THE rural infrastructure is under threat of collapse because of outward migration from towns and the lack of long-term policies to promote sustainable communities.
That was the message yesterday (Tuesday) from the Country Land and Business Association, in response to the 2006 State of the Countryside Report issued earlier in the day by the Commission for Rural Communities.
Gloucestershire CLA regional director John Mortimer said the report clearly demonstrated that unless the Government introduces new policies to address housing, employment, transport and services, the countryside and its communities would rapidly cease to be sustainable.
"Communities are about people and if they are to be sustainable communities, need to be in balance, demographically and economically," he said. "Yet if the 25-year projection for migration to the countryside from urban areas is correct, then the resultant influx of people, coupled with the decline in job opportunities and affordable housing, will lead to the collapse of the rural infrastructure."
He added: "Central and regional policy makers must look further ahead and be prepared to address these issues."
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