Introduction
Citizens Advice welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s consultation on sustainable development in rural areas.
The CAB service is the largest independent network of free advice centres in Europe, providing advice from over 2,800 outlets. The service has two equal aims:
- to ensure that individuals do not suffer through lack of knowledge of their rights and responsibilities or of the services available to them, or through an inability to express their needs effectively;
- and equally, to exercise a responsible influence on the development of social policies and services, both locally and nationally.
In 2002/3, the CAB service dealt with nearly 6 million new enquiries, of which 574,000 related to housing problems. The largest proportion of these queries were concerned with housing debt and threatened homelessness, but a significant number of these problems were associated with housing costs, planning policies and affordable housing. Furthermore, every year, thousands of individuals come to the CAB with rural problems and over half of these are related to the need for suitable transport to ensure these people can access the services they require.
Citizens Advice’s comments on the consultation document
Citizens Advice welcomes the publication of clear planning policies, and whilst we warmly support the objective of sustainable development in rural areas, we do have some points to make with regard to this consultation. We believe that transport and planning must be linked together in rural areas. A well thought through planning system which limits isolated dwellings in favour of new-build development on the edge of existing settlements will reduce the need for travel to access services.
Citizens Advice welcomes the recognition of the need for affordable housing, but we would like to see mention of the need for social housing. Initially it appears that supporting a change of building use to support community facilities is positive, however, this may have detrimental effects. Planning policies must take into account the impact of any change in community facilities on the viability of current community facilities. Our detailed comments about the consultation are listed below.
Paragraph 1
Whilst the key principles are admirable in helping to address the need to travel and rural isolation, they need to be integrated with transport strategies. In rural areas the population is not large enough to support all services that are needed, for example hospitals. This necessitates a need to travel to access services. People on low incomes often experience difficulties in accessing services in rural areas. Rural CABx often report that their clients get into debt due to the costs of running a car. Alternatively they are dependent on poor and expensive public transport. For example:
A 62 year old man in poor health sought debt advice from a CAB in Lincolnshire. He lived in a village three miles from the local town. The village had few amenities and public transport was poor, so the client felt obliged to run a car. As a result the client had run up an overdraft and had taken out loans to cover car-related costs.
A CAB in Shropshire reported that a client had had to leave his job in a neighbouring town as his shifts had changed. He had no transport of his own and there was only one bus a day from his home to the town where he worked, so he had relied on a lift to work from a fellow employee, but would no longer be able to do so. The client was concerned that the social security office would cut his jobseekers allowance because they would consider he had left his job voluntarily.
A CAB in Essex reported that a lone parent client living in an isolated village, found it difficult to access social security offices and work due to poor public transport. The client had no phone, so could not ring the local social security office, and if she needed to visit the local Jobcentre, the journey would require two changes of bus. The poor transport links locally meant that the client found it difficult to look for work unless it was very local.
A CAB in Derbyshire reported the problems a recently unemployed client living in a remote rural area was facing. He was finding it difficult to find a job locally, but his jobseeking problems were exacerbated by the closure of the local JobCentre, which would mean a 36 mile round trip by limited public transport to other towns to sign on or look for vacancies.
Citizens Advice believes that transport strategies must be clearly tied in with planning strategies in order to ensure that developments are sustainable. There is always a danger that whilst a settlement is currently served by public transport, that the service provider may change its service withdrawing public transport from the settlement. New builds should be close enough to existing service centres so that the use of public transport to purchase every day goods and services is not necessary.
Citizens Advice welcomes the acknowledgment that carefully sited development should be allowed where it meets community needs including affordable housing. Affordable housing is a crucial issue in rural areas and must be addressed by the planning system.
Paragraph 2
Local authorities should make use of information stakeholders may have about community needs for example; community plans, parish plans, village appraisals and Citizens Advice Bureaux information rather than consulting the community yet again. Where none of this information is available, then the local authority should commission surveys and assessments. Any consultation must be carefully developed to ensure the community is involved so the consultation takes accounts of all peoples needs, not just those who shout loudest or lobby most vigorously.
