Rural Facilities Survey 2005 Wiltshire County and Swindon Borough For more information about the Rural Facilities Survey please contact the Economic Research and Intelligence Unit of Wiltshire County Council through the following channels. Further copies of this document (price £40.00 plus postage and packing) are also available. Economic Research and Intelligence Unit Environmental Services Department Wiltshire County Council County Hall Bythesea Road TROWBRIDGE Wiltshire BA14 8JD Telephone : (01225) 713479 e-mail: [email protected] The Economic Research and Intelligence Unit also produce other key statistical documents; a summary of these is available at: http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/census-information/census-other-statistics.htm Produced by Neil Tiley (Senior Research Assistant), Laurence Jackson (Demographer), Jackie Guinness (Economic Intelligence Officer) and Susanna Read (Technical Assistant) of the Economic Research and Intelligence Unit of Wiltshire County Council. 7 Whilst every effort has been made to provide accurate information, neither the County Council nor its officers can accept responsibility for any errors or omissions in this publication. © Wiltshire County Council 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying or recording, without the written permission of the copyright holder. ISBN 0-86080-512-3 978-0-86080-512-0 7 RURAL FACILITIES SURVEY – Autumn 2005 1 Introduction Policy Context 6 Countryside Agency Rural Services Survey 7 History of the Rural Facilities Survey 7 The Survey 7 Changes to the Survey 7 Methodology 8 Data Quality 9 Settlements 9 Classification of Data 10 Outline of Document 10 2 Populations, Housing and Facilities Population of Settlements 12 Total Facilities 14 3 Rural Facilities: Basic Facilities Total Basic Facilities 15 General Food Shops 16 Journey to Work 16 Post Offices 17 Primary Schools 18 Conclusion 19 4 Rural Facilities: Community Facilities Total Community Facilities 21 Places of Worship 22 Public Halls 22 Public Houses 23 Recreation Fields 24 Specialist Food Shops 24 Conclusion 25 5 Rural Facilities: Other Facilities Total Other Facilities 27 Banks 28 Cashpoints (ATMs) 28 Commercial Services 28 Community Transport Schemes and Other Public Transport Services 29 Farm Shops 29 Health Facilities 30 Libraries 30 Mobile Sales and Services 31 Other Specialist Shops 31 Petrol Filling Stations 32 Sports and Recreation Facilities 32 Conclusion 33 7 6 Comparative Data Trends 34 Banks 34 Children’s Facilities 35 General Food Shops, Specialist Shops and Mobile Sales 35 Health Facilities 36 Libraries 36 Petrol Filling Stations 37 Post Offices 37 Primary Schools 38 Public Halls, Recreation Fields and Places of Worship 38 Public Houses 39 Public Transport and Journey to Work Services 39 Sports Facilities 40 Sport and Social Clubs 40 Net Changes 2001 to 2005 41 7 Rural House Building 43 8 Conclusions 45 9 Glossary 47 10 Appendices 49 7 List of Figures and Tables Figure 1: Map: Community Areas within Wiltshire 11 Table 2.1: Definition of Population Groups 12 Figure 2.1: Chart: Settlements by Population Groups 12 Figure 2.2: Map: Settlements with their Population Grouping 13 Figure 2.3: Chart: Settlements with Community Facilities 14 Table 3.1: Proportion of Settlements with at least One Basic Facility 15 Figure 3.1: Chart: Settlements with Basic Facilities by Population Size 16 Table 3.2: Public Transport Services 17 Figure 3.2: Map: Settlements with all four Basic Facilities 20 Figure 4.1: Chart: Settlements with Community Facilities by Population Size 21 Table 4.2: Change in Settlements with five or more Community Facilities 25 Figure 4.2: Map: Settlements with five or more Community Facilities 26 Figure 5.1: Chart: Settlements with Other Facilities 27 Figure 6.1: Chart: Banks 34 Figure 6.2: Chart: Children’s Facilities 35 Figure 6.3: Chart: Food, Specialist, and Mobile Sales 35 Figure 6.4: Chart: Health Facilities 36 Figure 6.5: Chart: Libraries 36 Figure 6.6: Chart: Petrol Filling Stations 37 Figure 6.7: Chart: Post Offices 37 Figure 6.8: Chart: Primary Schools 38 Figure 6.9: Chart: Public Halls, Recreation Fields and Places of Worship 38 Figure 6.10: Chart: Public Houses 39 Figure 6.11: Public Transport Journey to Work Services 39 Figure 6.12: Chart: Sports Facilities 40 Figure 6.13: Chart: Sports and Social Clubs 40 Figure 6.14: Chart: Net Change 2001 to 2005 41 Figure 7.1: Chart: Total Rural House Completions 1996 to 2005 43 Table 7.1: Housing Completions since 1996 in Rural Areas and Rural Parishes containing Settlements with five or more Community Facilities 43 Rural Facilities Survey 2005 7 1 Introduction 1.1 The following report covers the whole range of data covered by the Rural Facilities Survey. However, it is recognised that users may only be interested in specific topic areas, and hence the report is structured to enable simple navigation. It should also be noted that it is intended to produce a summary document in the near future. Policy Context 1.2 The Rural White Paper “Our Countryside: The Future – A Fair Deal for Rural England”, produced in 2000, has been the key policy driver for the rural agenda. It outlined the government’s aim to “sustain the distinctive environment, economy and social fabric of the English Countryside for the benefit of all” and included a new Rural Services Standard setting out minimum standards and targets for access to and delivery of public services in rural areas. 