THERE'LL be a feeling of warm anticipation in Ledbury, Bromyard, Evesham and Bewdley today, following Environment Secretary John Prescott's news that each town is to receive up to £1m for regeneration.

If you're looking for a common theme, it's not just the foot-and-mouth outbreaks which have devastated large swathes of the two counties.

Who could forget the floods which ravaged thousands of acres of low-lying land in the last two months of 2000. The effects are still being felt.

But it's not only floods. The past couple of decades have seen a gradual decline in rural communities.

Over three years, Mr Prescott wants to reverse that decline because markets towns are "at the heart of the countryside... a special part of our history and the natural hub of their surrounding communities".

While its unnerving to hear a politician sounding like he's only just discovered the fact, we must be grateful for the boost which the cash, judiciously-used, will give to jobs, businesses and transport links.

However, today's news does something other than confirm what those who live and work in the countryside have known for donkey's years.

It brings into sharp focus the need for a far-reaching examination of how Britain's rural communities thrive.

It goes without saying that a Royal Commission must investigate the circumstances leading up to the foot-and-mouth crisis, and lead the reconstruction of the farming industry and its practices.

It's far from an original thought, but whichever party finds itself in power next month must also launch a Department of Rural Affairs, embracing all the responsibilities which have found the Ministry of Agriculture wanting since February.

The prospect of £1m in four towns is a start. But the benefits of it need to be evident in 50 years, not just in the period between one General Election and the next.