My reflexion on this was awakened by this article from the guardian, namely describing a possible move of house buyers of the cities to settle in rural areas to access a different lifestyle. The usually buzzling with activies cities have revealed themselves to be prisons during confinement weeks. Limited space availability, the lack of possible recreation and maybe the difficulties of shopping for essentials certainly all played a part in this planned move. No wonder some people reconsider their choice of life as of today.
A reflexion based on a journalismtarticle but with trends that we have witnessed firsthand for the last decades.
Are we going towards a rural area’s revival ? A reversal of the rural exodus of the 19th and 20th century.
There might be very positive outcomes coming out of this; for example, a higher buying power and more consumers ready to get on with local food consumption might unleash some potentials. Some rural communities might thrive again as a result of newcomers, schools and classes reopened, a much-needed tax income for strapped for cash rural counties. All the more when rural areas are deemed to lose their European Union development funding. Some homes might be freed in the cities (or not, it’s handy to keep a house in town) which could alleviate the housing crisis.
But this influx would be a peculiar one, we have to consider that these inhabitants will come from dense cities and will certainly have a high buying power coming from top jobs which enable them to work from home. No factory or keyworker would be able to make this move.
They will doubtlessly select areas better connected to the internet and to rail and road network allowing for a reasonable commute to town when they need to be present. A French poll was revealing that a two hours long commute was deemed fine if only once or twice a week. Living the rural life means driving around and that’s a fact. If you are not mobile and can’t afford a car you can’t move.
Not everything is rosy for local councils; rural areas are costly to fit with the standard public services that we all rely on; internet, electricity, water, sewers… More rural homes, more isolated homes mean more cost that will need to be balanced at a national level by increasing the bills.
We might look toward a massive development move in those areas but first it will mean that a competition might take place between local inhabitants and those new would be rural inhabitants. In rural areas wages are lower than in towns, It will make competition for getting a home harsher there.
The time warp image of the countryside wanted by many newcomers is not compatible with the reality. Conflict with farming are a longstanding problem of rural areas where newcomers and long-time resident cohabit. Triggering land scarcity and increased land prices destroying the existing rural fabric woven along generations. It undermines the potential for a profitable food production in the area.
Massive developments will also mean a loss of wildlife, habitats and biodiversity, a destruction of the countryside hundred times worse than HS2 so many campaigned against. Driving long distance and using a car daily to shop or go to essential meetings and appointments will produce more greenhouses gases than when staying in town.
Moving to the countryside comes with a not so green outlook for the climate and the environment, it makes you wonder whether it’s worth it. That said living in the countryside is nice and rural areas are important for the nation, but first for those who work there. We certainly don’t want this move to exacerbate once more inequalities between people and between areas. The have and the have not’s conflict must not be a feature exported in every part of the country.
All pictures are from walks around Cheltenham, the severn and the Cotswolds. Except the header, Dartmoor.
