Rural Issues

Rural areas are too often ignored in discussions about local government, and the focus is too often on cities. We believe that rural areas are as important as city areas, and that a sense of community should be strengthened, and rural economies encouraged to thrive. From the local pub to the Post Office to the public transport system - we believe that a well connected and lively rural community is vital to the health of the country as a whole.

1 Projects

Ensuring the survival of rural services

Recent Articles - Click to view

The Last Post
[Sep 18, 2009 - Publications - Policy Platform]

In both urban and rural areas the closures of local Post Offices has provoked anguish in the local communities that rely on them. The government has argued that the shrinking of the post office network is inevitable as a result of lack of profitability. In this Policy Platform we explore three per

With a Little Help From Our Friends
[Feb 19, 2009 - Events]

A review of our report on international local government, by Andrew Stevens of CityMayors.com

Recent Local Government News - Click to view

Post Office bank plan unveiled
[Mar 29, 2010 - Local Government Chronicle]

Extra funding of £180m has been pledged for a “major expansion” of financial services offered by the Post Office. The new money is on top of £1.7bn currently being invested in the 11,500 branches, with the aim of making them more sustainable.

Keep library reform local
[Mar 23, 2010 - Local Government Chronicle]

The future of libraries depends on the ability of councils to lead reform, rather than followng clauses and conditions decided by central government, the LGA has said

Why rural children are leaving
[Mar 4, 2010 - The Guardian]

The lack of mobile phone reception and broadband coverage in rural areas has become the No 1 issue in dissuading young people from staying on in the countryside, the chair of the Commission for Rural Communities has said.

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