Government must reconnect with rural businesses, says CLA after CRC report response

The Government response to the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) report by the Rural Advocate on the impact of the recession on the rural economy, fails to come up with viable options for rural communities, says the CLA.

CLA President Henry Aubrey-Fletcher said: "We are pleased the performance of the Government’s system to aid rural and urban businesses, Business Link, has improved, but more needs to be done to reconnect Government to the needs of rural businesses and the rural economy.

"We are continuing to speak to the Regional Development Agencies, encouraging them to place far greater emphasis on rural business support.

"With regard to planning, the CLA has long called for an adaptable and flexible planning system that works with the grain of rural business and delivers affordable rural housing."

The CLA President said a flexible planning system would resolve many of the current difficulties.

"We are pleased to see that the Government has decided to sponsor a research and good practice report, the aim of which is to encourage poorly performing local councils to improve their delivery of affordable rural housing," he said.

"In terms of communication infrastructure, we are surprised the Government still fails to recognise that without effective broadband infrastructure in rural areas the full potential of the rural economy can never be realised.

"The CLA will continue to stress that Government, in particular Defra, needs to work more closely with rural business and rural communities to understand their needs and then to proactively promote these findings with other Government departments to ensure delivery on the ground."

To read the Government’s response to the report, visit: http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/pdfs/voice/rural-advocate-response.pdf