St Edmundsbury Core Strategy (December 2010)

7 Strategy for the Rural Areas7.1 Nationally, 20 percent of the population live in rural areas. The ruralpopulation of St Edmundsbury is therefore above average at 41.5 percent. Wehave defined rural as everywhere in the borough outside Bury St Edmunds andHaverhill.7.2 Rural St Edmundsbury has attractive villages and large swathes of unspoiltcountryside. Our rural residents report that one of the best things about living inthe countryside is its peaceful nature. The beauty and peace of the countrysideoffer an excellent quality of life.7.3 The population of St Edmundsbury‟s rural areas increased by 3.2 percentbetween 1991 and 2001; this was less than the rate of increase in the towns.Nationally there are growing differences between the age profiles of rural andurban England, as highlighted in the Commission for Rural Communities‟ State ofthe Countryside Report 2007. A high proportion of older people live in the ruralareas and there has been a reduction in the proportion of people aged between20 and 35 years living in the countryside.7.4 Nationally, while virtually all households in urban areas have access toservices, a much smaller proportion of those in rural villages have similar access toservices. This again reflected in the rural areas in the borough, where the numberof post offices, shops and public houses is declining. There is therefore adependence upon the main towns that provide employment, schools, shops andhealth and leisure activities. However, since public transport is not alwaysavailable, it makes it very difficult for some people, particularly those without theirown transport, to access any services. This can lead to rural isolation and thus areduced quality of life.7.5 The borough has an adopted Rural Action Plan which identifies a series ofactions which contribute to preserving and enhancing the social, economic andenvironmental well-being of rural St Edmundsbury.7.6 Through the various stages of developing the Core Strategy it is clear thatresidents value the history, visual quality and unique character of the towns,villages and countryside in the borough. Retaining the local character anddistinctiveness of the built environment will be an important prerequisite of newdevelopment proposals. Detailed policies will be set out in the DevelopmentManagement DPD and the Rural Site Allocations document.7.7 Policy CS4 details those five larger villages which have been identified as KeyService Centres. These Key Service Centre villages will be the main focus foradditional homes, jobs and community facilities outside of Bury St Edmunds andHaverhill. However, growth will not simply be divided between these and othervillages. The scale of growth in individual settlements will be dependent uponlocal environmental and infrastructure capacity of the village concerned. TheInfrastructure and Environmental Capacity Appraisal has assisted in identifying thepossible constraints to further development in the Key Service Centres. Thisinformation has helped us to develop a broad strategy for the future growth ofthese settlements to 2031 and the key characteristics which must be protectedand enhanced. Set out below is a broad strategy for growth for each of thevillages, taking into account the individual characteristics of each settlement.7.8 Specific allocations of land for growth will be set out in the Rural SiteAllocations DPD, and local communities will be involved in preparing this73