary statutory instruments, which receive minimal scrutiny from MPs.

The EU’s common agricultural policy provides £3.5bn a year in subsidies to UK farmers, making up more than half of their income, and the MPs said Brexit posed a “triple jeopardy” for farmers. Firstly the loss of subsidies would threaten the viability of some farms. Secondly, new export tariffs would cut farm incomes and, thirdly, new trading relationships could lead to competition with nations with lower animal welfare, food safety and environmental standards.

If the UK chooses not to be part of the EU single market, Tim Breitmeyer of the Country, Land and Business Association told the EAC that lamb exports to Europe would face tariffs of 30% and that beef export tariffs could be above 50%.

Even if the UK remained in the single market, the MPs said crucial EU directives such as those protecting habitats, birds and beaches, would have to be replaced as they are excluded from that agreement. “The government should safeguard protections for Britain’s wildlife and special places in a new Environmental Protection Act,” said Creagh.

A government spokeswoman said: “The UK has a long history of wildlife and environmental protection and we are committed to safeguarding and improving these, securing the best deal for Britain as we leave the EU.”

Vicki Hird, from Sustain, an alliance for better food and farming, said: “MPs have correctly identified a huge risk to the UK farming system and environment from Brexit and new trade agreements. Without environmental safeguards in place, [this] would mean major damage to the natural environment – the soils, pollinators and water – on which farming and everyone depends.”

Sam Hall, at the liberal conservative thinktank Bright Blue, said: “Brexit is an opportunity to improve the UK’s environment. The MPs rightly suggest new legislation could be needed to guarantee existing protections post-Brexit. But a new bill could go further and increase the level of ambition for the natural environment”, for example with tougher pollution controls.

Sam Lowe, at Friends of the Earth, said any changes to environmental protection must be subject to full parliamentary scrutiny and not made via statutory instruments: “No one voted to ‘take back control’ for the UK parliament, only to hand it straight over to a minister, brandishing a red pen, with the power to delete vital nature protections on a whim.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/04/brexit-zombie-legislation-damage-wildlife-farming-mps-warn