Several news outlets have followed up on the Rural Coalition’s calls for Government to commit equitable funding for rural areas to support England’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic

Papers and broadcasters including BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today, Farmers Weekly, Farming UK, and the Local Authority Building and Maintenance all published news about the Coalition’s Rebuilding Rural: Growing Back Better document, which calls on the Government to help rural communities access better jobs, as well as education and health services.

The document warns some areas dependent on tourism and seasonal work are at risk of being left further behind amid the pandemic, and that rural parts of the country ‘have long faced the challenges of sparsity, remoteness, poor connectivity and a history of unequal funding and patchy service delivery’.

The papers covered details of the Rural Coalition’s priorities for a successful recovery by seizing the potential social and economic opportunities.

They stated that a more resilient rural economy is also needed, in terms of more investment in skills, retraining, and digital infrastructure in order to attract new firms to the area and increase economic diversity.

Full articles:

BBC Farming Today - 23/09/20 - Agricultural colleges during COVID, DEFRA's Brexit preparations, rural services and cockle fishing

Farmers Weekly - Coronavirus: ‘Rural areas in danger of being left behind’

Farming UK - Rural groups demand more support as pandemic worsens

Local Authority Building and Maintenance - Level-up rural areas to support England’s economic recovery