Paragraph 3
Social housing should be developed in larger settlements where people are able to access local employment opportunities and public services. Tenants of social housing in smaller settlements may be unable to travel long distances to work by public transport as the cost may be so great that it significantly reduces their income or the level of public transport provision may make it impossible to travel to other areas to find work or access essential public services. For example:
A CAB in Cornwall reported that a homeless lone parent with no transport was offered accommodation 30 miles away. However, she had an extensive support package locally for her medical and social problems. When the CAB rang the local council to query their decision, the CAB was told if they could find suitable accommodation locally for the client, the District Council would pay for it. The CAB managed to find suitable accommodation within 5 minutes and wondered why the District Council couldn’t be bothered to do this.
A CAB in Dorset reported that a young couple who were homeless after their families had thrown them out were living in a tent in a garden in the local town because they had not received any offers of suitable accommodation from the local authority or social services. The local council had suggested that they take up accommodation in a village 16 miles from the town where they work. It would take hours for the clients to travel to and from work by inadequate public transport.
Paragraph 4
Planning authorities must look to support villages and smaller settlements by allowing developments that meet the communities need. This must include the building of both affordable housing and social housing.
Paragraph 6
The development of business should be supported if it will increase employment opportunities for local residents.
Paragraph 7
Citizens Advice welcomes these intentions. However, in rural areas as many services are provided by the voluntary sector, then this sector must be consulted at an early stage to ensure that the buildings that planning authorities believe to be appropriate for community services and facilities are able to satisfy the requirements that this sector may have. Whilst its is admirable to ensure local services such as child care are available by walking, cycling and public transport, in rural areas individuals will continue to use their own vehicles unless roads are made safe, are well lit and have pavements, individuals will continue to use their own vehicles.
Paragraph 8
Citizens Advice supports these recommendations in light of the value these services have in a local community.
Paragraphs 9-11
We welcome the recognition of the need for more affordable housing in rural settlements. The housing difficulties faced by people on low incomes living in rural areas are one of the most significant rural problems reported by bureaux. It is essential, however, that the affordable housing provision includes a significant element of social housing, to ensure that people in an area who may not be in a position to buy a house can secure accommodation in their community at a reasonable rent. For example:
A CAB in Oxfordshire reported that an 18 year old client lived with her partner and their five-week old baby on the sitting room floor of her partner’s father’s house in a rural village. She had been on the local authority’s housing waiting list for nine months but has been offered no accommodation apart from bed and breakfast in a city 15 miles away. The client has turned this down because she did not think bed and breakfast accommodation was suitable for her young baby.
A CAB in Devon reported the dilemma faced by an 18-year old homeless man. He had been living with his father in a rural area, but could not find work due to no public transport provision. The client therefore moved into town to live with his mother and found work, although it cost him £15 per week to get there. The client subsequently fell out with his mother who made him leave. The client could either stay in the town and work, but would not have a roof over his head, or he could move back with his father and lose his job.
A CAB in North-East Wales reported that a young couple on income support were forced to live in their car due to a lack of social housing in the local area. They had been living with friends for the past 12 months, which is no longer possible. They tried to find accommodation in the main town and the surrounding area, but could not find a property to rent. The clients were recovering heroin addicts on a rehabilitation programme arranged by their supportive GP. The local authority had offered them accommodation in a nearby seaside town but they turned it down as they were concerned they would face problems with their drug rehabilitation if they left the area where they were living at the moment, where they had strong support networks and a supportive GP.
Paragraph 12
The development of existing buildings for business or community use may initially appear to be a worthy cause. However, planning authorities must take into account the impact on existing services. A new meeting room being available could take bookings away from a village hall resulting in the hall becoming non-viable and closing, being lost as a community facility.
Paragraphs 27-33
As the main land use in rural areas, agriculture must be supported. However, as minority employers within rural communities planning policies must look at supporting other industries and employers.
Paragraphs 34-36
Tourism and leisure often support rural communities. However, they are often seasonal and work may be low paid. In looking to support tourism and leisure activities, planning authorities should also look positively on provision of suitable services that will help individuals working within the sector, for example information and advice provision.
Paragraph 40
Citizens Advice welcomes that residential accommodation should be used to provide affordable housing rather than being allowed to change from residential to business use. This results in less affordable accommodation as homes are sub-let as self catering accommodation.
Annex A
The draft statement aims to support agriculture diversify and become sustainable, yet Annex A seems to conflict with this, favouring support for existing rather than new agricultural activities. It is unreasonable to expect workers to live in caravans or temporary wooden structures for 3 years if supporting a new farming activity, as this could have a significant impact upon an individual’s quality of life.
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