Published at 11:59, Wednesday, 23 July 2008

RURAL dwellers in Cumbria are among the country’s worst paid and most deprived, according to a new report.

The results, revealed in the Commission for Rural Communities’ 2008 State of the Countryside report, have prompted a call for action from Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron.

Mr Farron expressed his concern about rising house prices in South Lakeland, which cost 12 times the local income.

The MP said one possible solution is his Home on the Farm policy, which would allow farmers to convert outbuildings into homes more easily.

He said: “These figures are extremely concerning but provide valuable additional evidence that rubbishes the assumption that poverty exists in Cumbria only on the west coast.

“It’s time the government and the NWDA provided investment for these areas and got serious about tackling rural poverty.”

The report shows that the area’s rural workforce is one of the country’s most productive, but wages continue to be low and, for many, work is not a secure route out of poverty.

In rural parts of the North West only 74.9 per cent of householders live within four kilometres of a bank or building society, compared to 99.8 per cent in urban areas. The proportion living within four kilometres of a GP surgery is 87.4 per cent, compared with 100 per cent, and those within four kilometres of an NHS dentist is 79 per cent (99.9 per cent in urban areas).

Some 75.3 per cent of people in rural areas of the North West live within four kilometres of a secondary school (compared with 99.9 per cent of people in urban areas) and 79.7 per cent are within four kilometres of a supermarket (100 per cent in urban areas).

The number of people working in agriculture fell, but there was a higher rate of start-ups than in urban areas and an overall growth in the number of businesses, compared to a net decline in the urban business base.

Dr Stuart Burgess, chairman of the CRC, said: “This year we have been able to use the official Households Below Average Income data for rural areas to show this increase.

“Around one in five rural households now live below the poverty line and between 2004/05 and 2006/07 poverty in rural households has increased faster than in urban areas.”

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