Y&H Rural Framework and 10 Priorities

News February 2008
In September 2007 Rural Innovation asked RAF members to respond to the Rural Framework questionnaire to contribute to its review. This completed report available here.

The Yorkshire and The Humber Rural Framework
Following publication of the Government’s Rural Strategy 2004, Defra asked each English Region to develop the arrangements to prioritise and co-ordinate activity, funding and delivery to rural communities. This has led to the production of the Yorkshire and The Humber Rural Framework which sets out the priorities for action to ensure these are targeted where needed at local level across the region, thus securing sustainable development outcomes.

Yorkshire and the Humber Rural Framework
Y&H Rural Framework Supporting Evidence
Y&H Rural Framework Agenda for Action

The 10 Rural Priorities established in the Framework
These priorities will be key in guiding the work of the RAF, including the Steering Group and future task groups.

1. Rural business development – encourage enterprise and innovation within new and
    established rural businesses, and provide a co-ordinated support infrastructure that helps
    them adapt to change.

2. Employment, education and skills training – develop and encourage participation in
    quality learning opportunities, and support rural businesses in workforce development.

3. Market towns – support market towns as hubs for the rural economy and as service
    centres, providing locally based employment opportunities.

4. Sustainable tourism – develop, manage and promote rural Yorkshire and The Humber as
    a high-quality ‘sustainable tourism’ destination.

5. Access to services – ensure that rural communities are characterised by high levels of
    inclusion and equitable access to quality services that recognise demographic trends.

6. Rural transport – understand and addresses transport needs in rural areas through
    private, public and voluntary sector provision, to promote rural regeneration and tackle
    social exclusion.

7. Rural housing – understand and address housing needs in rural areas, recognising and
    tackling issues of fuel poverty.

8. Rural communities – promote social cohesion, and encourage and support the
    engagement of rural communities and the active roles that they can play.

9. The natural environment – conserve and enhance the region’s rural biodiversity,
    Its distinctiveness, and the quality of its natural and built environment

10. Promote a ‘functional landscape’ – where development draws on and sustains the
     natural, cultural and built heritage of the region’s rural areas.