Rural Wiltshire An overview

Transcription

1 Rural Wiltshire An overview March 2010 Report prepared by: Jackie Guinness Senior Researcher Policy, Research & Communications Wiltshire Council Telephone:

2 Introduction It is important for Wiltshire Council to support its rural communities which make up 5 of Wiltshire s population living in 95% of the geographic area. Rural areas are facing local challenges such as affordable housing, an ageing population, rural isolation, and lesser accessibility. The statistical evidence contained in this document will provide an overview of some of the issues that need to be considered to ensure that rural Wiltshire continues to thrive. Also please note that the data provided for this report is limited to a selection of socio-economic themes; i.e. it is not intended to be a complete, wide ranging assessment of rurality. Background Rural areas have undergone significant economic, social and demographic changes over the last thirty to forty years which has led to a countryside that is generally quite prosperous. Some key changes include the decline of the traditional sectors of employment and the in-migration of urban dwellers. However, these changes have had a profound impact on rural society. House prices have risen, and the supply of affordable housing for local residents has declined mainly because of the ability of high income migrants to outbid local residents in the housing market. Rural services have also been affected by the changing composition of the village population. These former urban dwellers tend to be extremely mobile and are not reliant on local shops or services, including public transport. This has been a contributory factor in the decline in some of these services. Defining rural Wiltshire For the purposes of this report, Wiltshire will be classified as either urban or rural according to the recommended government definition. Accordingly we have used the standard Office for National Statistics rural-urban classification. The urbanrural classifications are classified into four categories: urban, based on all settlements over 10,000 population; small town & fringe; and hamlet and isolated dwellings. For the purposes of this report we have combined the small town & fringe, village and hamlet & isolated dwellings categories into a single rural category 1. The map 2 on the right shows Wiltshire s rural areas shaded in green and the urban areas in grey. 1 The definition has been adopted by other rural local authorities for research purposes. It also falls in line with the research on rural deprivation undertaken (commissioned) by the South West ACRE Network in October 2009 The Rural Share of Deprivation 2 This map is reproduced from Ordnance Survey Material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. ( ) Wiltshire Council

3 Comparing rural and urban Wiltshire The analysis that has been undertaken for this report has revealed that although there are some issues raised by rural areas that are not commonly found in urban settings, many key issues are the same they just have different connotations in rural areas. All the indicators collected, collated and analysed for the purpose of this report can be found in Charts 1 and 2 on pages 6 and 7. The population structures of urban and rural Wiltshire are not hugely different. Pensioners make up a slightly higher proportion of the population in rural than in urban areas (22% compared to 2) whilst there is a lower proportion of children (aged 0 to 15) in rural than in urban areas (19% compared to 2). Wiltshire s population (total of urban and rural) is set to increase by 42,300 persons between 2009 and With the sub retirement age population projected only to increase by less than 300 people, the total population increase of 9.2% will be almost entirely accounted for by our retired population. This poses the council with a significant ageing population problem. Many older people will live active and healthy lives, contributing to their communities for many years, however, for the very old, there may be barriers which prevent them from accessing services, whether these are through poor finances, health or lack of transport. With increasing numbers of pensioners living alone and deteriorating health, there will be an enormous pressure on public sector resources to care for older people in the future. Worklessness lies at the root of deprivation. Worklessness which is based on both unemployment i.e. those who are actively seeking work and other forms of worklessness, including people who are not working through sickness or lone parenthood. Indicators of worklessness show that the proportion of people in rural areas who are on out of work benefits is lower than in urban areas; 6% compared to 11% (Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) 2009). The same pattern can be observed across many of the other key deprivation indicators. See the Chart 1 on page 6 for more details. Deprivation in rural areas tends to be dispersed and therefore less visible. National aggregated measures used to analyse socio-economic environments are sometimes unable to identify issues that are either dispersed or concentrated in very small spatial scales. There is hidden deprivation in rural Wiltshire which existing measures are sometimes unable to recognise. It is therefore acknowledged that it is people who are deprived and that incidences of deprivation are not confined to deprived areas. The Rural Facilities Survey 2008 shows that since 1976, there has been a significant decline in the number of villages that have all four basic facilities (i.e. general food shop, journey to work public transport, post office and primary school). The number of settlements with primary schools has decreased by around 3, whereas around two thirds of villages have lost their general food shop. Less than half of settlements in 2008 retain the Post Office they had in The loss of post offices has been more pronounced in independent branches rather than those linked with other businesses, with only one third of non-linked post offices surviving. Public transport, however, has improved vastly since Around 15% more settlements qualified for Level 1 and Level 2 Journey-to-work services in 2008 than in Against this evidence of decline in local services, mobile sales and services (e.g. food sales, 2

