‘Storm clouds gather’ as young leave rural villages

The scale of the threat to the countryside has been laid bare with dwindling numbers of young families who are turning to more lucrative jobs in towns and cities to escape the surge in property prices in rural parts of the region.

Richmondshire District Council is spearheading a concerted 12-month drive to provide more affordable housing and job opportunities across vast swathes of the Yorkshire Dales, including Wensleydale and Swaledale, as well as improving key services from public transport to health provision.

Council leader John Blackie warned the current situation is unsustainable as the lifeblood is being drained from the Dales, as well as other rural parts of the country. As a snapshot, two primary schools in the Upper Dales had 117 children on their combined rolls 16 years ago, but the figure will have fallen to just 67 pupils next month.

Coun Blackie said: “Local young families, faced with insurmountable difficulties to overcome, have voted with their feet and moved away. Children gracing the corridors and classrooms of our small rural schools are the lifeline to a vibrant, sustainable long-term future for their local communities, and without them we are but a generation or two away from witnessing their complete collapse.

“Storm clouds are gathering and are now directly overhead and unless we act quickly and act together in doing so young people and young families will sadly become an endangered species in our rural areas. Doing nothing and hoping things might improve soon is simply not an option. They will not.”

The council has agreed to take a lead in lobbying regional and national organisations to raise awareness of the acute plight of rural communities. It will also host a conference this year, and is preparing a series of detailed papers on key concerns.

The council’s announcement comes after The Yorkshire Post’s Big Debate in April revealed countryside communities are in the midst of an unprecedented crisis as vital services, transport links and facilities disappear.

Rural Action Yorkshire has pledged to work with Richmondshire District Council to draw up an action plan, after research revealed the challenges faced by young people living in countryside communities. Childcare costs are 6.3 per cent higher in rural areas than in towns and cities, while house prices in the countryside have risen by 82 per cent over the last decade, partly driven by demand for holiday homes.

Rural Action Yorkshire’s members and communities manager, Chris James, said: “Rural communities suffer from a vicious spiral, when poorer access to services or housing forces people to move away, which in turn reduces demand for the remaining services, making them vulnerable.”

Efforts are underway to attract a younger generation to the farming industry in the hope of re-balancing communities. Figures from the CLA have shown that more than half of the country’s farmers are older than 55. A total of 14,000 farmers in England are aged 65 or over, while a further 18,000 are aged between 55 and 65.

A CLA spokesman said: “Too often debates on the state of the countryside simply focus on the environment – everyone is happy to pronounce on that. But it is people who are important. We need people to have somewhere to live and earn their livings, even in our remoter communities, who can then look after their surroundings and drive a proper rural economy. It is the younger generation who are the power house – they will keep the schools and shops and garages open, so we owe them opportunities.”