Changes in rural Settlement in Britain

Characteristic

Original village

Suburbanised village

Housing

Detached, stone built houses with slate/thatch roofs. Some farms. Most over 100 years old. Barns

New, mainly detached or semis . Renovated barns or cottages. Expensive planned estates, garages.

Inhabitants

Farming and primary jobs. Labouring/manual groups.

Professional/executive, commuters. Wealthy with young families or retired

Transport

Bus service, some cars, narrow/winding roads.

Decline in bus service as most families have 1 or 2 cars. Better roads

Services

Village shop. Small junior school. Public house. Village hall

More shops, enlarged school, modern public houses/restaurants

Social

Small, close-knit community

Local community swamped. Village may be deserted during day.

Environment

Quiet, relatively pollution free.

More noise and risk of more pollution. Loss of farmland/open space

Less accessible settlements

These villages are further in distance from or have poorer transport to links to the nearest city. Though these villages may be relatively stable in size their social and economic make up is changing. Many in the younger age group move out, pushed by a shortage of jobs and social life. They are replaced by retired people seeking quietness and a pleasant environment though often not realising that the rural areas lack many of the areas required by the elderly such as shops buses etc.

The more wealthy urban dwellers seeking relaxation away from the stress of their local working and living environment, buy vacant properties in villages. This can lead to extra local trade but also that locals cannot afford the inflated prices. A less accessible settlement nearby is the village of Chinnor. It is a small settlement with a school, a church and a pub.

Remote areas

These areas suffer from a population loss, which leaves houses empty, and villages decreasing in size. Resultant problems include lack of job opportunities, few services and poor transportation. The cost of providing services to remote areas is high and there is often suffiecient demand to keep local shops or village schools open. A good local example of this is Long Crendon which is a small settlement which contains a few houses, a school and a court house.

Mat Burton 23/04/07 13:30