Rural communities with poor transport links and a lack of digital connectivity are ‘in crisis’, according to the think tank, Parliament Street

The Farmers Guardian covers the new report, Sustaining the Heartland, which warns that rural communities are often disadvantaged ‘financially and socially because of low wages, lack of access to transport and other services, high fuel costs and taxation’. Despite the challenges, rural residents receive less public funding than their urban counterparts, according to research published earlier this year by Rural England.

Naomi Ferguson, director of Parliament Street, commented: ‘The reality of rural communities is a state of crisis with regard to transport and connectivity. With bus cuts and shrinking transport networks, communities across the British countryside are being cut off, unable to access jobs and services, all while facing increasingly congested roads. Poor public transport impacts the health and wellbeing of communities and rural economies. The state of transport in our countryside calls for urgent reform and support on a national level.’

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