End 'second class' status for rural residents

Stratford-on-Avon District Council is throwing its full weight behind a call to the Government to "stop treating rural citizens as second class".  

The call comes in a new report published by the Rural Services Network, a coalition of over 80 of England's most rural local authorities - including Stratford District Council - and 150 other public service providers and rural interest groups.  

The Council's Deputy Leader, Councillor Trevor Russel said: "The report calls for more funding for rural authorities to compensate for the higher costs of delivering services, urges more action on affordable housing and proposes a fundamental review of how the planning system applies the test of 'sustainability' in rural areas. We fully support this call for action.  

"Rural residents face a double whammy. They have to pay more in council tax than those living in cities where it's easier to provide services, while the infrastructure isn't in place to enable rural communities to thrive.  

"The Government has promised that nobody should be disadvantaged because of where they live, yet it has consistently not done enough to protect the needs of those living in rural areas. This report is a wake-up call that rural citizens are not prepared to be treated as second class."