Future of Rural Areas

The RSN is challenging often overlooked rural threats such as chronic underfunding, changes in population and diminishing resources.

Hot Topics

28 Jun 2021

Battles loom as housing developers eye rural England

The FT reports that large areas of South Downs National Park are set to be developed into new towns in order to meet Boris Johnson’s housebuilding targets of 300,000 a...

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14 Jun 2021

HCLG committee ‘unpersuaded’ that government planning reforms will make system quicker

Inside Housing reports that the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee published its first report on the future of the planning system in England. The report includes a chapter on...

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07 Jun 2021

Rural areas must play a significant role in reaching net-zero

Richard Clewer, chair of the Countryside Climate Network and leader of Wiltshire Council, argues in the Environmental Journal this week that the UK will “never reach net-zero unless rural areas play...

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01 Jun 2021

Rural areas face threat of 400,000 new homes

Nearly 400,000 homes will be built on greenfield sites in the south of England over the next five years, according to a new analysis of planning policy reported in The...

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01 Jun 2021

Rural economies boosted by new migration trends

Research published by Northumbria University is exploring how shifting work patterns and home-buying preferences are changing rural communities Analysis of data from the past decade shows that rural areas which...

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01 Jun 2021

Britain’s electric car charging network boosted by £300m funding

The Guardian reports that Britain’s energy regulator, Ofgem, has approved a £300m investment to help triple the number of ultra-rapid electric car charge points across the country, as part of...

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17 May 2021

How do we build more homes in the countryside?

The Times reports on proposed ways of building more homes in the countryside without ruining it, following increased levels of ‘urban flight’ caused by the pandemic The report notes that...

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17 May 2021

Johnson’s planning laws an ‘utter disaster’, say countryside campaigners

The BBC and the Guardian have reported that the Government has confirmed that MPs will vote on a controversial overhaul of England’s planning system within the next year The Planning...

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17 May 2021

UK car use could fall up to 10% in post-pandemic shift to more remote working

Private car use in the UK could fall by up to 10 percent in coming years if a long-term shift toward more homeworking takes hold in the wake of the...

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10 May 2021

Rural workers at a disadvantage if a full-time office return is out

Employees who live outside of major towns and cities risk being negatively affected if offices don’t return to working full-time in the office, according to rural broadband specialist Voneus, as...

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