SOUTH Lakeland District Council is rolling out a raft of measures that it says will help people living in villages and hamlets get a better service from the authority.

A special task-group has come up with eight recommendations on how SLDC can better represent those areas outside South Lakeland’s major towns. The council says it means rural issues being driven even further up the agenda, as well as championing rural issues with other organisations to ensure they are not overlooked.

The longer-term aim is to make sure services provided to rural areas are better coordinated to meet the needs of people living in rural areas of the district, like bus services, health services, affordable housing policies, and leisure opportunities.

SLDC provides services across one of England’s most rural districts - covering an area of 600 square miles - close to half of which falls within the National Parks of the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales.

In government terms, councils are having to do more to tackle what’s become known as “rurality” - ensuring decisions made in urban areas, don’t disadvantage people living in rural ones.

The eight recommendations will now be integrated into how the council works in the future. Among the headline changes are:

• A rural champion being created for SLDC to put “rural issues” at the heart of SLDC’s Cabinet. Rural issues will become a key responsibility as part of the Portfolio holder for Communities and Wellbeing, currently Councillor Peter Thornton.
• SLDC championing the needs of rural areas in its dealings with other organisations like Cumbria County Council and Stagecoach, so that the needs of rural residents are taken into account whenever key decisions are made.
• Rurality becoming part of the council’s equality policy. The equality policy aims to ensure that all council staff treat everyone they come into contact with fairly, regardless of their race, age, gender, nationality, faith, disability, and now rurality.
• More training for council officers on “rural issues” so they have a better understanding of how policies can impact on rural areas.
• The council providing more support to organisations already running rural services to help them promote what they do so that more people may benefit from them and use them.
• Some SLDC services being adjusted to ensure young people living in rural areas benefit from them, and a possible youth forum being established so their needs are properly communicated to those providing services they can use.

Councillor Peter Thornton, member for Communities and Wellbeing, said: “There are many good things about living in our rural areas and many residents choose such a lifestyle because of these positive aspects. But we must not forget that rural isolation is a fact of life for those of the population who do not drive a car or are not on a bus route. Sometimes people’s circumstances change and rural poverty can be a sad part of our communities. As Rural Champion, I am committed to ensuring that South Lakeland District Council plays its full part in helping to alleviate these issues.

Councillor Roger Bingham, Chair of the Rural Proofing Task Group, added: "This was an extremely important piece of work which provides the council with some very useful information about the rural community in this area. We found that despite often thriving community life in many places, rural people of all ages and income groups, even in larger villages, could be disadvantaged by the lack of services which people in the towns take for granted. Teenagers in a typical Lakeland village told us that bus fares to a Saturday job could cost £8 which is over a third of their earnings at the lowest minimum pay rate. This is just one of the issues that the task group encountered when carrying out its work."