Changing Rural Environments (Pgs 95-98)

Changing Rural Environments (Pgs 95-98)

1. Rural Urban Fringe

   • Why do people want to develop the area
     • Cheap Land
     • Lots of Space
     • Close proximity to towns, people and ammenitites
     • Lots of Greenfield sites
     • Prettier than urban area
     • Wildlife and other leisure related opportunities
     • Often thought to be healthier than living in dirty polluted cities and towns
   • What developments are generally built on the rural-urban fringe
     • Farming
     • Transport
     • Offices
     • Shopping Centres
       • Blue Water Shopping Centre
         • 240 acres in a former Chalk Quarry
         • Opened March 1999
         • Construction Started
           • May 1st 1996
         • Cost £400mil
         • 330 shops, 40 cafes and a 13 screen cinema
         • 13,000 parking spaces
         • Employs over 7,000 and has 27 million visitors a year
         • Near the A225, M25 and the A2
     • Leisure activities
     • Housing
     • Schools and Hospitals

2. Commuter Villages

   • Areas with a high proportion of the population working away from the village in large cities or towns
   • Why go?
     • Prettier than towns or cities
     • Healthier
     • Cheaper
     • More Space
     • Better Transport
     • Safer
       • Less Crime
   • Commuter Villages....
     • Have lots of services
     • Have a high working population
     • are near to major transport links
     • have high house prices
     • Charlgrove
       • Road Links to Oxford and London
       • Pretty Village
       • Plenty of ammenites
       • High house prices
       • Residents opposed to development plans

3. Decline in Rural Areas

   • Rhyd
     • Few public services (nearest doctor is 7km away)
     • Few jobs
     • Unaccesible by road
     • 5/15 homes are second homes
     • Only 40 people living there
   • Reasons for Decline Snowdonia
     • More competition from farms abroad
     • Supermarkets are putting pressure on farmers for lower prices
       • EU favours larger farms
     • Fuel Prices Increasing
     • Mining and quarrying industry has declined
     • High unemployment
     • Trawsfynydd nucleur power station closed making 500 people redundant
     • Young people are more and more moving to study elsewhere and rarely come back.
     • Planning laws prevents development
     • 13.7% are holiday homes
     • A cycle of decline (vicious cycle)
     • Solutions
       • Environmental Stewardship Scheme
         • Traditional industries supported
           • £1.3 bil spent and 7000 jobs created
           • Farmers payed £30-£60 per hectare
           • Hedgerows replanted
       • EU funding
       • Provision of services
         • Improve and provide essential services
         • 20 village shops supported
       • Government Schemes
         • £75 million spent on 3000 jobs.
         • Tourist attractions
       • Protected Areas
         • National Parks
         • Areas of outstanding natural beauty (49 in UK)
         • Nature Reserves
         • Sites of special scientific interest
   • Characteristics of decline
     • High Elderly Population
     • Few jobs and services
     • Poor Quality Housing