4 video hire, laundry services, pet food, newspaper and fuel sales) have increased nearly six-fold in the same period, and the number of personal and commercial services within Wiltshire villages has increased from an average of 0.2 per settlement in 1976 to 2.4 per settlement in In relation to broadband internet, the data collected suggest that all of rural Wiltshire can get some level of access but that the performance gap that exists nationally between rural and urban areas is also present here. In 2008, the government announced a target of universal broadband provision at potential speeds of at least 2Mbps by 2012 however; about 4 of the rural geographic area of Wiltshire has potential broadband speeds below 2mbps, compared to around 1 of the urban area (Wiltshire Council 2009/10). Individuals and families can be affected by broadband inequality, for example, because children may not be able to do set homework online or people cannot communicate effectively with organisations or government (both local and central). Communities can also be affected because broadband is now considered by many to be a basic service and its lack can drive people away. Moreover, the provision of a reliable and fast broadband is required not only to keep rural businesses competitive but to be able to attract inward investment. Health is a major determinant of quality of life because it has a direct impact on: an individual s ability to live full and enjoyable life and; their ability to independently maintain a reasonable standard of living. About 1 of the rural population have a limiting long term illness (Census 2001) compared to 1 of people in urban areas. According to data supplied by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of people in rural areas are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance compared to of those living in urban areas. The proportion of people in receipt of Attendance Allowance is the same for both. There is therefore very little difference between rural and urban areas in terms of these three indicators. Housing affordability has been an issue of concern for some Wiltshire residents who are contemplating entering the housing market for the first time. The average house price in rural Wiltshire was 295,800 in 2008 whilst in the urban area it was considerably lower at 195,800 (Land Registry 2008). Anecdotal evidence suggests that many younger people and those on lower incomes have been priced out of the villages and towns where they grew up. These trends raise a real threat to our ability to maintain and develop sustainable, mixed and inclusive rural communities. Access to services in rural areas is also key to prosperous and sustainable communities. When essential services such as hospitals, education, food shop, post office or primary schools are not easily accessible, people run the risk of becoming being socially excluded, especially if they have limited mobility and public transportation is poor. According to the last Census (2001) most households in rural areas will have access to a car or a van but about 12% do not (a total of 10,089 households). According to the Department for Communities and Local Government s (DCLG) Indices of Deprivation 2007, the most prevalent form of deprivation in Wiltshire relates to barriers to housing and services. A total of 19 of Wiltshire 3

5 Lower Superoutput Areas 3 (LSOAs) are within the 1 most deprived in the South West and they are all rural. Moreover, 37 of the county s LSOAs are within the most deprived 1 in England in this domain and all but two are rural. The Commission for Rural Communities Rural Data Series shows that : - 8% of rural households in Wiltshire live more than 6kms from a principal GP site and live more than 14kms from a hospital. - 2% of households in rural areas live more than 4km from a primary school, 31% live more than 6kms from a secondary school and 56% live more than 10kms from a principal job centre. - of households are more than 4kms from a post office, 3 are more than 4kms from a convenience store, 37% are more than 4kms from a supermarket and 3 are more than 4km from a free cash machine. The business structure in Wiltshire s rural area is slightly different to that of the urban area (Office for National Statistics (ONS) 2008). The rural area has a noticeably higher proportion of businesses employing between 1 to 10 people (9 compared to 8). Rural businesses have also generated a slightly higher proportion of part time jobs than the urban economy (35% compared to 32%). Consultation with communities Analysis was carried out on Wiltshire Council s People s Voice surveys. However, there is no discernible difference between the responses of people living in rural areas and those living in urban areas. However the Wiltshire Household survey 2009 shows some marked differences: - 7 of respondents in Wiltshire s rural areas felt that they were satisfied (very satisfied or fairly satisfied) with their home a place to live; a higher proportion than those living in urban areas (55%). - 77% of respondents in Wiltshire s rural areas said that they felt safe (very safe or fairly safe) in their local area after dark; a higher proportion than those living in urban areas (5). - 42% of respondents in Wiltshire s rural areas felt that they were satisfied (very satisfied or fairly satisfied) with the local bus services; a lower proportion than those living in urban areas (51%). 3 Super Output Areas (SOAs) were developed to provide geographies that are of approximately consistent size across the country, and whose boundaries would not change over time. Each Lower Layer SOA has a minimum population of 1,000 and a mean population of 1,500, and they are constrained by the boundaries of the wards used for 2001 Census outputs. 4

