ENVIRONMENT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE CALLS FOR A REVIEW OF THE NEEDS OF ‘ACCESSIBLE’ RURAL AREAS

CENT009/2005 | 13 October 2005

The Scottish Parliament’s Environment and Rural Development Committee has recommended a review of the needs of ‘accessible rural areas’ – areas which are rural in character but relatively close to urban centres.

The issue was highlighted in a report published today (Thursday) on the Committee’s inquiry, which examined the effectiveness of the Scottish Executive’s rural development policies for such areas.

The report stresses that accessible rural areas must maintain a vibrant community identity and local economy, and that they should be more than a ‘dormitory’ for those who work in urban centres. To achieve this, the Committee believes that:

• Business support policies should be targeted to encourage indigenous local economies to thrive.
• Infrastructure investment must be carefully planned to help sustain viable communities.
• Above all, there should be effective support for local communities to identify their own needs and to build capacity to address them.

Sarah Boyack MSP, Convener of the Committee, said: “From the evidence we heard, it is clear thatsome accessible rural areas are struggling, and not all benefit from being near urban areas.

“We understand the priority given to urban areas and more remote rural areas, but accessible rural areas are important to Scotland’s economy, geography and culture.

They must be encouraged and supported to maintain vibrant local economies and communities. They have a range of distinctive needs and must not fall into a policy gap.”

She added that the Executive’s current review of its rural policy created the ideal opportunity to address issues highlighted in the report.

Issues the Committee wants the Executive to address in its current review include:

• The need for a vision for rural policy as a whole to be more clearly articulated.
• The need for policy to have a clear aim that ties together the many different policy and funding initiatives that exist.
• Concern about the extent to which policy across the Executive is ‘rural-proofed’ (i.e. scrutinised to ensure that impacts on rural areas are considered when implementing new initiatives).

The Committee’s findings were based on detailed written and oral evidence, provided by members of the public as well as independent commentators, national agencies and representative bodies. This showed the distinctiveness and variation in the needs of accessible rural areas. Evidence was also heard from the Minister for Environment and Rural Development, the Minister for Communities and the Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning. The Committee also met in Brechin to get first-hand evidence from local people.

Full details of the inquiry are available on the Committee’s website at :

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/committees/environment/inquiries/rd/env-rd-home.htm

Background Notes

‘Accessible rural areas’ are defined by the Scottish Executive as settlements of less than 3,000 people, within 30 minutes drive time of the nearest settlement of over 10,000 people.

The inquiry was conducted in two phases. The first phase comprised fact-finding visits ( to Barra, the north-west Highlands, the Borders and Fife) to gather local views on how effectively the Scottish Executive’s policy initiatives and spending priorities are achieving its aim of increasing rural prosperity.

The second phase focussed specifically on accessible rural areas, examining what appeared to be an emerging gap between policy and funding which addresses city-regions and that which addresses more remote rural areas.

12th Report, 2005 Inquiry into Rural Development

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