This Young Foundation report maps unmet rural needs in Britain and Ireland, it draws on both original research and on the Mapping Britain’s Needs report produced earlier this year (2007).

We aim to create an holistic map of Britain and Ireland’s rural social needs which combines both soft and hard data. In particular, the Young Foundation hopes to focus on new and emerging needs which are not yet recognized by official statistics, as well as giving emotional and psychic needs due prominence.

Why examine rural needs?

• Research on deprived and neglected groups in the UK has tended to focus on those living in towns and cities, despite the fact that one fifth of people in the UK live and work in rural areas.

• Stereotypical views of the countryside portray it as a rural idyll, where inhabitants benefit from strong communities, a slow pace of life, wealth and mutual support. In reality however, deprivation and inequality are high. 911,000 rural residents live within the bottom 20% of the UK’s nationally most deprived wards.

• Compared to urban areas, the issues and needs affecting rural inhabitants are not easily understood or recognised, and in many cases are highly specific to particular places. Typical rural problems include shortage of affordable housing, transport and access issues, ageing populations and isolation. For example, 86% of rural parishes have no doctor’s surgery.

This report was commissioned by The Carnegie UK Trust.

Download a full pdf version of the report.