22 June, 2001

John Sheard discusses a new plan which may help couples put a rural roof over their heads

LORD Shuttleworth, who for many years ran Britain's oldest "quango," the Rural Development Commission, tells a story of a visit he once made to a quarrying village in the Derbyshire Peak District just south of Sheffield to open a new shop and post office.

When he arrived in the early morning, the occupiers of the old quarry cottages were jumping into their Jaguars and Range Rovers to drive off to their offices in the city. In the opposite direction, driving into the village from the city in their vans and old bangers, was a stream of workmen arriving to start their shifts in the quarry.

In other words, the normal pattern of country life had been reversed: wealthy professionals now lived in the old cottages, which had soared in value, whilst the quarrymen and their families had been driven out of the village to find cheaper homes in the inner-city.

The Rural Development Commission was created by Prime Minister Lloyd George at the beginning of the 20th Century in an attempt to halt the drift from the countryside into the industrial towns and cities. Lord Shuttleworth, who lives at Leck Hall, in the shadow of Ingleborough, and his predecessors did their best - but sadly, the drift still goes on.

And one of the major causes is that ordinary working men and women - the quarrymen and the farm workers, the carpenters, bricklayers and mechanics - can no longer afford to buy a home in their own villages because property prices in rural areas have been rocketing for 20 years or more.

The RDC was abolished by the Labour Government four years ago and it's work has now been taken over by the Countryside Agency. This week, the agency revealed that is was still trying to tackle the obstinate problem of affordable housing by extending its Rural Housing Enabler Scheme across the whole of England.

The scheme, backed financially by the National Housing Corporation, has been test-run in various small areas of the country, drawing together planners, local authorities, housing associations and the like to build small "infilling" housing in existing villages.

Often, only two or three dwellings are involved and the scheme has been so successful that it is now to be spread across the whole country, with offices in every county.

Speaking at a housing conference in Harrogate, Countryside Agency deputy chair Pam Warhurst said: "For individuals, this means having a home of their own and the opportunity to live and work locally. For the community, it helps to retain local services and for businesses, it means they are able to attract and keep local staff."

It is a great idea - but it will no doubt meet opposition in some quarters. There is a long history in the Dales of existing residents - often newcomers in one-time farm or quarry properties - appearing at planning enquiries to speak against this sort of development.

This is what Lord Shuttleworth used to call the "drawbridge" mentality: people move in and, once there, want to pull up the drawbridge behind them. Taken to an extreme, it can lead to country villages without a single "local," suburbia with fields.

So who is left to mend a leaking roof, service the car, free the blocked drain? Much more important, as many newcomers are middle aged or elderly, who will have the children to keep the village school open?

We are talking about the future of rural life here. Let's hope the Countryside Agency will put its money where its mouth is - and finish Lloyd George's work at last.