Vanessa Hale
Director, Research
Look at any ‘happiness index’ and you’ll start to see a trend. People aren’t happiest when they live in big cities – they’re at their most content when they’re close to the countryside.
The Office for National Statistics rates Mid Sussex, West Lindsey and the New Forest as the happiest places in the UK, while Rightmove puts Harrogate, Shrewsbury and Ipswich at the top of their Happy at Home index.
It’s a trend that is reflected in this year’s Housing Futures report. In our latest research, 21% of people who are looking to move house want to live in a village, making it easily the most popular location.
This shift away from city living is being driven by a number of factors from neighbourhood safety and increased space to the search for a strong community. In 2013/14, 60,000 people moved to rural areas in England - a trend that has been positive every year since 2001.
But what impact will this move to village life have on the rural economy?
Getting back to business
There’s a vision of the British countryside that is full of farms, small pubs and quaint village shops. But the truth is somewhat different. New figures show that England’s rural economy produces £210 billion of economic output. In fact, a quarter of all registered businesses are based in rural locations.
And it’s not just agricultural businesses. As more people make the move from cities to village life, they can now bring their work with them. These include digital companies, large manufacturing and food processing firms, new retail outlets and renewable power suppliers.
And while the growth in number and types of businesses in the rural economy is to be welcomed, it also needs support. The ‘Valuing the Village’ report from the Matrix Housing Partnership says business support services are not often as well developed as in urban areas. In fact, it claims the rural economy is being held back by lower wages. Rural workers earn on average £2,000 each year less than the urban average.
But as these new businesses develop in and around villages, and more jobs come to the area, it’s hoped that wages will start to rise.
New amenities
One of the things people miss when moving from a city to a village is the amenities on their doorstep. Whether it’s not being able to walks to the shop for a pint of milk or missing the latest foreign films at an independent cinema, there are sacrifices to be made when heading to the countryside.
In fact, ease of access is an important issue for respondents intending to move to a village, with 60% wanting to be able to walk to shops, 48% to local transport and 45% to medical facilities.
As the number of people moving to villages increases, so will the demand for such amenities. Over time, these will start to appear, though there will be limits on what the local infrastructure can accommodate.
Becoming unaffordable for locals
House prices are a big issue for villages. Rural areas have proportionally less affordable housing than urban areas and many villages suffer from the sale and non-replacement of council houses, according to a CPRE report. It claims house prices are higher in rural areas and wages lower.
The knock-on effect is that many young people, who would be looking to gain employment in the rural economy, might be forced to leave these areas. And with house prices set to rise further and an ageing population, the National Housing Federation predicts that by 2021 many rural districts will be mostly populated by pensioners.
The Federation found 27 areas, of which 25 were rural, where over 40% of the population will be over 65 by 2021 – more than the expected 29% national average.
Better technology
Our Housing Futures report found that access to broadband was a key factor for 49% of those intending to move to a village, while 38% highlighted mobile connectivity.
Technology is helping to change the rural economy, which plays a key role in creating jobs and prosperity. The expansion of broadband and mobile communications has seen a greater uptake of working from home in rural locations compared to urban areas.
The rise of the rental market
When people talk about moving to the countryside, it’s often assumed that they’ll be cashing in on their housing equity to buy a new home.
But we found a significant increase in respondents expecting to live in rental accommodation. In our current survey, 10% of those who want to move to a village anticipate living in a private rental unit, up from 1% in 2013.
Village rental markets aren’t as well developed as that of their city counterparts. But with people often wanting to split their life between cities and villages, and not wanting to take their foot off London’s housing ladder, we could see a rise in people owning in the capital and renting in a village.
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