1.3 The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s (the Department of Communities and Local Government have now taken over responsibilities in this policy area) Sustainable Communities Plan is recognised as a secondary driver, although it should be noted that although it puts an emphasis on Government’s commitment to “renewing communities and reducing inequalities”, it has limited relevance to rural areas specifically. 1.4 A review of the Rural White Paper was produced by DEFRA during 2004 and consisted of three elements: a review of rural policy as set out in the paper; the development of an evidence base for rural policy and delivery; and an independent review by Lord Haskins. The review recognised that the Government needed to be more realistic about what it could deliver and emphasised the need to differentiate between the remote and more accessible rural areas. It also stated that Government couldn’t be the “main guarantor for all services but should take steps to sustain a viable, cost effective infrastructure, provide fair access to key services and ensure a policy framework that encourages enterprise”. This review reinforced Government’s commitment to provide a minimum standard of service delivery for all; however, it also put particular emphasis on the need to focus on those individuals who need public services the most. 1.5 The conclusions from this review fed into a refreshed Rural Strategy 2004 that set out the key priorities and actions to deliver the Government’s rural affairs agenda over the next few years. The Rural Strategy 2004 sets out three priorities for rural delivery: “Economic and Social Regeneration”; “Social Justice for All”; and “Enhancing the Value of our Countryside”. The second priority sets out the need to tackle “rural social exclusion …providing fair access to services and opportunities for all rural people”. Crucially, the Rural Strategy makes significant changes to delivery arrangements with greater devolution of responsibility and decision-making to the regional and local level. 1.6 Government Office South West (GOSW) was tasked with putting the strategy into practice and the South West Regional Delivery Framework was produced and submitted to DEFRA in June 2005. GOSW identified several key outcomes (to be achieved) including: “fair access to services, tackling specific needs of the most vulnerable” and “effective transport solutions for rural areas, allowing people and goods to get to where they need to”. 1.7 Set against this backdrop of national and regional rural policy, the Wiltshire & Swindon Rural Facilities Survey aims to provide accurate and consistent local evidence, facilitating effective planning at a strategic and community level. 6 Rural Facilities Survey 2005 7 Countryside Agency Rural Services Survey 1.8 Between 1991 and 1997 surveys were undertaken in conjunction with the Rural Development Commission (RDC), which played an advisory role to central government in developing policies for rural areas. The RDC produced a nationwide report that included data for Wiltshire so enabling comparison of Wiltshire with trends in rural England to be made. In 2000 the Countryside Agency took over this role and undertook a national survey. Coverage for Wiltshire and Swindon was only 60% complete. Wiltshire County Council decided to carry out its own survey to ensure 100% coverage and maintain continuity of the comparative database which had been built up since 1976. Consequently, the surveys were carried out at different points in time so no comparison of Wiltshire data with the national situation could reliably be made. History of the Rural Facilities Survey 1.9 Rural Facilities Surveys within Wiltshire were first undertaken by Wiltshire County Council (WCC) in 1964. Since 1976 the survey has been carried out at regular intervals – usually every three years – resulting in a comparative database for 250 settlements spanning twenty-nine years. However, in the current survey a total of 350 settlements are recorded. The previous version of this 2005 report was in 2001. The survey format has varied over the years depending on the information required to both assess changes in village facilities and prepare Structure Plan policies. The Survey 1.10 The Rural Facilities Survey seeks to ascertain the extent of services and facilities within the smaller settlements in Wiltshire County and Swindon Borough. Much of the data is gathered by way of a simple survey form asking for the number of a range of different facilities within each settlement.