The High Cost Of Country Living
THE fresh air. The cosy village pub. The close-knit community spirit.
There’s a lot to be said for country living if, of course, you discount the bigoted, narrow-minded attitudes, the smell of manure and the ever-present possibility of coming across the organic Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall butchering a pig with his bare hands.
Oh, and the cost of actually living there which, according to the Commission for Rural Communities, is actually quite a lot.
A study by the Commission has found that living in the countryside costs £60 a week more than in urban areas, with rural households spending an average of nearly £480 a week.
The average weekly disposable income in the countryside was found to be £522 with outgoings hitting almost £480 a week. This compares to urban areas where the figures were £476 and £419.50.
The report also found that the non-UK migrant workforce in rural England had risen by 209 per cent from 20,970 in 2003 to 64,870 in 2006, which is sure to put rather a lot of countryside noses out of joint.
Commission for Rural Communities chairman, Dr Stuart Burgess, says: “The sheer scale and speed of immigration has put a big strain on rural local authorities, both in their ability to provide services and ensure that new migrants are successfully integrated into their host communities.”
No doubt Gordon Brown will soon make it compulsory for immigrants moving to rural areas to wear waxy jackets, shoot anything that moves and get intimate with their own family members.
Posted: 17th, July 2007 | In: Money Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
