Does every rural child REALLY matter?
If you had a choice where would you prefer to bring up your children, in the countryside or in a city? Does your answer change as children get older and need different things? What can be done to support young people in rural areas and champion their needs? Jessica Sellick investigates. The Good Childhood Report […]
Rural poverty – forgotten, not gone
It’s hard to imagine a time when it’s been tougher to live in the countryside. With charities and helplines busier than ever as farmers struggle to cope with the weather, disease and financial woes and the number of people using food banks tripling, there’s acute poverty in rural areas. The reality is many rural residents […]
Can we make rural transport work?
TRANSPORT is essential in providing people with access to work, learning, health care, food shops and leisure activities. Amid falling budgets in public services and investment in key infrastructure projects – from HS2 to growth schemes on motorways – how can we balance the demand for economic growth with tight budgets to make strides in […]
Hidden poverty in the farmyard
Amid debates around nutrition, supply chains, affordability, productivity, competitiveness and reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), many farmers are left struggling to make ends meet. How can we support farmers and ensure they have a future? Jessica Sellick investigates. As well as providing the raw materials for our breakfast, lunch and suppers, farmers deliver […]
Market Towns – fit for the future?
One in five people in the UK live in or around small rural towns. But can they thrive? Jessick Sellick investigates. SOME 11 million people live in or around the UK’s small rural towns – and they remain the most rapidly expanding settlements in England. Many of them are traditional market towns, others former industrial […]