Research found that living with mental health problems in rural areas was a complicated experience. Stigma towards mental health issues existed in such areas and a lack of resources within remote areas could make these problems worse. Service providers, carers and those with mental health problems were interviewed for the study.
Source: C. Philo, Social Geographies of Rural Mental Health: Experiencing inclusion and exclusion, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2003-Dec
A briefing paper said that action to tackle rural child poverty should begin by focusing on remote rural areas where the outcomes for children were worst, and that long-term funded, small-scale interventions were the best way forward.
Source: Rural Child Poverty, End Child Poverty (020 7843 1913), NCH and Forum for Rural Children and Young People
Links: Briefing (pdf)
Date: 2003-Dec
Campaigners criticised the government's draft planning policy statement on development in rural areas. They said the policy offered a prospect of 'steadily increasing disfigurement' by spreading development.
Source: A Pox on the Countryside?: Briefing on the government s draft planning policies for the countryside, Campaign to Protect Rural England (020 7981 2800)
Links: Report (pdf) | CPRE press release
Date: 2003-Dec
A report explored how social capital was generated by, or related to, voluntary sector activity within rural communities.
Source: Holly Yates and V ronique Jochum, It's Who You Know that Counts, National Council for Voluntary Organisations (0800 279 8798)
Links: Summary
Date: 2003-Oct
The government published for consultation a draft planning policy statement for rural areas of England. The government said that support for thriving rural communities and businesses, together with the protection of the wider countryside from unnecessary building development, were key priorities for the planning system. Campaigners said the statement risked undermining clear protection for the open countryside.
Source: Draft Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 7: Sustainable development in rural areas, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 3000) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 15 September 2003, column 37WS, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Press release 15 September 2003, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister | Press release 15 September 2003, Campaign to Protect Rural England (020 7981 2800)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | Consultation document | Hansard | ODPM press release | CPRE press release
Date: 2003-Sep
A report described the key socio-economic differences and similarities between urban, small town and rural Scotland, based upon an analysis of data collected by the 1999-2000 Scottish Household Survey. It was based around five themes - general household and individual characteristics, economic activity and employment, income and poverty, health and access to health services, and neighbourhood/community.
Source: Living in Scotland: Urban-rural analysis of the Scottish Household Survey, Scottish Executive (0131 556 8400)
Links: Report (pdf) | Report | Summary
Date: 2003-Aug
A Bill to outlaw hunting with dogs and hare coursing was given a third reading. The government said that the Bill remained a government Bill, even though its own option - of strict regulation of hunting - had previously been rejected by MPs.
Source: Hunting Bill, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 9.7.03, columns 1281-1342, TSO | Press release 9.7.03, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (020 7238 6000)
Links: Text of Bill | Hansard | Defra press release
Date: 2003-Jul
The government said that it remained committed to meeting both the target date for introducing a new right of access to the countryside throughout England, and the initial target dates for regional commencement in northern and southern England.
Source: Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000: Government Reply, Fifth Report (Session 2002-03), HC 748, House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2003-Jun
A report called for measures to protect the diversity of the rural environment. It also explained how the character of the countryside could be surveyed, and how this information could be used to influence decisions on planning.
Source: Lie of the Land, Council for the Protection of Rural England (020 7981 2856)
Links: CPRE press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Jun
A report said that rural poverty would primarily be tackled by national policy changes and not by purely local. It also underlined the importance of rural-proofing national policies and initiatives to tackle income, to ensure that they could be delivered as effectively in rural areas as in the towns and cities.
Source: Ways in and out of Low Income in Rural England, Countryside Agency (0870 120 6466)
Links: Summary (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jun
Researchers concluded that planning guidelines published in 1999 for rural development in Scotland remained broadly valid. But they identified widespread support for the definition of a more 'aspirational' vision for the future of rural Scotland.
Source: Land Use Consultants, Evaluation of National Planning Policy Guidelines 15 (NPPG15): Rural Development, Scottish Executive, TSO (0870 606 5566)
Date: 2003-Jun
A report said that life in the countryside was generally good for many people, with better standards of health, less fear of crime, and higher educational qualifications. But one in four people living in low-income households were in rural areas, while rural housing continued to become less affordable, particularly for first-time buyers.
Source: The State of the Countryside 2003, Countryside Agency (0870 120 6466)
Links: Report (pdf) | Countryside Agency press release | ACRE press release | Countryside Alliance press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-May
A report was published which explored the similarities and differences between people living in urban, rural and remote areas of Scotland across a number of social issues.
Source: Social Focus on Urban Rural Scotland 2003, Scottish Executive, TSO (0870 606 5566)
Links: Report | SE press release
Date: 2003-May
The Scottish Executive said that a report on the impact of its policies on rural Scotland showed 'real progress' - thanks to higher investment in public services allied to a better understanding of the needs of rural communities.
Source: Rural Scotland: Taking Stock, Scottish Executive, TSO (0870 606 5566) | Press release 13.3.03, Scottish Executive (0131 556 8400)
Links: Report (pdf) | Report | Press release
Date: 2003-Mar
A committee of MPs said that access arrangements should be monitored in the first two regions where new public rights of access have been introduced, and adjustments based on this experience should be made before the new rights are introduced in the rest of the country.
Source: Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, Fifth Report (Session 2002-03), HC 394, House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2003-Mar
A research report provided information about the quality of life of older people living in rural Scotland, organised around five themes - income; housing; accessibility; health and social care; and community life. It highlighted problems under each of these headings.
Source: Lorna Philip, Alana Gilbert, Natasha Mauthner and Euan Phimister, Scoping Study of Older People in Rural Scotland, Scottish Executive, TSO (0870 606 5566)
Links: Report (pdf) | Report | Summary
Date: 2003-Mar
A report called for comprehensive new strategies to address rural poverty in Wales. It said the problems facing families living on low income in rural areas include a lack of well paid local employment; poor access to transport; the prohibitive cost of childcare; difficulties in finding good-quality housing; and a poor level of services, especially for families with disability issues.
Source: Tricia Sharpe, The Good Life?, Barnardo s Cymru (029 2049 3387) and NCH Cymru
Links: Press release
Date: 2003-Mar
An inquiry involving over one hundred local and national bodies across the rural sector concluded that local councils have a key role to play in stimulating regeneration in rural areas. The report also said the 'maze' of policies and programmes aimed at revitalising rural areas needs to be clearer, and that organisations should work together to develop a shared understanding of the needs of rural communities.
Source: Achieving Rural Revival, Local Government Association, available from EC Logistics (020 8867 3287)
Links: LGA press release | ACRE press release
Date: 2003-Feb
Countryside campaigners warned that proposals for greenfield housing development contained in local authority plans would cover an area bigger than Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton combined - more than 166 square miles.
Source: Press release 22.1.03, Council for the Protection of Rural England (020 7981 2800)
Links: CPRE press release
Date: 2003-Jan
The Scottish Parliament approved a Bill designed to extend community ownership of land, remove barriers to social, economic and environmental development, and establish new rights of access. It gives crofting communities the right to buy their land even if the landlord does not want to sell.
Source: Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, Scottish Executive, TSO (0870 606 5566)
Links: Text of Act | Press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Jan