Ben Goldsborough: ‘Let our villages take charge — give rural kids the youth services they deserve’
Britain’s young people are being let down – and nowhere is that more obvious than in our rural towns and villages. Let’s be honest: it’s hard everywhere. Youth services have been stretched for years. Cuts, closures and centralisation have taken their toll. But while the struggle is shared, it’s even harder in rural areas – […]
Why Covid-19 demonstrates we’re taking nature for granted
After decades of campaigns to clean up our countryside and stop people littering in the first place, why are our landscapes still blighted by rubbish? I feel sad every time I see a discarded face mask in a hedgerow, a field, or on a roadside verge. All those masks were made to help protect individuals […]
Countryside voters turning back on Tories
Conservative support is splintering in the Shires, a poll placed before ministers earlier this month has revealed.
The next fox-hunting? Lead ammo in the firing line
Storm clouds are gathering for another big battle in countryside politics, as conservationists prepare to take on shooting sports over the use of lead ammunition and bird protection.
Young people in the countryside suffer brunt of recession
Today’s employment market looks grim to everyone, but rural youth face a particularly bleak reality, a report today concluded.
Comment: Tackling the problem of gyspy and traveller sites
A lamentable record on regulating gypsy and traveller sites is only just being overturned. But it may be too late to assuage growing anger over the issue. By Gavin Williamson MP Last week I was fortunate to secure an adjournment debate in on the government’s policy on gypsy and traveller Sites. This is an enormous […]
Govt plans house building referendums
By politics.co.uk staff Local communities could hold local referendums on modest house-building projects under new plans being put forward by the housing minister. Grant Shapps said council planning permission could be replaced by local housing trusts debates which would be followed by a referendum on whether house building goes ahead. Countryside preservation groups are opposed […]
Coalition to end ‘garden grab’ development
By politics.co.uk staff Gardens will no longer be classified as brownfield sites in a bid to stop developers taking them over, according to the government. Communities minister Greg Clarke is expected to announce later today that vital green space can no longer be treated in the same was as ex-factory or railway land. “For years […]
Rural areas face financial exclusion
By Liz Stephens Around a million people living in rural areas in the UK face high levels of financial exclusion according to a government report which seeks to deal with the issue. Rural Money Matters highlights the issue that those in financial difficulty in rural areas are often less visible and more difficult to reach. […]
Rural communities becoming ‘enclaves of the rich’
Rural communities are becoming holiday homes for the rich, the Liberal Democrats warned today. “The most stunning parts of our country should not be the enclaves of the rich and retired, party leader Nick Clegg said. “They should be communities for everyone.” The party said local authorities must be sanctioned to create more social housing […]
