The Rural Services Network, including SPARSE Rural, is often quoted in the media - by newspapers and the specialist press, as well as on radio and television.

A selection of articles highlighting the work of the Rural Services Network on behalf of England's rural communities is shown below

June 2021

The Chief Executive of the Rural Services Network, Graham Biggs featured on Radio Devon on the 22nd of June to discuss planning legislation.

When asked about concerns in relation to the changes in planning Graham said:

"The worry is that once an area is in a zone, the issues about whether that development should be allowed or not have already been determined, and it becomes a question of little more than design so our big concern is about the involvement of ordinary people in communities in that particular process."

Listen to the interview here:
Radio Devon (Starts at 1.05.41)

May 2021

The RSN Chief Executive Graham Biggs is quoted in a Times newspaper article discussing the need for affordable housing in rural communities:

“There is a general presumption against building in the countryside, but there are exceptions to this presumption: they are called rural exception sites. These are small-scale developments that are built in keeping with existing villages. Half a dozen houses here or there. The design aesthetics have to be sympathetic to the community and the countryside. Development is allowed but with caveats: they are built by housing associations and have to include affordable rent and shared ownership. There are restrictions about who it can be sold to in the future, it must meet local needs.”

Full article:

The Times - How do we build more homes in the countryside?
*Please be aware you will require a Times subscription to be able to read the full article

March 2021

Detailed below is a roundup of the media coverage in March 2021 received from the release of our Revitalising Rural Campaign
(You can view information about this campaign here)

Regional press

Cumbria Crack (05/03/21)
Cumbria highways chief backs call for fair funding for rural public services

Yorkshire Times (04/03/21)
Government Urged To “Give People In Villages The Same Opportunity As Those Living In Bigger Towns And Cities”

Lancashire Times (04/03/21)
Government Urged To “Give People In Villages The Same Opportunity As Those Living In Bigger Towns And Cities”

Cumbria Times (04/03/21)
Government Urged To “Give People In Villages The Same Opportunity As Those Living In Bigger Towns And Cities”

Trade press

New Start (04/03/21)
Ministers urged to level up villages and rural areas

Dispensing Doctors Association (03/03/21)
Rural health service development flagged up in new report

Broadcast

BBC Radio 4 (04/03/21)
At 05:51

BBC Somerset (04/03/21)
At 15:27, 15:52, 15:48,

Farming Today (04/03/21)
Budget support for rural businesses, chicken microbiome, gene editing in developing countries

October 2020

Detailed below is a roundup of the media coverage in October received from the release of a report commissioned by the Rural Services Network, along with CPRE and English Rural Housing into the Economic and Fiscal case for investing in rural affordable housing to drive post-pandemic recovery. 
(You can view information about this report here)Also detailed is an article which appeared in the LGA's First Magazine which details the outcomes of the National Rural Conference 2020

BBC Farming Today - Rural homelessness, dark sky parks and public money for hunts

The Guardian - Rural homelessness in England rises by 115% in past two years

The key messages from last month’s annual National Rural Conference were loud and clear: the importance of rural areas to the national economy and ‘revitalising rural

LGA First Magazine (Page 23) - Time to revitalise rural areas

September 2020

Detailed below is a roundup of the media coverage in September received from the RSN Press Release - 'Warning over access to Covid-19 testing for rural social care sector'
(You can view this press release here)

April 2019

Detailed below is a roundup of the media coverage in April received from the RSN's call for Government to produce a new rural strategy:

- LocalGov - Peers call for strategies to develop ‘under-performing’ rural areas

- ComputerWeekly.com - Ofcom must rethink rural broadband USO, says Lords report

March 2019

Detailed below is a roundup of the media coverage received from the RSN's call for Government to produce a new rural strategy:

Editorial:
- ISPreview
- LocalGov
- All About My Area
- Telecompaper
- ACRE

September 2018

• Read the latest article from our Chair Councillor Motley on Fair Funding for Rural Areas which features in Local Government First, the magazine published by the LGA. (page 27)
  - Direct link to the article
  
• Graham Biggs (RSN Chief Executive) was featured on BBC Points West in a wider discussion about social care in rural areas to highlight the issues that rural residents face (see below)
  
  

August 2018

The Rural Services Network has been featured in the Countryfile Special Collector’s Edition (August 2018).

Written by John Craven, the article ‘how has the Countryside changed?’ features the below quote from the RSN

“Rural services are at crisis point, the past 30 years has seen a dramatic decline not improvement, which for the foreseeable future is unlikely to change with Government austerity lasting well in the 2020s.

So, the pattern of rural residents, compared to their urban counterparts, paying more in council tax and for everyday goods and services but from lower incomes but receiving fewer services is set to continue and, indeed worsen.

The rural way of life, and quality of life, is under serious threat “

July 2018

• Read the latest article from our Chair Councillor Motley on Care costs in rural areas which features in Local Government First, the magazine published by the LGA. (page 26)

- Direct link to the article

May 2018

• Free school transport lost for 20,000 rural pupils (BBC Online)
• Call for change in how social care is funded (Craven Herald & Pioneer)

March 2018

• End demanded to 'unfair' underfunding of children's education (Cornwall Live)

February 2018

• 'Left behind': NFU calls for fairer police funding for rural areas (Farming UK)