Picture of Hampshire to go in background

THE WORTH REPORT

Nick Stenning

How a

vibrant rural economy

supports a

vibrant rural community

ECONOMIC SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTAL

Rural Communities

Increasingly those working locally (i.e. in rural areas) can no longer afford to live in these communities and those living there have limited opportunities to work locally.

In time, such communities will become increasingly unsustainable in every sense.

The Taylor Review

Less economically sustainable

•Lack of affordable housing undermines labour market supply as employees are unable to afford to live locally and so increasingly unable to work locally which may impact on the viability of local shops, services and businesses.

The Taylor Review

Less socially sustainable

•Social and economic polarisation – where smaller rural communities are increasingly the preserve of the wealthy or retired, excluding poorer and younger people.

•The loss of rural enterprise, shops and services can compound pressure on vulnerable groups (lower income, immobile, elderly) to move out.

The Taylor Review

Less environmentally sustainable

•A greater degree of reverse commuting by workers employed in rural enterprises who are forced to live elsewhere as a result of their inability to buy or rent locally, whilst those who live in the village commute into town for better paid work.

The Taylor Review

In summary, dormitory and retired communities with few local services or employment opportunities cannot provide a sustainable future for the countryside.

The Taylor Review

Rural Hampshire

• 85% of Hampshire is rural

• 10% of jobs in Hampshire are rural

• 90% of the rural jobs are not land based

• £4bn generated by rural business in Hampshire

The Worth Report

•Sponsored by the HEP•Focused on rural communities in Hampshire

The Worth Report - conclusions

•The law of “unintended consequences”•The presumption in favour of conserving the environment ( “the precautionary principle”) is threatening the sustainability of communities

The Worth Report - conclusions

General

• Closure of pubs• Closure of post offices• Closure of village shops• Rat runs• Dormitory villages

The Worth Report - conclusions

Specific

• Smiths Gore• Farringdon Business Park• Roke Manor Research• Andrew Smith’s auction rooms• Vitacress

The Vitacress Conservation Trust

The Vitacress Experience

•Applied to build new watercress beds in Dorset.•Interested parties expressed environmental concerns. •6 years and £100,000 produced the scientific evidence to confirm concerns were unfounded.•Vitacress built the watercress beds in Portugal!

The Worth Report - recommendations

•Encourage more positive policies towards rural business development•Provide planners with the ability, using Government Planning Guidance, to weigh the economic benefits of development against any environmental impact•Train planning officers in rural issues•Apply regulations even-handedly by not demanding more onerous standards from rural businesses than those in urban locations

The NPPF

•The presumption in favour of sustainable development• A new tool : “Neighbourhood planning”

The NPPF – principles

•Neighbourhood PlansBusiness•160. Local planning authorities should have a clear understanding of business needs. To achieve this, they should:

• Work together with county and neighbouring authorities and with Local Enterprise Partnerships and

• Work closely with the business community to understand their changing needs and identify and address barriers to investment, including a lack of housing, infrastructure or viability.

The NPPF – Action

•Businesses must get to know their parish, district and county councils; their community groups and community leaders. •Don’t wait for an invitation, get out and talk

Conclusion

For rural communities to thrive, they need rural businesses to

thrive.