6 Conclusion By examining Wiltshire s rural area it can be seen that on many of the indicators examined there is not that much that distinguishes it from urban areas. It is, however, its distinct features (e.g. accessibility) that compound issues such as deprivation and social exclusion in a different way for people living there. In terms of quality of life access to services is a major issue for many people living in rural areas. Rural services have been affected by the changing composition of village populations i.e. influx of urban dwellers to rural areas. These former urban dwellers tend to be extremely mobile and are not reliant on local shops or facilities, including public transport. Less demand for local services has therefore contributed to the decline of these services. At the same time, many local residents, especially the elderly, disabled and those on low income, are often still dependent on them. Sustainable economic development is of key importance in Wiltshire. A major element is the provision of jobs and services and the ability of residents to access these. In rural areas, access to these services can pose additional barriers for residents to overcome. The ageing population could have a very different impact for people living in rural areas. Many older people will live active and healthy lives, contributing to their communities for many years, however, for the very old, there may be barriers which prevent them from accessing services, whether these are through poor finances, health or lack of transport. With increasing numbers of pensioners living alone and deteriorating health, there will be an enormous pressure on public sector resources to care for them in the future. Rural deprivation, which can take either a dispersed or concentrated form, can often be overlooked due to the relative greater prosperity and income diversity of many rural areas. This is because deprivation data is focused on an area based approach rather than the location of deprived individuals. The lack of affordable rural housing continues to be an issue for rural communities. The danger is that community life in many villages and market towns could face real challenges if first time buyers (mainly young people) continue to be priced out of the areas where they grew up by an influx of wealthy commuters, second home owners and retired couples. The broadband inequality that exists in rural Wiltshire, compared to urban areas, is hugely significant. Rural residents need to be able to access the full range of online services/opportunities that are available, currently and in the future. Equally important is the role that broadband (and next generation services) plays in fostering sustainable economic development. Limitations of this report Much of the data contained in the report derives from national and regional sources. It is therefore inevitable that in some instances generalisations have been made and broad conclusions have been reached for which there are exceptions to the rule. 5

7 Since many of the issues facing the residents of rural areas relate to distributional issues (e.g. comparatively poorer access to services and dispersed deprivation), ideally they would need to be investigated at the lowest spatial level possible. Chart 1: Proportion of population (or units) within rural and urban Wiltshire that belong to the following key groups. Broadband connectivity of speeds below 2mbps (Jan 2010) 1 4 Businesses employing 200 people or more (2008) Businesses employing betw een 50 and 199 people (2008) Business employing betw een 11 and 49 people (2008) 1% 1% 1 8% Businesses employing 1 to 10 people (2008) 8 9 Jobs that are part time (2008) 35% 32% Jobs that are full time (2008) 65% 68% Disability Living Allow ance claimants (Aug 2009) Attendance Allow ance claimants (Aug 2009) People w ith a limiting long term illness (2001) 1 1 People w ho are employment deprived (IMD 2007) Older people living in income deprivation (IMD 2007) Children living in income deprivation (IMD 2007) People w ho are income deprived (IMD 2007) Jobseekers Allow ance claimants ( Jan 2010) Out of w ork benefits' claimants ( 2009) People born outside the UK (2001) People in non-w hite British ethnic goups (2001) People in non-w hite ethnic groups (2001) Pensioners (2008) 7% 15% 11% 15% 9% 1 7% 2% 11% 6% 5% 6% 2% 1% 2 22% Working age ( 2008) 6 59% Urban Rural Children aged 0 to 15 (2008) 2 19% % 6

8 Chart 2: Proportion of population (or units) within rural and urban Wiltshire that belong to the following key groups. Househods more than 4kms from a supermarket 37% Households more than 4kms from a free cash machine Households more than 4kms from a convenience store Householdsmore than 4kms from a post office 3 3 Households more than 14kms from a hospital Households more than 4kms from a primary school 2% 9% Household more than 6kms from a secondary school 31% Households more than 10kms from a principal job centre 56% Households more than 6kms from a principal GP site 8% People travelling more than 10km to work (2001) 29% 37% People working at home (2001) 8% 1 Households with no car or van (2001) 12% 2 Urban Rural