Comments on: Rural Wales: Wealth of beauty, poverty of opportunity

By: David Llewellyn

David Llewellyn — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:55:36 +0000

I read this article some time ago, and it saddens me that this state of rural Wales. I suspect however that what rural Wales is experiencing is true for many rural communities in the industrialised world. I would need to study the issue more; perhaps it may be studied by an independent think-tank and/or the Assembly?

One thing that is perhaps not highlighted as well is the role that the loss of agriculture in Wales has had on the real estate market. With agriculture in decline, and with the youth not returning in the numbers that they once were, older farmers (without anyone to take on the family business) are more likely to sell to developers, who in turn create speculative development communities.

In the article Heledd, you mention that you welcomed Assembly initiatives that are in place to address affordable housing. I am curious what exactly they are? I have been searching online for some of them but haven’t uncovered that yet.

By: MartinJohnes

MartinJohnes — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:53:06 +0000

Some excellent points. The decline of agriculture and the Welsh language, the digital divide, the loss of village schools and the long term issues of a low wage rural economy and unemployment are very real problems and too often forgotten.

But rural Wales has in many ways also enjoyed a renaissance in the last 40 years. After decades of depopulation that threatened to kill the countryside, from the 1970s onwards people started moving in in larger numbers than they were leaving and that has not stopped. The linguistic impact has been significant but there are economic benefits. Moreover, in rural counties between the 1991 and 2001 censuses there were rises in the share of population represented by 16-24-year-olds and a fall in the 65s-and-over. Rural Wales is still older than urban Wales but the picture is not completely bleak, especially when compared to the rural doom and gloom of the middle of the 20th century.

The housing situation cannot be blamed on second homes. At the 2001 census there were approaching twice as many vacant properties in rural Wales as second homes. House price inflation has been excessive everywhere and first time buyers on an average wage find it impossible to buy somewhere regardless of whether they live in town or country. The ratio between average incomes and average house prices is the same in Gwynedd as it is in Cardiff. Even in Blaenau Gwent, where prices are most affordable, the average house cost 4.5 times the average income. The problem is however worst in Ceredigion where average house prices are ten times average earnings. That is wholly unjust and wholly unsustainable.

None of this (beyond the language) is peculiar to rural Wales and rural voices have become deeply marginalized in contemporary Britain. It’s good to hear someone sticking up for them.

By: Victoria Winckler

Victoria Winckler — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:37:33 +0000

Heledd is right to highlight the problem of poverty in rural Wales – about a year ago I did some work on Ceredigion which showed that far from being a rural idyll it had problems (housing, low pay and lack of jobs) that were similar to those of the South Wales valleys. Where I disagree is that there is something special about ‘rural’ poverty. Poverty is poverty whereever you live, although the experience of lived poverty may differ from place to place, the fundamental issue is low income. Separating ‘rural’ poverty from bog standard poverty doesn’t help to develop effective action – anywhere.

The Welsh Assembly Government has always confused poverty with disadvantaged areas – they are not the same – and has adopted place-based solutions (e.g. Communities First, Flying Start etc). These do nothing to help the thousands of poor people who do not live in the targeted areas – rural and urban. WAG has NEVER had an anti-poverty strategy targetted on households, nor does it look at poverty as a whole issue – instead we have child poverty, fuel poverty, pensioner poverty etc etc.

Carving up poverty into different boxes creates an unseemly ‘poorer than thou’ contest, while hiding the perpetuation of poverty across generations – poor parents have poor children who live in fuel poverty who grown up eventually into poor pensioners. Better that these connections are recognised and the problem tackled headon.

By: senn

senn — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:11:22 +0000

Interesting post and you hit the nail on the head with lot’s of things.
I disagree about Elin Jones. with her policy towars Badgers and the cull she is undoubtedly helped the farming community but may in the long run have damaged the tourist economy.
You say a ‘Wealth of beauty’ which is very true of the Pembrokeshire coastline. But I seemingly find few ‘natural’ spaces . The influence of intensive agriculture is massive in rural Wales. Of course the natural flora and fauna is seriously affected with loss or destruction of ecosystem. There is no question one will find more songbird variety in Hyde Park or St. James Park than one would find in the stark green fields of rural Wales which is a shame. Hopefully the assembly’s new policy Glastir will try and rectify this somewhat.
The RSPB see no recovery in farmland birds.
You have highlighted bus and train services. Much of this is down to county councils.
There is no question a different linguistic and genetic pool exists in rural Wales. Much more varied than in the towns. Cockneys, Brummies, Gloucestrians and other accents mix with locals. They bring a massive input to rural economies which the Assembly has not recognised or chooses not to recognise.
To discuss with DJE, the agriculture has declined in its worth to the Welsh economy. That is because farming lacks imagination, such as overproduction of milk which brings prices down. There is little variation. Tree growing could be a massive industry but there is not the will because the landowners are so well subsidised .

By: Dylan Jones-Evans

Dylan Jones-Evans — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:56:23 +0000

Let’s not forget about the decline of agriculture across Wales, which this article doesn’t even touch upon, and which was the foundation for many businesses across rural Wales both directly and, more importantly, indirectly.

The simple fact of the matter is that agriculture has continued to decline at a worst rate in Wales than for the rest of the UK over the last decade or so:

- the economic contribution of agriculture has declined by 68.1% during the period 1997-2007, the worst performance of any UK region. In contrast, agriculture across the UK declined by 7%.

- in 1997, agriculture accounted for 2.2% of the Welsh economy, a higher level than the 1.4% for the UK economy. By 2007, this had declined to 0.5% of the Welsh economy as compared to 0.8% for the UK.

- the importance of Welsh agriculture has fallen relative to the rest of the UK and while Wales accounted for 6.3% of the UK’s agricultural sector in 1997, this had dropped to 2.2% cent a decade later.

- in 1997, Welsh agriculture was producing £634 million for the economy, but this had gone down to £202 million by 2007, a decline which accounts for over 60% of the reduction in overall UK agricultural output during this period.

- if the relative contribution of agriculture to the Welsh economy had merely been the same in 2007 as it had been in 1997, then the sector would have been generating an additional £770 million in output for the Welsh economy that year alone. With much of that wealth based in rural Wales, it would have had a far larger effect on employment and the economy than any funding being provided by WAG and the Rural Affairs Department.

It is also worth noting that agriculture accounted for 10% of the Powys economy back in 1997 but by 2007, this had fallen to 2%.

Imagine if any other sector’s output had fallen by 68% over a decade, then there would have been a massive reaction from politicians.

Unfortunately, their response has been as quiet as many of town centres across rural Wales that are a direct result of ignoring the decline of agriculture.