What people really think about living in the countryside in 2007

10:42am Monday 19th March 2007

THE good, the bad and the ugly sides of living in the Worcestershire countryside have emerged from a survey conducted by a national farmers' organisation.

The good news is that it's mostly good.

Nearly 90 per cent of those polled by NFU Countryside were happy with rural life, although losing local services, such as village post offices and shops, was a significant worry, while fly-tipping and litter dumping were a real blot on the landscape.

The survey also revealed that public opinion of UK farming is extremely positive among the rural community, with 89 per cent expressing a positive view towards the contribution farmers make to the countryside and a healthy majority (77 per cent) felt farmers should be paid for environmental measures on their land.

"This is a very welcome trend," said Julia Evans, chairman of Herefordshire NFU, who runs a beef and sheep farm on the Worcestershire-Herefordshire border at Whitbourne.

"It shows the public now have a much more positive view of farmers than they had a while back, when we seemed to be getting a lot of negative publicity through issues like BSE and foot-and-mouth.

"It is also reassuring that we are seen as taking care of the environment and contributing in a positive way to the countryside that people enjoy.

"Another aspect to emerge from the survey is the public now appear to engage with the farming community much more than they did, with a third supporting farmers' markets "There seems to be more of a realisation where the food they eat comes from - and it's not just off a supermarket shelf."

There was also the revelation that, on average, people who live in the countryside travel less than 20 miles to work each day.

"The impression is often given that in an age of easy communication, to cover considerable distances is the norm, but perhaps we are not as travelled as we think we are," Julia said.

More than 450 people from across the West Midlands took part in NFU Countryside's first National Countryside Survey, launched at the end of 2006 to determine the local and national issues affecting rural communities.

The survey, aimed at anyone who lives or works in the countryside, was the biggest and most comprehensive evaluation of rural issues in the UK and attracted more than 4,000 respondents nationwide.

Commenting on the results, NFU Countryside spokesman Mark Howard said: "A healthy 89 per cent of respondents are satisfied with life in the Worcestershire countryside, but many consider issues such as the closure of local services, keeping young blood in the countryside and the problems caused by litter and fly-tipping as being in urgent need of address.

"The results show 73 per cent of rural dwellers use their local post office on a regular basis and 61 per cent agree that this service is essential for the future of our rural communities, which further highlights the need for people to back national campaigns in support of our local services."

Despite Government statistics suggesting that rural areas continue to experience lower levels of crime than urban areas, the survey showed that in the last 12 months, 15 per cent of people have been affected by rural crime with theft accounting for 68 per cent of crimes committed.

Respondents overwhelmingly identified environmental issues as being of highest importance to them and NFU Countryside has addressed this by launching its Greener Living campaign to encourage members to help tackle issues such as global warming.

"The survey shows our members care deeply about their local community," Mr Howard said.

"NFU Countryside, together with the NFU, campaigns on many of these hard hitting issues like fly-tipping and climate change. Rural communities must work together to make our countryside sustainable for future generations."

COUNTRYSIDE SURVEY: THE RESULTSWHAT'S THE BEST THING ABOUT LIVING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE?1. Space: 50.1 per cent.2. The quietness: 22.7 per cent.3. The community: 19.3 per cent.4. The people: 6.7 per cent.5. Quality of housing: 0.4 per cent.6. The services: 0 per cent.LOCAL SERVICES CONSIDERED ESSENTIAL FOR THE FUTURE1. Post Office: 61.3 per cent.2. Community policing: 57.8 per cent.3. Local shop: 51.7 per cent.4. Healthcare: 49.4 per cent.5. Local bus routes: 47.4 per cent.6. Village/community hall: 40.7 per cent.7. Local school: 38.7 per cent.8. Church: 37.5 per cent.9. Pub: 32.8 per cent.10. Farmers' market: 25.8 per cent.