The Government has set out its proposals for helping rural communities to thrive in the 21st Century by providing more affordable housing and greater freedom to develop strong local economies.

Responding to Matthew Taylor MP's 2008 Review into issues facing rural communities, Housing Minister Margaret Beckett and Rural Affairs Minister Huw Irranca-Davies set out their proposals to help create strong and diverse rural communities which are able to tackle their own unique challenges at a local level.

The Review has identified both the specific challenges facing different rural areas and the similar issues facing both rural and urban economies.

To help underline the important role rural areas can play in delivering economic prosperity, a new single policy statement will be published combining existing planning guidance aimed at delivering sustainable economic development in urban and rural areas and town centres. This new single Planning Policy Statement will be published for consultation soon.

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Housing Minister Margaret Beckett said: "We simply must take action to overcome the unsustainable pressures facing the future of rural communities. All too often the high cost of homes and low wages are pricing young families out of their communities, with the average rural home costing up to ten times the average salary in some rural areas.

"These subtle but important changes are the key to getting the balance right between protection and development in the countryside. This will give local communities the flexibility they need to take the right decisions on the individual issues they face."

The latest statistics from the Commission for Rural Communities show that in rural areas the average house price last year was more than seven times the average household income, compared to a ratio of 6.3 times the average income in urban areas. These affordability pressures are greatest in the smallest hamlets, where the average price house is almost ten times the average income.

(CD/JM)